Sailors Thai
106 George Street
The Rocks, NSW 2000
$$$$-

I could’ve sworn that about a year or so ago, Sailors Thai had a lunch special where they served you a dish (yes, just one, no other options available) for $12pp. But now it’s like any other restaurant, with a lunch menu (albeit a bit brief) and wine list. Was I imagining things?? Anyway, they’re otherwise really really pricey but at least their lunch menu is around $25 for a main. Still more than $12 though 😉

Mum and Dad arrived early, and so were fortunate to score the best table in the entire place – outdoors on the balcony and in the corner, overlooking the harbour. With the trees hanging over and providing shade, it was otherwise a brilliantly sunny day with clear blue skies and glittering water. Gorgeous. Service was OK – I don’t know how else to describe it. It wasn’t particularly friendly, nor was it really bad. Our waitress seemed like she had difficulty smiling, however she did oblige all our requests promptly. I guess it could be worse 😉

The food though. WOW. Mum and Dad reckon it’s the best they’ve had in Sydney – over our recent trips to Bai Yok and Nilgiri’s. Thai-style, the ingredients used are fresh and exquisite. The cooking is perfection – all the flavours blended beautifully and you honestly do get what you pay for because frankly, you won’t find food this quality in Chinatown.

Dad randomly chose some wine, Grant Burge 2006 Moscato, based on the waitress’ not-very-helpful information of “sweet” when he asked what kind of white wine it was. He chooses randomly very well – BEST WINE EVER!!!!! By far and away the best wine I’ve ever drunk – which is saying a lot since I’m not a huge wine fan. The wine was more like a sweet drink – light, refreshing and with a very mild/faint after taste. Absolutely fantastic especially since it was all chilled and bubbly. Mmm… ahhhh… we’re going to try and hunt more down and buy bottles of the stuff 😛

Main was a Red Curry of Fish with Siamese Watercress, which was spectacular. It came in a medium-sized bowl, but what was impressive was the fish. The sheer amount of it was staggering, I’ve never eaten in a restaurant that had THAT much fish in a dish before! Very very generous. The watercress was also a lovely accompaniment, silky and smooth with little taste to detract from the sweet flavour of fish. The curry was not-too-spicy and had little/no coconut cream either, so it was healthy.

Other main was Deep Fried Marinated Pork with Seasoned Rice and Chilli & Ginger Sauce. It didn’t look particularly exciting when served, but the pork absolutely exploded with flavour once popped into the mouth. Cut into slim morsels, the pork was perfectly marinated and grilled to give it that delicious smoky smell. The sauce was a mixture of chilli, ginger, fish sauce and other stuff that we couldn’t identify. It lent a great contrast of multiple flavours to the pork – so delightful! And the rice… mmmm… it was slightly sticky and had the rich flavour of stock and garlic.

An absolutely delightful lunch. It was really hard pulling myself away and back to work after that!

The view from the balcony

Waiting to be fed!

Grant Burge 2006 Moscato – Best wine in the world (AU$32 per bottle)

Deep Fried Marinated Pork with Seasoned Rice and Chilli & Ginger Sauce (AU$24.50)

Red Curry of Fish with Siamese Watercress (AU$25.50)

Bird checking us out

Us checking the birds out