Playful flags met us as soon as we walked in. The lofty space has them lined and dangling around…read morethe perimeter of the walls, upstairs included.
At first, I thought the name was rather peculiar for a Thai eatery, but not so much for a bar. When it was explained to be by one of the partners, Apple, I can see where they are going with it. The name is derived from its 'hidden' location, thus implying the fun of having to seek it out, once found, punters will find the food both rewarding and unique.
The vibrant space is cheerful and contemporary due to the bright décor and ornaments. Multi-coloured commercial pendants hang from the ceilings adding to its vibrancy. The bright orange and very long couch takes pride of place along the wall where most of the downstairs seating takes place. The high ceilings provide a greater sense of space, also giving it a very airy feel. Acoustics is not an issue on this particular evening even with an almost full house, excluding the use of upstairs space. It would be interesting to see how it holds up with a full house.
Perusal of the menu saw us appreciating the different items being offered such as Som Tum platters, grilled scallops with lemongrass butter, far removed from the typical offerings that seem to dominate most Thai restaurants and cafes.
Recommendation was made and we ended up ordering a feast. Som-Tum was ordered, so was the scallops. We also added chicken satays, chicken wings, Tom Yum Prawns soup, cabbage rolls and fish skewers. It was the perfect assortment to get a real feel for the type of cuisine they were trying to bring to Radelaide. We learnt that the dinner menu was created to reflect the different dishes from the different towns and cities of Thailand they the partners originated from. While the ex Sous chef of Madame Hanoi's creativity allow her to put a contemporary spin on the breakfast and lunch menu. Three unique menus were borne, with a weekly specials board.
Every single dish we had was delightfully Moorish, especially the chicken wings. I could easily have devoured a bucket of those. It was a perfect combination of sticky, crunchy and fresh flavours. The grilled scallops with lemongrass butter were also divine.
Tom yum soup made sense for cold wintery nights so, was very welcoming indeed. Not a massive fan of the cabbage rolls, as I found it rather beige, however the sauce was awesome though and made up the slack.
Chicken satays are served with small triangles of toast and a cucumber relish. We both thought that was interesting, but it appears that is how it is eaten in Thailand.
Our evening was most enjoyable. We had great food, great attentive service and very informative staff who were more than happy to enlighten us on how each dish came about. We rolled out of there with a big smile and a very happy tummy.