Atom Thai - Review

I published this review at the EATABILITY Food Guide for Sydney Restaurants and Atom, the owner of the restaurant was dedicated enough to reply.

Below is a copy of my Review:
You last reviewed this venue on 19 August 2009

Food 9 Ambience 7 Service 9 Value 8
We dined last Saturday night. It was my first dining experience at Atom's but my partner's second. Its almost unfair rocking up to a restaurant which has had so much hype either real or perceived due to very high consistent reviews here at the eatability guide, and friends previous experiences. Atom did not disappoint.

The Miang Goong was the standout for me, even though it was a humble entree. I would have been satisfied eating several servings of this all night. The young waiters were very friendly, helpful, courteous and diligent as they topped up my wine all evening. It was refreshing to hear the waiter explain the specials menu in depth, but, unfortunately, it was difficult to understand all the words. In the end we just nodded and accepted we could at least read the specials board.

Just before we tasted the Miang Goong, the waiter explained we should also eat the Betal Leaves, but we interpreted it as not to eat them, so we didn't. The waiter who cleared our plates said we should have eaten the leaves. So I took the liberty of ordering a second serving and this time we ate the leaves.

I couldn't fault the sincerity of the waiters, and their genuine friendliness. If we could have understood them a little more I'd have been tempted to score them 10 for the service.

The level of ambient noise also contributed to, perhaps, not understanding what the waiters said. Its quite overpowering at the best of times, but is indicative of the packed house and the petite restaurant. The tables are a little bit close together, but it didn't seem to bother us, as we were there predominantly for the food.

I'm also tempted to give the food a perfect 10, because it tasted so good, was fresh, hot and addictive. I over-ate because it was that good. We also had the Moneybags entree and they were hot, fresh and crisp, with a lovely fragrant dipping sauce. They were intricate little bags but scrumptious, I could have devoured them all lol.

My favourite main of the night was the Massaman curry. Best Massaman I've tasted. If I had to fault anything it was the size of the serving. I expected more beef and potatoes, but it seemed to be a little sparse in its ratio to sauce. It wasn't a huge issue, as we had went overboard and ordered 3 mains and 3 entrees but if we had ordered 2 mains, we would have been fighting over the Massaman. Particularly, if we have a party of 4, it would be difficult dividing it between all of us.

The only other thing although very minor was that the waiter brought us a brand new pot of steamed rice, without asking us if we wanted another. It was just assumed, and we were so full at that point and all our meals were pretty much eaten.

I am hoping to attend Saturday week, with a party of four, and I hope the Massaman is a little more generous. We also ordered the Chicken Cashew nut, and it was top notch. This is our most favoured Thai dish historically, and we have had pretty good serves at other restaurants. It was very very fresh at Atoms. Although I think this dish is a lot more difficult not to master. So we didn't notice a huge disparity between other restaurants.

The most noticeable factor with Atom's food was the freshness of ingredients. We went out on a limb with the Choo Chee Barramundi fillet, which was nice, had some good heat from the curry, but was a tad bland for my tastes. The coconut and sweetness of the basil and the fragrance of the lime didn't appear to penetrate the sauce as hoped.

The fish was cooked to pefection. However, in hindsight I wished I had ordered the barramundi in a different sauce, perhaps, a little sweeter. I have a feeling the curry took away from the natural sweetness of the fish. It would have been lovely in the mango salad offered in the Thai salads menu.

I would rate the Massaman 9/10 instead of 10 because of the small portion size. The chicken and Cashew a 9/10. The Choo Chee a 7. The Miang Gong an 11/10 yes it was that good, despite our misunderstanding with the Betal Leaves lol.

I'd have to say that overall I don't think I've appreciated every entree and main meal consistency as much as I did at Atom. I am so impressed I can't wait trying some of the other dishes. Such as the Duck, perhaps, in the salad or the lychee and pineapple curry. We wished we had ordered the Fresh coconut prawns served in a real coconut.

What I would like to try is Atom's Chef's degustation. I don't recall seeing a degustation menu, but I have so much trust in the food, I bet the Chef could give a better sample of all his masterpieces that would flow, and give a good representation of his best work.

There wasn't much of a dessert menu, and we would love to try something for dessert next time which was truly reflective of the culture and indicative of the mastery of the chef. Rather than have to go across the road for Gelato lol.

We failed to pick up a menu when we left, and would like an opportunity to look at the set banquets before we arrive in a couple of weeks time. Perhaps, Atom could email us their menu. If you could supply us with an email, we could email you and have you attach it. We would very much appreciate it.

This has been one of the most significant culinary experiences I've had for a while. I have no doubt Atom could end up becoming my new favourite restaurant. As long as you guys don't skimp on the beef in the Massaman lol.

I would like to meet the chef next time we dine too. Is Atom the name of the owner or just the restaurant name? I would sure like to commend him in person for such a high quality of food. Cheers and Thanks


Owner's response:

Wow... I am so grateful for your comment here, the time and effort you have put in in writing this for us, and in such details. It is so informative as well as encouraging, in particular, your comments about the dishes. I hope we could turn your idea of a degustation into a reality soon. With desserts as well, we should work on something more exciting and new.

Please do email us: atomthai@gmail.com, and we would be obliged to email you our menus and, I would love to welcome you personally at the restaurant again.

I am one of the waiters you mentioned, and I remember you and your partner from last Saturday. I am also the owner of the restaurant, and designed most of the dishes - wearing many hats. Nevertheless, I will introduce you to some of my chefs next time when you visit us, I am sure they would really appreciate your comments/encouragement.

Thanks again for your review, and look forward to seeing you again soon.

Atom

Further email from Atom regarding our next dining experience there:

Hi, Gavin,

Thanks again for your review. I really appreciate it. I do rely to all the reviews, as people like yourself have put in the effort in commenting on our food/service, and providing feedback, the least we could do is to reply as a way of showing our appreciation.

Here attached is a couple of menus for your consideration, including the banquet menu, you are most welcome to swap some of the dishes on the banquet menu.

A few signature dishes, would be the crispy pork: pork belly slow cooked first, and fried, then stir fried with chilli and basil. Tamarind duck, which I think you will like, sliced duck breast on a bed of steamed greens with sweet and sour tamarind sauce on the top, we also have a softshell crab dish, softshell crab lightly battered, and fried, then stir fried with curry powder/coconut milk/egg york, and last but not least there is either steamed whole snapper or fried whole snapper (with a choice of three-flavoured sauce - sweet/sour/spicy, garlic/pepper sauce and choo chee sauce, which you had last time).

p.s., I will remember some extra beef/potatoes in the Massaman for you. :-)

We shall prepare some special dessert for the night - let it be a nice surprise.

Look forward to seeing you soon.

Cheers,

Atom

Atom's opinions on wine with Thai:

Gavin, I have to confess that I am not a wine expert, although love to have a glass with my meal. Indeed, beer is one that is most popular with Thai dishes, and Thai whisky is good too :-), I guess we don't usually have wines with our meals back in Thailand, although, I personally like Cab Sauv (with curries) and Sauvignon Blanc, some rosé goes well with some lighter dishes. I think.

In accordance with my previous scoring criteria here are the scores:

To keep within my own marking criteria here are the scores:

Entrees: 10/10
Mains: 18/20
Desserts: N/A
Ambience: 2/5
Service: 4/5

Total: 35/40 excluding dessert menu.
Currently weighted for food in the absence of dessert

Total: 44/50

Stay tuned for dessert scores. Desserts to be available