Monkey King Thai - Willoughby — Restaurant in Sydney

Restaurant has great character and the staff are very friendly, but doesn't stand out from the competition.

I ordered the mixed entree set B - $14.90 (which includes a Peking Duck Wrap, Pulled Pork Bao, Prawn dumpling and a Dim Sim), and followed by the Char Kwae Teo - $15.90. The mixed entree was nice, but was pretty ordinary. There wasn't anything technically wrong with the dish but the thing small things such as a freshly made "bao" and "wrap", when mixed with fresh herbs make a big difference. I was a little dissapointed given the price of the entree.

Next up was the Char Kwae Teo. This was a decent serving size and quite food value for money. Unfortunately, the dish lacked flavour. As all lovers of CKT know, the "wok hei" (the char from the wok heat) plays an important part in the flavour. It can be tgw difference between a good CKT and a great CKT! Tonight's dish was seeiously lacking in CKT. The samba lacked spice/heat and flavour.

However, given the price of this dish, I cannot really exepect too much.

Overall it was the atmosphere, the unique character and the friendly staff that saved this restaurant from a below...

Mother Nature’s finest: a papaya salad with raw green beans — no substitutions, no mercy. Apparently, serving toxic raw legumes is a “signature style” here. When I politely raised my concerns, I was met with arrogance and ignorance. The manager insisted this is how they make their salad — as if risking food poisoning is part of the experience.

We asked for a remake without green beans. The manager came to our table, glanced at how much we had eaten, and reluctantly brought us another salad — this time, without the crispy pork we originally paid for. I felt deeply humiliated. When I firmly asked him to leave our table and stop explaining, his tone became aggressive and condescending, as if we were the problem.

No apology. No accountability. Just bad attitude and unsafe food. If this is what they call “authentic Thai food,” then I want no part of it. A professional kitchen should understand the dangers of serving raw legumes — unless they’re not...

Average food. The Ayam Berempah chicken was nice but very salty. Chicken was tender and not dry which was good. The quay teow was nice but portion was small. The rice is enough for 2-3 people. The roti was very tasty but small so best ordering one between two people. The calamari was moderately spicy and it was overcooked which made it chewy. Service is slow and food comes out at random times. There's a bus stop outside and some free street parking but depends what time you arrive. Staff are slow at working out the bill. They charge 1.5% surcharge for credit cards. I paid with cash - $50 and $20 and my total bill was $56.70 but I was shortchanged $10, sadly I didn't notice until I got home so I didn't bother chasing. I probably...