Khao Pla, Chatswood

 "There's no place like home"- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Now, I'm pretty sure that I've walked past this place a couple of dozen times before I actually tried it. Perhaps it was due to it's out of the way location. It is located just off the main street of the very multicultural hub of Chatswood, in a street that is more of a thoroughfare for cars shuttling between the two major shopping centres rather than a place with particularly high pedestrian flow. 

The few times I went past it, I thought it looked small, dark and not particularly busy (guess it must have been the time of day) so it took me quite some time (after starting to get a bit bored with my usual haunts) before I finally decided to give it a shot. 

My own fault for judging by appearance.

Khao Pla is not Newtown Thai. It's purpose is not to fill up hungry uni students with cheap and copious amounts of Pad Thai and Pad See Ew. In a way, it reflects what I find Chatswood is slowly becoming since I last visited.

Fast, Vibrant, simple, tasty, nicely presented Thai food (in hipster black crockery) in modest serving sizes with a pretty good value lunch menu (Monday to Fridays).

The decor is dark and industrial, broken up by bursts of colour in the form of yellow metal stools. Black and white snapshots of a land so far removed from Sydney's North Shore span like a mural across the far wall in a teasingly "Wish you were here" way. The entry area is divided from the seating by what seemed to be a wire fence. At the back of the small restaurant, you can peak into a neat and bustling kitchen where the chefs churn out steaming bowls of Tom yum (wow, $5 for a small bowl? Wonder how small...) and plates of stir fried noodles. It was a bit stuffy however, with undetectable air-con, despite it being a moderately warm Spring Sydney day, so I wonder how the place will be in the Summer.

The staff were efficient and cheery, rapidly ushering us into a table near the windows at the front with views of the street and setting down cutlery in a tin bucket, menus and a bottle of water and glasses without prompting. 

Top left: Signage. Top middle: BBQ Pork with rice ($10). Top bottom: Pad See Ew with Beef ($11)

The food came out quickly, still warm from the wok. The BBQ Pork was delicious with a slight smokey, char-grilled flavour that was nicely complemented with the tangy dipping sauce. The Pad See Ew was also very tasty, and generous with it's beef and veggies. Overall, the food (and the fairly small bill afterwards), left us pretty satisfied.

No wonder really. It turns out that the head chef here has their own share of accolades having worked at other well known Sydney establishments such as Spice I am, Mr Wong and Ms G.

Looks like I've stumbled across a winner here! Hitting myself for not discovering it sooner.

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Shop 7 -
 370 Victoria Ave 
Chatswood, NSW

https://www.facebook.com/KhaoPla