Herald rating: * * *
Address: Chancery-O'Connell corner, CBD
Phone: 09 377 5088
Website: www.khao.co.nz
Open: Dinner 7 days, lunch Mon-Fri
Cuisine: Thai
From the menu: Quail, poached, deep-fried, with garlic-pepper sauce, crispy noodle $16; Tofu with ginger sauce, mushrooms, scallions, cashew nuts $20
Vegetarian: Own menu
Wine: BYO and limited list
Khao has made a name for itself without outrageous word-play that indistinguishes so many Thai eateries. It's in the Law Society chambers on the corner of Chancery, a lovely room, first and final home of the sainted, French-inspired Le Brie. Jude and I have pleasant recollections of Le Brie. We have both been here before: just not with each other.
Some people have been very kind about Khao in its nearly three years. Some people have proclaimed it to be the best Thai in Auckland, presumably after visiting all 200-plus at least twice.
The menu is tighter than most, so you won't pick it up and think, Have I got that long to live?
There are one or two items that indicate the kitchenfolk realise they are in Aotearoa and don't need to parade the "authentic Thai cuisine" banner. Lamb fillet, pan-fried and served with spicy, roasted rice dressing and apple salad ain't one thing or t'other, but sounds interesting.
Jude's litmus test for Thai restaurants is spring rolls. She asked the waitress whether they were made on the premises and was told they were.
Stuffed rambutan soup for me. The waitress gave the tired joke - "Kiwi hot or Thai hot?" - that we've all heard as many times as we've had hot Thai dinners. This was a palate- and sinus-clearing opening. Hot soup, the white fruit packed with minced chicken, coriander, pepper and cabbage, chilli and spices tingling around the outer edges of the tongue.
Hold the pho. Jude dipped and nibbled a tiny, battered packet and uttered the F-word. "You mean it's been re-heated?" I asked, half-inching one. Suspect she was right. It might have been made on the premises but it had also been coolly stored there until ordered.
I followed with duck, Jude with prawns. Waitress recommended the stir-fried roasted duck with basil leaves, chilli and vegetables because "it has more meat - other dish, not much duck". It was one of those burial mounds of meat and peppers and baby whats-its and green thingies and sauce that you know so well. Jude's prawn was another burial mound of fishy things and peppers and baby whats-its and green thingies and sauce that you know even better.
There's a slight wine list; they offer BYO, too. Gewurz for Jude; aromatics cut through many depradations of cuisines never designed for our wines. Waipara Hills pi'noir for me, and before you sneer please read David Thompson on the subject: the great modern-Thai chef insists that is the wine to drink with most meats in this oeuvre.
Khao is a reasonable suburban Thai. Problem is, there are much better Thai restaurants in the suburbs. On the other hand, there is a very good restaurant in here. It was called Le Brie.
