House (Thai northeast street food) – Surry Hills, Sydney
There is a fire in the House.
Sick of long queue at Mamak and Chat Thai? Looks like this new joint can be a nice addition to our last night supper list. It was a cold winter night when we discovered this establishment called House as we were walking towards Central Station on our way home after the all-you-can-eat ribs frenzy at Cafe Ish.
The dimly lit outdoor dining area was so inviting with stilts of heaters burning away to keep the patrons warm and toasty. A Thai live band is also serenading while the diners tuck into some hot warm Thai spicy food. It is so tempting but we were so full from all the ribs at Cafe Ish, we simply couldn’t even fit in another tiny dessert and decided to give it a miss. I made a mental note to come back real soon and the opportunity prevails as I find myself here with Simon (the heart of food) for lunch.
Clockwise L to R: the signage outside the restaurant; a warm orange cozy indoor dining area; spacious outdoor dining area with heaters to keep everyone toasty; beautiful ornamented lighting shade hanging above the open kitchen
House is located on Elizabeth Street in Surry Hills, a big space adjoining to Triple Ace Bar, where Italian bistro Sopranos once was. The wide open space is welcoming with sturdy wooden tables that are perfect for groups, old movie posters are framed on the walls and they even have Thai live band entertainment on certain nights to set a relaxing ambiance. You can walk straight from Triple Ace Bar into the indoor dining area passing through the bright open kitchen where chefs are playing with fire.
The bilingual menu booklet in English and Thai has an extensive list of Thai street food from grilled BBQ meat, salad to home made dishes local to the Thai north east region. As I flip to the first page, a huge portrait of head chef Sujet Saenkhan greets you and ready to take you on a wild fiery hot journey. Sujet, sound familiar? Yes, he is also the head chef at Spice I am, and House is his new venture that taps into the hotter, spicier Thai northeast street food – the Isaan food.
Som Tum Lao - 8.00
“Do you like it hot or not hot?” The waitress asks while we are ordering. It is a unanimous decision to say yes since both me and Simon have big appetite for chilli. Go hard or go home.
There are two types of Som Tum to choose from – Thai or Lao version, we go for the latter one. According to the menu, the core ingredients that gives Som Tum Lao its distinctive flavour are fermented fish sauce and shrimp paste (belacan), whereas the Thai version is mixed with dry shrimp. The finely chopped young papaya salad is moderately hot, pounded through together with crunchy raw green beans, cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes. A handful of roasted peanuts on the side to give the salad an extra crunch.
Mok Gai Hua Plee - 12.00
Dishes are arriving amazingly fast at our table all together at the same time but soon we discover the portion size here are pretty small in comparison to the price they are charging. Next dish is the Mok Gai Hua Plee which comes wrapped in a little cute banana leaf parcel.
Same same but different to the Ho Mok Pa that I’ve learned to cook in Luang Prabang, the steamed curry chicken pieces are tender and not at all spicy, nicely infused with eschallot, lemongrass, galangal, chilli and kaffir lime leaves. There are also purple tendrils entangled around the parcel which I initially thought are squid tentacles but turns out to be shredded banana flower that adds texture to the dish.
Jackfruit salad - 12.00
The traditional Issan jackfruit salad is prepared by using young jackfruit, mixed with dried chillies, lemon grass, mint leaves and a wedge of lime on the side for the extra tang. The soft young jackfruit doesn’t really have much taste to it, but I am particularly drawn to the tiny pea-size unripe jackfruit that simply burst inside my month when bite into it.
It is served with long sticks of young bamboo shoot, cucumber and snake beans on the side. I particularly enjoy the young bamboo shoot with a subtle hint of acrid flavour which adds a light soury acidity to the salad.
Tom Yum Powng Kai - 16.00
The words ‘egg embryo’ on the menu caught my eye. The Tom Yum Powng Kai is served in an impressive golden copper pot with burner underneath to keep it warm throughout the meal. The fertilised embryos used in the dish are still in early stage and pretty much look like bright orange ping pong balls in all different sizes, floating in the soup.
The embryo is firmer almost fish ball like, it doesn’t have the gritty texture and the strong flavour like a yolk either. But the Tom Yum soup itself is actually more appetising. A mix of galangal, lemongrass, tamarind, eschallot, vietnamese coriander, chilli, kaffir lime leaf and holy basil are the contribution for a fiery hot and sour concoction, a perfect soup for the wintery Sydney.
BTS (Better Than Sex) -
I was a little disappointed to find that there are only two choices on the dessert menu until the waitress comes back and informs us that there are actually three more “specials” desserts that are not listed. “We have BTS. Do you know what is BTS?” She asks while Simon and I both shrugs. “It is better than sex…” She replies bashfully. “Oh really? Better than sex huh? So what is it call?” I reply and I can be a noob sometimes, it actually take both Simon and I a few seconds to wake up and realised that BTS stands for Better Than Sex…. duh!
