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| Home Made Spring Rolls |
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| Satay Chicken Skewers |
In February, we celebrated our friend's birthday at Holy Basil at the Shark Hotel, a Laos- Thai restaurant in the Sydney CBD. I had previously eaten at the main branch at Canley Vale and was eager to see how the newer addition stacked up against it. This time round, I had a panel of expert critics (or silly schoolboys and schoolgirls who think they know about good food) who helped me critique each and every dish and helped me come up with a score for each dish out of ten!
For entree, we had the Spring Rolls, which was not your standard sort of spring role; it was stuffed with vermicelli, which we found to be quite pleasant (7/10). The Fish Cake, by itself, would have been rather bland and unpleasant to eat, but the lemon and sweet chili dressing saved it (6/10). The Satay Chicken was dressed with coconut sauce which was nice, but not superb (7/10).
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| Fish Cakes |
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| Pad See Ew (Veges) |
For mains, we started with the Pad See Ew, which was absolutely delicious. The vegetables and the noodles worked together harmoniously, but we found an eyelash in the dish...(9/10). The Roast Duck Curry (Red) had an amazing flavour for sure. However, personally, I found the texture of the duck to be fairly unpleasant (my opinion dragged this one down to a 5/10). Now, this was the dish I was looking forward to as I was blown away by it at Canley Vale. The Laos Charcoal Chicken did not disappoint. It was absolutely devine. The charcoal/smokey flavour in combination with the yummy dipping sauce left a taste never to be forgotten. It could have easily rivaled the one I had at Canely Vale (10/10). Last, and DEFINITELY LEAST, was the BBQ Beef. It was tough, dry and bland (T,D&B), and I have nothing nice to say about it (3/10). We also tried some of the other guys dishes, such as the Pad Thai (Chicken), which tasted like a typical pad thai and the Ox tongue which was actually pretty good (7/10).
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| Laos Charcoal Chicken |
Now dessert was something I was really looking forward too. Holy Basil is famous for their deep friend ice cream, which is vanilla ice cream wrapped in filo pastry which does not have the disgusting doughy taste of the ones at your Chinese takeaway. The presentation was amazing, and it looked stunning like the one at Canley Vale. Digging in and taking the first bite was phenomenal, however, it went downhill from there. The ice cream melted rapidly and failed to hold its shape, unlike the one at Canley Vale which didn't melt even though it took me 60 years to finish its yummy goodness.
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| Marinated BBQ Beef Cuts |
In all, Holy Basil @ the Shark Hotel in the City definitely does not match with its mother branch at Canley Vale. For authentic food, there is no better place than at ethnic enclaves in metropolitan Sydney. Canley Vale is Sydney's little Laos, and holds the crown for best Laotian food in Sydney! But nonetheless, the CBD branch did not disappoint, and I am confident I will be returning soon! Also, I have to admit that the service was superb. It is not easy to meet the demands of rowdy school kids, and their patience and hospitality was a big positive.
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| HolyBasil Fried Ice Cream |
Food: 7/10
Service: 9/10
Ambiance: 8/10
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