Over Easter I was grateful some restaurants remained open with normal working hours. On this Good Friday (obviously also a public holiday) I was even more impressed that some like Chong Co were still accepting the Entertainment Card (as it is their option to do so).
Chong Co hadn't appealed overly to me. Although it nearly always seems busy, the location is good and the aromas are nice, there was something about it that didn't feel right. I'm not sure what it is - maybe it's similar to when I'm overseas and feel the aura of a tourist trap. Perhaps it is because I'd heard so much about Morks, which is the upmarket modern Thai version a few shops down (that I still haven't tried yet).
After being seated, the menu seemed a little concerning. For traditional Thai food the prices were very high, even for Canberra. Pad Thai $19 and Laksa $23? Wow.
A Chong Co Colada of pineapple juice, coconut milk and grenadine was reasonable but nothing special. It separated when left during the meal.
- Tom Khar Gai $12.90 - my basic Thai staple that I judge all restaurants upon. The soup was quite thin and didn't have a lot of coconut flavour and the chicken wasn't particularly tender. It did have a nice firm sour lime edge that I liked;
- Roasted Duck Red Curry $25.90 - similarly the curry itself wasn't very thick or strong. The duck was pretty good and the pieces of lychees and pineapple added a contrasting sweetness. Adding this to the coconut rice transformed it (see below);
- Soft Shell Crab in Tamarind Sauce $29.90 - a very large amount of soft shell crab (about 4 altogether) which meant good value, although the crabs themselves weren't as flavoured as I like. The batter was a little heavy. Most of all the tamarind sauce was incredibly powerful and the saltiness made it difficult to eat without a lot of rice. The sauce drenching also meant a good portion of the crab didn't remain crispy.
The coconut rice ($4.50pp) was one of the most intense I've eaten. It was much more similar to coconut glutinous rice dessert in flavour and meant it couldn't be eaten alone. When mixed with the soup of tom kha or the sauces of red curry or tamarind, it turned into something more edible and quite delicious. It was like eating normal jasmine rice and adding a strong coconut-based Thai sauce (which I find more normal).
I think the overall balance of price and quality means I wouldn't eat here without the Entertainment discount. It isn't bad as such and your meal will be adequate, but I think there are better things to have for the full price.
