Tidlom Thai Antique
Shop C1, Healeys Lane
550 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne, VIC 3000
03 9606 0991
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I received an eMail from the owner of this joint a few months ago asking if I could ‘please do your magic as a food blogger’, and to be as honest as I can be. With my feathers adequately fluffed up, I ate here anonymously with Ees a few weeks ago.
But seriously, I don’t think my blog has all that much influence. I’m just sharing food experiences, with food porn as a delicious by product.
Tidlom is a new venture from the people of Appetizer Kub Klam, a quiet and not-that-known restaurant that I’d previously enjoyed for its cosy ambience, authentic (spicy!) food and cheesy but relaxing music. Now that Appetizer has changed management, I’m not sure whether food is the same.
But the previous owners are now at Tidlom, with a food ethos that says food served should be just like what the Thais eat at home. I like that concept.
House Beer $3.50 | Chicken joints $9.90
Deep fried chicken joints in seasoned batter served with Thai sweet chilli sauce
Ees and I started off with what I’ll now declare as the perfect beer food. The waitress was quite mortified that we ordered this as she was certain we wouldn’t like it. But she underestimated us. These chicken joints were deep fried to perfection, gently seasoned and so incredibly moreish to munch on! And there weren’t any bones, so you don’t have to face the indignity of spitting out bits.
Thai style spicy sausages (Homemade) $10.90 | Steamed Rice $2.50
Traditional Thai spicy and sour sausages served with chilli, ginger and vegetables
We went quite adventurous with the menu ordering here. For instance, these Northeastern Isaan-style Thai sausages, which came spicy and sour. I’ve never had sour sausages before, so this dish, while fresh and homemade, took a bit of getting used to…
Stir fried dried curry beef $14.90
Stir fried Snake beans, Homemade Red curry paste and a choice of meat
This dish sounded more interesting on the menu than it did in real life. The flavours were pleasant, but I think we ordered wrongly, because the beef was on the dry side. And that’s simply because we ordered dry curry!
Tom Zap $16.90
Traditional spicy clear soup with Thai herbs, chilli, grounded roasted rice, fresh lime juice and a choice of Soften Pork spare ribs or Stewed beef
Rather than going tom yum, Ees and I tried a different soup! But call us Thai culinary barbarians, we couldn’t really tell the difference between tom yum and this soup, ha ha! It was clear, fragrant, spicy, and sour… with kaffir lime leaves, whole dried chillies, basil, lemongrass, onions, and ground rice at the bottom.
When our waitress asked how spicy we’d want it, I just said ‘Thai spicy’. I had no problems with the heat levels for this soup, didn’t even touch my drink, while Ees was sweating a storm and drinking gallons of water. Ahaha… maybe I’m immune to chilli hotness.
I thought the dishes here were different and interesting, but problem with this visit is we ordered novel dishes and don’t have enough familiarity with Thai food to have a point of comparison. All that said, there is a lot more unusualness on the menu (like raw prawn salad, deep fried pork intestine, preserved pork soft bone, stir fried fish floss) that makes me want to come back and discover more!
We tried a few times to go but seem to always go when they are shut.. *sigh* seems like it definitely is worth the visit and I must keep trying!
msihua recently posted..The Wedding Ceremony – Sunday 7th October 2012 @ The Baths, Middle Brighton
Hope they’re open the next time you visit. :)
Woohoo, another good reason to go for a lunch time wander! :D
CheezyK recently posted..Astro
You’re lucky you get a city to wander about. My area’s not that nice for lunchtime walks. (As in, not many foodie destinations, ha ha!)
Awesome!!! I was just at Healey’s Lane on Sunday for Gami ( I know, I know, you not a fan of that place haha ;p). Now, you’re making me want to come back! I like that it’s different and more Isaan style and I don’t think it matters if you don’t really have a point of reference to compare with. Sounds like you enjoyed all the food so that’s all that matters. So THIS was the place you got the fried chicken joints. So coming here with the guys soon!!
Winston recently posted..Tokyo Teppanyaki, South Yarra + Groupon GIVEAWAY!!
Glad you’ve already visited (as noticed via Instagram) and enjoyed it. :)
I really liked tidlom thai, I thought the food was different and (hopefully) authentic, and the flavours were bold and lovely. I hope they do well because I’ve yet to come across anything like them in Melbourne!
Ming @ sweetandsourfork recently posted..Yogurddiction
Very nice. I really should issit again to try the other unusual dishes on the menu. :)
Haha I got the same email from the owner.
My workmate and I visited last week for lunch (seeing as we work just around the corner). They had a limited menu with dishes that are probably more familiar to Australian diners so we never go to try the stuff you tried. I did like the pad thai I had, while I thought my mate’s beef was peppery (though it was well-cooked). I will definitely add it to my list of places to go to for lunch though!
Libby recently posted..Bavarian Nights
I wanted to try the pad thai as its a dish I like having, but opted to try te more unusual dishes on menu. :)
Ooh, haven’t tried any Thai in Melbourne for a while. Love how quirky and cute this place looks! :)
Ashley recently posted..Rita’s Cafeteria
I’ve seen your Bangkok food trail and have been drooling over the food you’ve been eating there!