Joy Bong

By GRAHAM REID for viva

We wandered into the newly moved Joy Bong on a quiet Wednesday and were immediately struck by the friendly ambience. The L-shaped room with its separate but interconnected spaces always offered a variety of comfortable seating options when it was the Armadillo. But the spacious and airy front area, with discreet and respectful Buddhist iconography seems to have come into its own. With the windows open to the warm night air, the gentle brush of incense, and patient, helpful staff, we settled in for what proved to be a rare night.

Joy Bong specialises in Isaan-style Thai food from near the border with Laos, highly spiced but not chilli-hot, and much of what is on offer is to be eaten with sticky rice that is rolled into a ball in the hand, then added to the main ingredients and garnishes. It's a relaxed and comfortable way to enjoy the food, and we certainly found plenty to take our attention.

With Thailand's Chang beers in hand we opened with the raw fish (which you wrap in lettuce leaves) and the Joy Bong special of barbecue pork ball, Vietnamese lettuce, coriander, basil, green apple and other taste treats. Superb both of them, but our mains were even better.

From a menu of exotica "Isaan sausage" sounded so unpromising I couldn't resist it as a dare. It was their own spicy beef sausage served in thick slices served with generous amounts of garlic, pickled ginger, spring onions and chili. As my partner's barbecued duck curry arrived the small group at the next table had just started their meals. "Try the duck, it's absolutely delicious," one like-minded diner said to another.

We did, he was right. It was served with a rich blend of coconut milk and herbs and was truly exceptional.
We admired the dessert menu but decided you don't need to try everything at once - the perfect excuse to go back.

We have pencilled in Joy Bong again because it was reasonably priced (two entrees, two mains for $59), the food was "Thai cuisine as opposed to Thai food", as my partner said later, and when we retired to the bar we spent a hugely enjoyable hour chatting with the owner and barman who have great stories to tell.

You can't ask for better than that on a night out. And we parked right outside.

Just a tip, though. The bathrooms are confusing and marked only as "Joy" and "Bong" which probably won't matter on their lady-man nights but the boys' is the bong on the left.

Open for dinners only. Fully licensed.

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