Heavenly Thailicious

I love RDOs, even if I take half day ones, even if I had to raincheck my half day RDOs, they are still so awesome because you get paid to take time off work to shop/brunch/ do what ever you please. It brings about mixed emotions: of bliss from the freedom coupled with guilt of leaving the office for lunch and heading straight home.

Walking down Swanston St this afternoon in the wintery spring weather made me miss uni days a little - but enough with feelings of melancholy, shall we get onto food talk ;)

Before we backtrack to last weekend I want to quickly mention this gem of a joint that was opened earlier this year at the north end of Exhibition Street. 

Thailicious is located next door to the Mantra Hotel, diagonally across from the Carlton gardens. I stumbled across this eatery earlier this year after the grad in the office came back with a happy smile and a cute cartoon-adorned menu after having a lunchtime date there with her bf.

I have my reservations for newly opened joints with too much cuteness involved in designing the decor/menu etc, so I didn't go in expecting much more than foodcourt level Thai cuisine

Well in this instance, a picture is worth a thousand words so let them speak for themselves:

Crispy pork stir fried with vegetables, chilli and basil leaves 

Deep fried coconut ice cream with maple syrup

The pork was crispy without being oily, the sauce that coated the meat and vegies was just popping with flavour. I am especially fond of the texture of the bamboo shoots in the stir fry, if only I knew where to source them I would totally buy some for home cooking use. The ice cream contains pieces of young coconut jelly, which adds another layer of texture and flavour. The ice cream itself is not overly sweet nor is it heavy. Yum, yum, yum

Today we revisited Thailicious for Friday "eat-out/pig-out" lunch.

Chicken stir fried with cashew and vegetables, Crispy pork stir fried with chilli, vegetables and basil leaves

Red Duck Curry

Again, the crispy pork was so delicious. The batter that coated the chicken was slightly starchy, but the cashew nuts complimented with the sweet and spicy sauce well. The Duck Curry was average by my standards, but then again I am no curry pro and do not possess the ability of determining what exactly constitutes a great curry. 

Overall the service is fast and efficient, the girls are very accommodating and attentive. Although the price is a little bit dearer than your average $10-a-meal Asian joint, if you go with a larger group and order a few mains to share, you will definitely get your money's worth of thailicious goodness ;)

Thailicious
355 Exhibition St
Melbourne VIC 3000
Ph (03) 9639 1888