MELBOURNE | Head down Chinatown’s Heffernan Lane, and you’ll find new Thai restaurant, Boon Choou. It’s housed in a historic four-storey former warehouse, home of the famed Wing Ching cafe from 1892 until the mid 1920s, and most recently the site of modern South-East Asian restaurant, Niubi. I recently visited for What’s on Melbourne, and was impressed by what I found.
The restored building makes good use of it heritage bones, with exposed brick and timber beams. It’s a warm, inviting space, spread across two of the building’s four levels. I’ve been told by owner and head chef, Sam, that something fun will be opening upstairs later on this year. I’ll keep you posted.
Sam has leant on his Thai heritage to create a menu that takes diners on a journey through Thailand’s diverse regions. He’s also brought his fine dining pedigree to the table, evident in the refinement of the dishes. On the menu, you’ll find a mixture of classic favourites, and things which expand on this city’s Thai repertoire. They’re all prepared using the best quality local produce around, with bold and vibrant flavours.
Kuaj tiew lord (steamed rice noodle dumplings with five spice pork belly, shiitake mushroom, crispy garlic with, pickled chilli, and sweet dark soy sauce) is a great way to kick things off. Follow it with the wonderful kor moo yang (grilled house sweet soy sauce marinated pork jowl with smoked chili, tamarind sauce).
Of the larger share plates, I highly recommend the spicy koong pad phong karee (Mooloolaba king prawns with curry powder, hens egg, onion, green shallot, celery, chilli), and the very moreish pad pla muak nahm dam (wok fried calamari with crispy fried onion and green shallots in black squid ink sauce).
To drink, it’s non-alc options like nahm gag hoy (sweet chrysanthemum granita), and chanom yen (iced Thai milk tea), along with Thai inspired cocktails, Thai beer, and local wines. And if you’re in the mood for something sweet, you’ll be glad to know that mango sticky rice is on the menu, along with a few other sweet delights.
Boon Choou
11 Heffernan Lane
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia
Telephone: (03) 7013 2565
E-mail: n/a
Website
Open
Sun – Thu: 11:30am to 11:30pm
Fri – Sat: 11:30am to 12:00pm