Went back to Sydney after a long trip around China and Melbourne. Wanted something spicy. Yok Yor came to mind with their authentic Issan-influenced Thai food.
No kidding, the queue was quite long, even for a lazy Sunday evening.
Grilled chicken wrapped in pandan leave as our first appetiser, served with a sesame fish sauce.
Another appetiser, Crab roll, which is similar to the Chinese Ngoh Hiang. Minced crab meat and fish paste with carrot, celery and wrapped with wanton skin instead of beancurd skin, then deep fried. Eat with a sweet, tangy dip.
We order minced pork fried with basil and herbs. This is perfect with fragrant Jasmine rice.
Salted crab and green papaya salad is an Issan staple. You pound salted crab, which is live crabs soaked in salt, sugar and soy brine that produce a preserved crab, and you mixed the pungent, strong seafood with green papaya and seasoned it with fish sauce and sugar and lime juice.
Bamboo Shoot with Mussel in Red Curry is a rare Issan treat. Abundant in bamboo shoot almost all year round, this interesting combination was seldom served in Thai restaurants because not all can take the bamboo shoot taste, which is both woody and strong.
Roast Pork with Morning Glory is another classic Thai dish. Delicious shrimp paste with kang kong and the pork belly made this the perfect accompaniment to more rice.
The special for the month was an upgraded version of the Tom Yum Seafood – Spicy Tom Yum Soup with prawns and upgraded to include flower crabs and mussels served in a traditional hotpot stove. It kept the soup hot and cooked the crab a la minute at the table.
For dessert, we ordered a variation of the sticky rice pudding. Instead of mango, it was paired with durian. I preferred the mango version as the durian version made it too wet.
The meal did not disappoint even after all these years (here’s my first visit to Yok Yor 3 years earlier). Service was still very rushed, given the crowd. The crowd was still a mix of the hippy, younger set that was there for the theatres and cheap eats, and Thai people who have moved to Sydney missing a taste of home. More Thai restaurants have popped up around the area recently, but I can still see this joint packing in the crowd. A testament to their good eats.
Yok Yor Thai Food Factory
Shop G06, 323 Castlereagh St.
Haymarket Sydney 2000, NSW
Tel: 02 9280 0001 / 02 9280 0013
Date Visited : Apr 2018
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