Isaan Food food is these place's speciality, rumours have it that they were closed for 2 weeks for just a little holiday, customers still came, knock on their doors and tried their luck, hoping that they will open up. Touched by the customers the owner decided to cut her holiday short and came back! Business was that good!
So what is Isaan Food? I'll give you my point of view and understanding of what it is, its renowned for its fiery taste which ingredients that you don't usually add into your basic home cooked meal. One time when dad visited this place they served ants soup... yup..ANTS but I wasn't so lucky to be able to try such exoctic delicacies. But will do when I visit them again !
Issan Food has a fusion of Laotian and Cambodian influence on it, the word Esan refers to Northeastern Thailand. And it is now slowly creeping into lots of restaurants in Melbourne gaining its rightful 'title' I call it in western countries.
The paradox here is that Issan food is known by the Thais as the holy grail of Thai cuisine but such influence comes from the poorest and humble regions in Thailand that was not sustainable with the lack of agriculture.
The vegetables here are meant to be entrees or shall i say appetisers that you dip into this fiery hot ground chili paste as shown below, what I love about this cuisine is how they mix so many different ingredients such as prawn paste, cilantro, lime and ginger that gives you this explosion of flavours in your mouth.
Spicy? Yes! Tasty? Absolutely!
That orange carrot looking thing is actually Ginger!
Now on to the first dish, grilled chicken, coated with a touch of honey to give it that beautiful finish. The crisp on the skin and tenderness of the chicken meat is just a perfect balance. I could easily chow down 4-5 plates of these babies at one go
our view from this little restaurant in the small village
Next up! Narm Sod - pinkish sausage packed with ground meat with flecks of fat
Made with accompaniments such as raw ginger, cilantro, shallots and lemon grass giving it that beautiful flavour and sharp flavour. In contrast to the traditional Chinese cured sausages that as sweet and chewy this gives out a pleasantly sour taste. My love affair with this simple and amazing dish makes the love for Chinese sausages feel like a childish infatuation. I would always crave this when I am back in Melbourne.
Dad figured the reason most Thai ladies are slim could be contributed by the amount of sour dishes they have and what you're looking at here is one of the most common snacks/ dish that most Thai people love.
Laab is another salad that gives amazing texture and taste. Its a regular mango salad topped with golden brown flakes of deep fried cat fish. What i love about this is that sweet and less abrasive (spicy) taste and the light and crispy texture of the cat fish
Larb Moo.
Loaded with finely minced pork it is tossed in lime juice, shallots, chili flakes and most importantly pounded roasted rice for the special flavor. Finished with mint leaves and served warm with sticky rice. Don't be fool by its looks, a spoonful of this will make your faces lit up!
Spicy young bamboo shoot soup stewed with lime juice, red onions, melons and the key ingredient-- Salt cured crabs.
Then we moved on to where the seafood was, I am not sure where it is now mostly because I forgot and also due to my tendency to fall asleep when I ride in cars..
Grilled PiPi
Something sweet and refreshing for your taste buds, sticky rice with mango --Kao Niao Mak Muang! Perfect for the crazy hot weather 
And Lastly, supper!! this place is open till the wee hours and its just a thing we Asians love to do snack before bed time and this place is a perfect place to put a stop to the mid night hunger pangs.
#1 Pickled chicken feet with Thai dressing
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