Sumbaijai Thai Esan in Kogarah is a restaurant that serves Thai Isan or Esan food from the Northeastern region of Thailand. While their menu has all of the classics like Pad Thai, green curry, stir fries and soups, there's a separate page of items celebrating the punchy, fermented flavours of Isan food.
I was keen to have some Isan food. This food from the Northeastern part of Thailand is very different from the food that you get in other parts of Thailand. The Thai food that most people are most familiar with being served in Thai restaurants in Australia is Central Thai/Bangkok food. But Northeastern Isan food is more savoury, bitter and punchy with lots of fermented items all tied together with sticky rice rather than steamed rice. There are spicy salads and fewer curries and the food is similar to Laotian food as they share a border. Isan people are an ethnic group which means Northeastern people and are majority ethnically Lao but consider themselves Lao Isan.
Sumbaijai Thai Esan has a steady stream of customers this Friday evening. The name Sumbaijai translates to a relaxed or good feeling. There's a small crowd gathered outside waiting on takeaway orders and the restaurant is right next to Kogarah train station. Mr NQN and I are sitting outside with the dogs. Service is very friendly and we take a few minutes to flick through the extensive menu. There are items like green curry, gai yang, beef salad etc but there's also a section for street food eats, many dishes with pictures and another section for Esan dishes.
I order a green milk tea as I'm curious about what it is (it looks like pandan but the man doesn't know how to describe it but he says that it isn't pandan). It's matcha with jasmine flavouring which is gorgeous and quite sweet. Mr NQN loves his longan juice which is super sweet and icy.
I love the little fermented pork sausages made with sticky rice and served with a salad with plenty of sliced, fresh ginger. The sausages are served piping hot and have a subtle fermented flavour to them and the ginger goes very well with them.
There are two types of green papaya salad or som tum and we opt for the one without the salted crab. Ours has a chilli and lime dressing with dried shrimp, peanuts, tomato, carrot and snake beans. It's deliciously fresh, crunchy and spicy. We opted for medium spicy because you should never mess with Thai people and their spice level. While I'd normally order food hot or spicy the only exception is Thai food where I order it medium hot.
There are also two types of hot pot, one with soft pork bone and one with chicken's feet. The latter is the more popular street food so we order that. It's a spicy and sour broth with lots of coriander, lemongrass and shallots with halved mushrooms and boiled chicken's feet. The soup is punchy and sour and there's enough to feed four in this pot.
When we order the goi dip the man hesitated for a moment. "How bitter do you want it?" he asked. "Medium?" I answered not knowing what to say as I've never had this before. This raw minced beef dip is seasoned with herbs, chilli flakes and a Thai dressing with roasted, ground rice. While the beef is raw it isn't wet and the seasonings almost slightly cure it. The bitterness is a bit of a challenge and perhaps I should have ordered it mildly bitter.
We also order some sticky rice that comes in a plastic pouch in a kratip or bamboo basket.
I also order a soup that isn't an Esan or Isan selection but I really love this soup. It's the Yen Ta Fo or pink soup that is sweet and spicy with fish balls, squid, blood jelly cubes with wide rice noodles. It's given its pink hue from the fermented soybean paste that is added to the broth. I love the won ton crisps on top and the herbs and it's like a comforting, warm hug in a bowl.
There's no dessert on the menu as it changes regularly. Tonight it's a box of custard puffs for $13 but as we're too full from our meal to have some!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like Thai Isan food? Have you ever tried it?
This meal was independently paid for.
Sumbaijai Thai Esan
49 Railway Parade, Kogarah NSW 2217
Phone: (02) 9587 6551
Monday closed
Tuesday to Sunday 12–9 pm
https://www.facebook.com/sumbaijaithaiesan/
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