The BTS comes with two thick slices of French toasts that are buttery soft, served a giant scoop of pandan ice cream that is creamy with the occasional icy frost, the pandan flavour is not overpowering and is balanced well with the strong toffee-flavour gula melaka syrup all over. It is probably the highlight of our meal.
Cup D -
Once you have a dessert “better than sex”, it is all going down hill from there. Our second dessert also has a cheeky name, the Cup D is a chocolate cake served hot in a big cup, atop with a scoop of coconut ice cream. The chocolate cake is nice and warm but unfortunately it tastes floury and not as sweet. Simon doesn’t mind the coconut ice cream but I think it taste like a scoop of frozen coconut cream out of a can.
Clockwise L to R: the floury chocokate cake innards of Cup D; the innards of a bouncy egg embryo; sticky rice served in bamboo basket - $5.00; beautifully wrapped Mok Gai Hua Plee in banana leaves
I do have a soft spot for Lao and Thai north east food and there are still a lot of items on the menu I would like to try. The food is decent and not over the top, it is about Thai street food after all, but a very expensive Thai street food which I can never justify. The meal cost $78 for the two of us, which is considerably pricey especially the portion is small.
I also just realised when I get home that perhaps there is a mistake on the cost of the bill, as the four dishes plus sticky rice is only $53 in total, that means the dessert will have to be $12.50 each which seems a little bit expensive to me. Not to mention there is also “CASH ONLY” policy at the premise, I have to go and get more cash out from the ATM at the pub next door to pay for the meal.
You better carry a stash if you are planning to have a feast here.
View House (Thai northeast street food) in a larger map
House (Thai northeast street food)
202 Elizabeth St
Surry Hills, 2010
P 02 9280 0364
Opening Times
Daily 12 noon–2am
ATFT news update:
Since you all been a good loyal ATFT reader, I shall reward you with a sexy photo of Manu Feidel. This photo among other shots of famous chefs including Rosemary Shrager, Paul Rankin, Frank Camorra, Poh and Antonio Carluccio were taken at the Le Cordon Bleu award after party in South Australia. My shots of the chefs are published in the latest July issue of CREAM magazine along with personal interviews among all the chefs to talk about how ‘design’ influences their cooking and restaurant. Worth check it out.
A Table For Two (ATFT) is Billy Law's food blog that features best eats in Sydney and around the world with drool-worthy food photography to salivate your appetite. I also throw in a smidgen of my food and travel photography for good measure. Billy Law also happened to be a contestant on MasterChef Australia 2011. 
that Mok Gai Hua Plee looks so delicious. Actually, the whole meal does!
And congrats on the photos in CREAM
Anh´s last [type] ..Summer in winter Recipe- Rose-scented rhubarb and strawberry cobbler
Love this post! I was there last weekend and absolutely loved the desserts. There was one more dessert special called the ‘secret lover’ which is brioche drenched in gula melaka and pandan sauce. Desserts are really pricey though.. and so is the food since the portions are tiny! Not sure about value but it’s definitely delicious!
I was here a few weeks ago and really enjoyed the food, it reminded me so much of my travels around Issan. I should’ve ordered the BTS, don’t know how that one slipped past me!
Ahhh Manu! Congrats on the photos in CREAM.
I’m intrigued by the jackfruit salad. I never knew you could have young jackfruit the size of peas. There needs to be more south-east asia street stall places imo. How divine would that be??
Hehe.. BTS, so was it better?
Phuoc’n Delicious´s last [type] ..Monkey Magic – Winter Special- Surry Hills
Quite expensive in retrospect but thought it was pretty good all the same.
Nice work with getting your images into Cream. Congrats!
Simon @ the heart of food´s last [type] ..Moreish – Cafe Ish
thank you for the photo on Manu. I feel that I can get through the day now
I would be rather embarrassed if I had to say it was “better than sex”
Iron Chef Shellie´s last [type] ..Week 31 – The Cookbook Challenge- Coq Au Vin for Bastille Day
Aaahhh Manu and his velvety accent. Is it hot in here? Billy the food you had looks gorgeous, especially the BTS
john@heneedsfood´s last [type] ..Croatian potato soup – krompir juha
Cash only drives me nuts….
Ooh well done on the cream gig!
I’ve been wanting to try this place since I read about it a few weeks ago, but the hotness of the dishes scare me. Thanks for your post, as everything looks great!
Ooh congrats on the magazine! I’m rather intrigued by the embryos haha… Although I really can’t handle too much chilli, so I’d probably wouldn’t be able to get the ‘full’ experience hmm. Was BTS actually BTS?
lol
Betty @ The Hungry Girl´s last [type] ..La Grande Bouffe- Rozelle
Omfg, this looks delicious. soooooo going here soon
Laura´s last [type] ..First!
Ooo, what a good fine! Calling a dish BTS sets a high benchmark so i’m glad it satisfied! I am now keen to go there just to try this dish alone! BTW, congrats on the Cream gig!
