Dusit Thai, Northbridge

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The excitement for the upcoming engagement party is escalating.  The bubbling began at work with our girlie chitter chatter of our personal shopping expeditions for outfits of which some of us had success in our searches but for others it was still a work in progress.  As team work is such a vital element of a well-run veterinary practice we are all quite close friends and any social outing sparks a lot of enthusiasm and animated conversations among us all.  This level of excitement has further risen up a notch with the arrival of my darling mother early this week.  My Mum is the type of person you will immediately love from the first moment you meet her – even my beauty therapists go on about what a gorgeous person she is!  With the early arrival of my sister tomorrow, the three of us decided to pop out for a light meal and the perfect cuisine to fit the bill for this was some delicious Thai!

Dusit Thai is something of an institution in Perth and has been open since 1988.  The atmosphere in the restaurant is effortless and comfortable, and its spacious size means it’s never hard to get a table.  Having eaten here many times on business dinners I figured it would be a sure-fire way to have an enjoyable and quick meal with my love and my Mum. This would allow us to enjoy our last quiet evening together before the festivities really start to kick in.

Dusit Thai is not the cheapest of Thai restaurants in Perth but I have found they reliably serve delicious meals no matter what I choose to order.  They are very flexible with adapting their dishes and have always ensured to make an effort to avoid specific ingredients for me which reveals to me just how fresh each meal that is served is.  Prior to our travels to Thailand I created an eating card with my special dietary requirements for gluten-free and fructose friendly written clearly in Thai on one side of the card and in English on the other side.  Every time we dined out in Thailand I would show this cute little card to our waitress where it would then proceed to do the round trip from my hand via several waitresses to the kitchen and back to the table.  Often it would actually make two trips as all the staff would eagerly want to make sure that I have no problems with my meal.  Unfortunately I have to admit that back in Australia; even in Thai restaurants this well-travelled little card hasn’t received such glorified attention.  Consequently, it was to my delight that on this night I was reminded of its tour of duty in Thailand as it was escorted on a similar round trip around the restaurant to the kitchen before returning back to me.

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Dusit Thai" Northbridge Thai "Tom Yum" soup seafood

Tom Yum Goong (with mixed seafood)

The waitresses were genuinely helpful in discussing our choice of dishes for the evening and the chef appeared very flexible in attempting to accommodate my requests whenever he could.  We started with my latest Thai favourite; some mixed seafood Tom Yum.  This delicious clear spicy and sour soup is such a refreshing way to begin a meal, and if you’re not actually that hungry is enough for a light meal on its own.  To my great disappointment, prior to the soup being served our lovely waitress came back to inform me that there actually is a lot of onion used in the stock for the soup.   I was recommended to order chicken satay instead.   I cannot deny my internal reaction to this was “how boring” but seeing as they had already gone to such great lengths to help me order the rest of the evening’s meals I decided I didn’t want to make any more fuss and just went along with her recommendation.

"Chicken satay" "cucumber relish" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Dusit Thai" Northbridge Thai "satay chicken"

Chicken satay with cucumber relish

The Tom Yum was requested to be served mild because both the boy and Mum have delicate palates when it comes to hot and spicy food.  Despite this request they both found the soup to be too spicy, so for those who do not like heat in their food I recommend that you make sure to emphasize to your waitress that you want your soup very mild.  I had a little taste of the seafood contained in the boy’s soup.  As I watched him struggle through the spiciness I became quite jealous as I really enjoyed its tangy sourness and wished I could finish it off for them both.   I did notice the soup lacked the rich colour I would expect for Tom Yum however the seafood was soft and not chewy or overcooked.   The satay was a delicious surprise.  The chicken was juicy and tender, the peanut sauce thick and creamy and the ajat (cucumber relish) took me back to Thailand!  Many restaurants here in Perth don’t serve their satay dishes with this traditional yet elegant condiment made from palm sauce, cucumber and coriander.  Yum!

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Dusit Thai" Northbridge Thai Duck "Duck larb" "Larb ped"

Larb ped (minced roast duck mixed with chilli powder, lemon juice and grounded herbs & roasted rice served with fresh vegetables

The duck larb was a tasty alternative to the more commonly served chicken and fortunately for me the kitchen had no issues omitting onion out of this dish.  The little pocket rockets of baby chillies packed a fierce punch, but if omitted they allowed this dish to be eaten by my two companions with comfort.  I must admit accidentally shovelling two of the crispy numbers into my mouth at once did temporarily take me out of my comfort range!

The stuffed squid is a dish I have eaten here before, unfortunately on this night I felt this wasn’t the dish served at its best.  There wasn’t anything overtly wrong with it, it was present beautifully, and the squid was not rubbery but the stuffing just didn’t quite have the flavour I recall enjoying so much in the past.

"Basil beef" "Phat ka-pow" "chilli beef basil" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Dusit Thai" Northbridge Thai

Phat ka-pow (chilli beef basil)

The beef basil was cooked medium rare leaving the meat tender and succulent.   It also contained large pieces of chillies meaning it could be spiced up or down depending on your preference.  I double dosed on these babies without much trouble.  The stir fried vegetables were the most uninteresting of the dishes and were cooked simply with some oyster sauce. The generous addition of enoki mushrooms saved this dish as some of the other vegetables were slightly undercooked.  I enjoy crunchy vegies but not quite that crunchy.

"Phat pak" "green vegetable" "enoki mushrooms" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Dusit Thai" Northbridge Thai

Phat pak (Stir fried mixed green vegetables with enoki mushrooms)

Overall, I never walk away from Dusit Thai disappointed and I know I’ll be back.

Score:  Food 7.8/10  Service 8.5/10  Venue 7/10

Dusit Thai
249 James Street, Northbridge, 6003 | (08) 9328 7647 | http://dusitthai.com.au/

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3 Thoughts on “Dusit Thai, Northbridge

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    • Thanks! I’m glad you are enjoying it, it’s been so much fun watching it grow and develop. I started blogging late 2011 and am completely addicted!

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