Tom Yum From Hell

There's a tiny Thai restaurant located down tiny Temperance Lane in the middle of Sydney's bustling CBD. And there is only one thing on the menu: tom yum noodle soup with a choice of topping of crispy pork belly, wagyu beef or seafood. Come along as we try Tom Yum From Hell (and find out if it is from hell!).

The last time I was at Temperance Lane was a few months ago to try Mensho Ramen. The queue was long, the crowd was thick and I remember how friendly the guy at Tom Yum From Hell was when I rocked up confused and trying to figure out what everyone was lined up for. And when Monica suggested that we try a steaming hot bowl of tom yum noodle soup I thought it was the perfect idea for a chilly winter's day.

It's cold and blowing up a breeze when we head towards Temperance Lane, located just off George Street near the Apple store. But this lane is sheltered somewhat (although not the spot to be if its raining heavily). Tom Yum From Hell is located right down the end of the lane, past the dumpling store and Mensho. It's a tiny little shop that has two staff members that prepare the food to order.

On the menu there are only three varieties of tom yum soup with ramen noodles plus a vegan version of tom yum. And the clever marketing idea of naming it Tom Yum From Hell comes from the three levels of spiciness: 1 Basic 2 Handles and 3 Oh hell nooo!!. They recommend #2 for us and if there's one thing I've learnt in life it's not to mess with Thai people and heat levels. We can generally order the hottest of anything except for Thai food in which we are firmly in the middle category. We order and take a buzzer although we are sitting in front of the ordering window. There are just three tables plus a bar counter facing the wall to eat at.

I sip on a sweet whole coconut drink ($8.90) while we wait on the food. The three soups come out all at once. The base of the soup is rich and thick and full of flavour. Unlike the usual tom yum soup that is a clear hot and sour soup this has coconut milk in it which is more than a Tom Kha Kai. The coconut milk makes it much richer and more like a meal but also tempers the spiciness of the soup and the sourness. This has a good heat level although I think we could have maybe handled level 3 but level 1 would be too mild for us. The base of the soup with plenty of aromates from lemongrass and shrimp paste has a great depth of flavour.

In terms of toppings, the crispy pork belly delivers in fatty, marbled meat and crispy skin. It also has an onsen egg with a thick, viscous yolk as well as 2 plump chicken meatballs and fried enoki mushrooms in the bowl.

The thinly sliced wagyu comes to the table with a blush pink centre, make for further dunking into the hot soup. This also has two chicken meatballs, an onsen egg and fried enoki mushrooms that give the dish a crispy texture.

And the seafood has two large prawns and calamari that are succulent and not overcooked. Like the other two dishes it also comes with 2 chicken meatballs, an onsen egg and fried enoki mushrooms. We both love that Japanese ramen noodles don't become soggy even 15 minutes into the meal with plenty of soup left.

So tell me Dear Reader, what heat level do you usually choose? And do you change it for any cuisine?

This meal was independently paid for.

Tom Yum From Hell

1 Temperance Ln, Sydney NSW 2000

Phone: 0451 719 567

Sunday to Wednesday 11 am–9 pm Tuesday

Thursday to Saturday 11 am–10 pm