
The layout hasn't changed but there's been a bit of a facelift. Where Bayte was dark woods and coloured glass, Son in Law is hot pink and bright aqua with painted stools and pop art type fonts. It's fun and cheery and doesn't take itself too seriously.
We settle into a table in the courtyard and I enjoy a cool Thai iced tea and is a pretty good version. A touch too sweet for me but refereshing so I ask for my refill to be less sweet and it's perfect.
We work our way down the menu calling out all that we like the sound of and there is plenty and before we know it we've ordered:
SON IN LAW EGGS - Sweet tamarind, chilli, fried shallots PAD THAI - Mum’s classic recipe CRISPY SOFT SHELL CRAB & TIGER PRAWNS - Traditional Thai green curry, Thai basil, kaffir lime leaves |
FRIED SESAME TOFU - Fried shallots, sesame seeds, sweet tamarind sauce
DEEP FRIED CHICKEN RIBS - Fried shallots, spring onion, choice of nam jim jaew or sweet chilli dipping sauce
So all in all, things work more than they don't work so it's a good meal. We particularly enjoy the gooeyness of the eggs with the spice and sweetness. The pad thai is also well exceuted with smokiness from the wok and a good texture of noodles that is far from gloopy mess that sometimes masquerades as pad thai. Chicken ribs also good; not greasy, hot, crispy and flavoursome with a zippy dipping sauce.
Two things didn't quite work for me. The first was the tofu. I had in my mind silky soft cubes, with a crispy outer but these cubes were pretty dense and chewy kind of like bland halloumi cheese so not really my bad. The green curry was pleasant enough but I think could have done with some deeper complexities of flavour. It was a bit thin in texture and flavour.
We thought it was all well priced and for a local Thai restaurant it was pretty authentic with some fresh flavours. I think Jinda Thai in Richmond might win the flavour stakes by a whisker but this place is a lot less frenetic to sit in and I'd rather return here for an overall more pleasant experience