The eat fest rolls on as we continue to catch up with friends before we leave for OS, this time with Bill and Carolyn. It was on their suggestion, that last Saturday night found us at the Golden Buddha Restaurant on the Corso in Seven Hills. On this particular night, we walked to dinner to work up an appetite and allow us to fully enjoy the wine we were carrying.
Located in the former ‘Corner Bistro’ site, a great Mod Oz Bistro that changed hands and never re-opened, Golden Buddha is the replacement. We drive past this restaurant on most days and I often see it not open or virtually empty. This is clearly some type of optical illusion as the joint was jumping on Saturday night, with not a spot to spare.
Typical Thai fare is on offer (stir fries, noodles, curries etc) and whilst we were enjoying our wine and entrees it became apparent why the prices were a little steep. Golden Buddha is the little brother of Mons Ban Sabai Thai at Camp Hill – winner of the Best Thai Restaurant in Qld in 2008 as well as operating a well known cooking school. Mons may have won an award but it still seems somewhat pricey for a suburban Thai (I can count 7 within walking distance of our house – including Mons).
Anyway – back to Golden Buddha. Entrees of Moneybags $12 and Calamari $15 were shared. The Moneybags were crisp and juicy with a typical Thai dipping sauce but the Calamari was curious – strips of golden fried Calamari heaped in a bowl with a Thai dipping sauce. Certainly tasty but nothing to denote it as being particularly ‘Thai’ or anything more special than the Calamari you may enjoy in a better quality pub. We fared better with the mains, Pad Bai Krapow (chicken, garlic chilli & basil stir fry $20), Pork Penang Curry $22 and the deceptively titled Barbeque Chicken $22. I enjoyed the Penang but I’ve had much better at another Thai also within walking distance, in Norman Park. The Barbeque Chicken was a standout with a generous portion of charcoal chicken on the bone in a slightly sticky marinade, accompanied by a green paw paw salad and small cane box of sticky rice. The paw paw salad in particular has the right blend of sweet and sour with the added crunch of peanuts.
As we were going all out, we shared a Black Sticky Rice with Coconut Cream and Ice Cream whilst Bill and Carolyn shared some very good looking Banana Fritters. The Black Sticky Rice was a great dessert and we have high hopes for the Asian desserts when we get to KL in a few weeks.
Upon researching the Golden Buddha for this Blog, I noted that Mons has billed Golden Buddha as ‘Brisbane’s Finest Modern Thai Restaurant’. Certainly there is a modern vibe and the plating and presentation are distinctly western. The service was excellent and on a very busy Saturday night with at least one turn over of most tables, they didn’t miss a beat – certainly worth paying a bit extra for.
All up, for 2 entrees, 3 mains, rice, 2 desserts and corkage of 3 bottles, the bill came to $112 for the four of us.
The Golden Buddha Thai Restaurant
Cnr D’Arcy Rd & The Corso
Seven Hills (07) 33902 005
www.goldenbuddha.com.au
Visited: Sat 27 June 09 – Dinner Service