Jen´s last [type] ..Yum Yum Brasserie- Auburn Soccer Club
I wish you lived in Melbourne Billy. Not that I live in Melbourne anymore but I have more chance of trying the restaurants there than Sydney. But not really.*sigh* Sorry! I am in a whinging mood.
Congrats on your Cream pics
ooh grats on the pics in the mag! lol so WAS it better than sex
chocolatesuze´s last [type] ..Christmas in July – Löwenbräu Keller- The Rocks 22
Everything looks amazing. Congrats with the pics in Cream! hhmmmm. was it BTS? O_o
Amy @cookbookmaniac´s last [type] ..Perama Greek Restaurant – Perfection in every bite
Congrats on the pics in Cream!!! looks fantastic.
Not sure about House though, even though the golden egg looks good!
Nice gig on Cream! Food looks stunning!
Moya´s last [type] ..The Cupcake Gallery – 2D Workshop
Forget the post on House, you got published in CREAM!!! Congrats! Looking forward to more!
Nice review Billy. Had no idea Sujet has ventured into another restaurant. Congratulations on being featured in CREAM magazine. It must have been fun photographing all those guys.
Peter G @ Souvlaki For The Soul´s last [type] ..Mandarin Jam
Might check this place out tonight – but will take all your tips into account – will triple check the bill!
And massive congrats on the photos in Cream!
Forager @ The Gourmet Forager´s last [type] ..Steak tartare- a Bastille Day tribute
The young bamboo shoots look so pretty and lol at all the cheeky dessert names! Congrats on getting your pics published in Cream magazines too!
Helen (grabyourfork)´s last [type] ..Ipoh bean sprouts- Concubine Lane and Funny Mountain Soy Milk
I loved the food, definitely different from the usual thai (no pad thai on the menu here!) but true, the portions were too small and rice was $5 per portion so no great value for money. Will go back though to try more things…
Julia´s last [type] ..New Designs in our Wall Stickers collections!
Nice find! no sure if I am game enough to try the embryo but the BTS dessert is to die for!! Congrats on getting pics published on Cream mag!
Ellie (Almost Bourdain)´s last [type] ..Butter Chicken
Oooo I heard about this place not too long ago… with those pics I am definately going to go try it out soon!! Congrats with Cream… Manu Feidel .. cute!
Rhonda (thedaintybaker)´s last [type] ..Christmas in July High Tea
That dessert looks really good!
angie´s last [type] ..White Jaffa Cupcakes – Putting my Planet Cake skills to use!
Oh wow Pandan ice-cream? Sounds delicious…maybe will see if the boy and I can swing by after the photograhy workshop..:)
Ashley Ng´s last [type] ..NYC – Cha-an
Better than sex? does such thing exist…? ;p oh look, Manu.
Yas @ hungry.digital.elf´s last [type] ..Food bloggers’ dinner – Bistro CBD
I tried this place based on reviews (and wasn’t impressed) but decided to return to give them another chance.
And guess what? I still don’t believe House deserves the hype it’s receiving.
The food is very average and over-priced for what you get ($5 for a side of rice? Come on!) And it’s not even that authentic for northern thai/isaan/lao street food.
I don’t mean to be a hater… but I’d prefer to line up for Spice I Am, walk down Campbell St, or trek it to the suburbs for more authentic food than waste my money at House.
Agree the BTS was amazing, watch out for the spice in the salads – ironic that even the one not labelled ‘spicy’ nearly blew our heads off!
The food was unlike any other Thai place I have experienced in Sydney – awesome, authentic place, it’s a must try if you like your food hot.
Just went to House for the first time tonight after passing by for months! Parents are visiting for a week from the states and they were happy to join me.
We had the BTS as well and it was fantastic. As soon as our server mentioned it, I recalled reading about it in this very post a month or so ago
Was $15 for us, and I had forgotten your tip about the cash only…they hadn’t exchanged any money yet so thankfully I had just enough to pay for the 3 of us!
Heather´s last [type] ..Food & Culture You Crave
I ate here and loved the food so went back to eat the next
night the same dinner and noticed that the bill was alot more than
the night before. When i questioned why it was more expensive staff
members explained that my dessert was $25.00 which on the menu said
$5.00. What i realised later they hadn’t charged me correctly the
night before and added it on to our current bill. Instead of saying
the truth they lied directly to my face making out our dessert was
more expensive. I had no problem with paying for the dishes that
they hadn’t charged us for the previous night BUT didn’t like the
way they handled us. Smiling and lying. I wont be going back even
thou the food was amazing. I think they should of said to us we
accidently didn’t charge you correctly last night shown us the bill
and worked it out with us in a truthful fashion NOT act like a
dessert is $25 when its clearly only $5..
i really dont know what the fuss is about, the food is all chilli no sweetness or sourness or saltyness. ive had better thai at chat thai and home and even in marrickville at thai power or huong huong/thanh huong. went twice just to make sure, and yes it was the same.