Modern Thai

Longrain restaurant is definitely, not your average 'Thai' food. Initially I was very reluctant to try out Longrain as I often eat at Ying Thai at Richmond and Ying Thai 2 at Carlton, which is very authentic and has good prices. To be honest I thought, "Why would I pay more to eat Thai food that isn't even made by a Thai person?"

But who am I to judge..

I wouldn't say that Longrain's food is authentic Thai, more of a modern take on Thai cusine which makes the most of the fresh produce in Australia and has a strong focus on the aesthetics in presenting their dishes. Needless to say the taste of Thailand is there: the definite presence of fish sauce, palm sugar, lime and yes, chilli. Not all dishes have the same heat as authentic Thai dishes, but still, despite the majority of their diners being non-Asian, the kitchen does not go light handed on the chilli, especially in the red curry dishes.

So after having new warmth towards modern Thai food, I decided to try some of the recipes from Martin Boetz's book: Longrain Modern Thai Food.

I really dread abiding by every ml and gm which goes with following recipes and because I learnt how to cook by watching my mother, grandmother and many other people I have passed throughout my time so far. Measuring every ingredient becomes very tedious and frustrating for me. I cooked this small banquet ( for 2 people ) and followed most of the measurements but added the palm sugar and fish sauce according to my familiarity with these ingredients as I use them quite often. 

There really is no point of me noting the recipes as I didn't follow them so please just enjoy my photos!

Betel Leaves with Prawn and Pork

I also adapted the recipes to what I ate at Longrain, as the book has a recipe for Betel Leaves with Smoked Trout with Galangal and Trout Roe, I replaced the fish with pork and prawn instead.

Eggnets with Pork, Prawn and Beansprouts

Green Curry with Flathead Tails

I also replaced the prawn and vegetables in the Green Curry with flathead tails as I already had two dishes with prawns.

Mango, Raspberry and Coconut Custard Parfait

This meal was fantastic. Both Doben and I were so surprised how similar the taste was to what we ate at Longrain. Although it took a lot of time to prep and follow so many recipes, it was all worth the effort in the end.

Longrain 

44 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne 

Ying Thai 2

110 Lygon St, Carlton

Ying Thai

235 Victoria St, Abbotsford