Chatter Box

I confess I've been to Chatter Box several times in the last few weeks. They have a great lunchtime special of $8.30 for plenty of freshly cooked delicious dishes. So far I've had the Vegetarian Laksa, Nasi Pattaya and Char Kway Teow. All were very tasty.

On my first visit I had the Pad Kee Mou, but requested they replace the Mou (chicken) with tofu. This noodle fiesta was delicious with crunchy broccoli and other vegetables and the wonderful addition of fresh basil. It comes with a very satisfying amount of chilli which is more reminiscent of street food in Thailand and Malaysia than the usual anaemic chilli sprinkling apportioned in many other Australian restaurants.

Real Thai Recipes has an interesting explanation of the etymology of this dish. I assume they're talking about the same thing.

"In Thai, ‘pad’ means to stir-fry, and ‘kee mao’ means someone who likes to drink too much. ‘Kee’ literally means ’shit’, and adding ‘kee’ in front of any verb means it’s a bad habit. ‘Mao’ means drunk. So, a ‘Kee Mao’ (shit drunk) is someone who has a bad habit of drinking!"

So there you go!

The Laksa at Chatter Box is one of the better Laksas you'll get in the CBD. It might not rival Laksa King out in Flemington, but I'd give it 4 out of 5. I have a sneaking suspicion Chatter Box might employ shrimp paste and therefore this dish pushes the boundaries of eco-friendliness, but it is very tasty and sometimes one must relent.

The Nasi Pattaya was interesting. The fried rice part was excellent, but I'm not a fan of tomato sauce. I realise this is how the dish is supposed to be presented, but it just doesn't work for me. I ended up scraping the sauce off to the side. I really enjoyed the rest of the dish though.

Another bonus of Chatter Box dining is the endless free tea. I love this feature.

I was inspired to go here after Miss T Princess Vegan gave it a rave review. I reckon she was absolutely right.