Soi 25 Xpress Thai Fusion — Restaurant in Sydney

Pyrmont 2024: Memories of massaman curry drew me to Soi 25 Xpress Thai Fusion in Pyrmont. The restaurant’s golden-hued Darlinghurst predecessor, Soi 25, was my go-to for a spectacular lamb massaman. Here it’s recreated with chargrilled wagyu striploin ($35.50) laid over mash to keep it above the frothy orange lake. You’re going to need house-made roti ($4.50) to do justice to the wonderful curry gravy, but with the dish containing mash, even jasmine rice ($3) felt like an unnecessary collision.

Owner Tony Bao Q Doan has brought over the signature gold wallpaper to this more modest spot at the waterfront end of Harris Street. Along with blue neon, it makes it all feel a bit extra for a cold midweek evening. But accompanied by your favourite BYO ($5/person) the postage stamp-sized kitchen delivers underpriced hand-made spring rolls ($6.90/2) stuffed with shiitake mushrooms, yam beans, carrots and cabbage. Pork neck skewers ($8.90/2) arrive nicely charred and tender, balanced by a textbook tamarind dressing. The same tangy tamarind reforms pad Thai ($19.90) chicken from something gluggy and heavy to a compelling dish that is silky and bright. Darlinghust’s loss is Pyrmont’s gain.

Darlinghurst 2020: With the exit of one business partner, Appethai has morphed seamlessly into Soi 25 Restaurant & Bar. Luckily for us, owner Tony Bao Q Doan still believes in the site, notable as being the former digs of Sydney Thai heavyweight, Sujet Saenkham, and his game-changing restaurant, Spice I Am. With a name drawn from the Thai word for street, and a 25 for the day of the month Doan and his wife were married last year, the sumptuous golden-hued restaurant has kept the beautiful interior fitout Doan did for the short-lived Appethai.

The menu, in the hands of a kitchen team lead by Ken Pongsakorn (ex-Long Chim), has had an update; with the promise of even more modern Thai dishes on the way. What currently sets Soi 25 apart from the six other Thai restaurants within a two-minute walk of its premises, is their Massaman Lamb Curry ($28). Like all Pongsakorn’s dishes, it’s made using a curry paste made from scratch daily, and it shows in the rich, spice-heavy, aromatic gravy.

While the centrepiece is obviously the four, high quality lamb cutlets, cooked on the bone sous vide to ensure you get tenderness and flavour, it’s the sauce that will keep your spoon returning. In a nod to Western dining sensibilities, the curry is garnished with a spoonful of mash for an alternative sauce delivery method to the Steamed Jasmine Rice ($3).

We enjoy it with the 2017 Clarence House Chardonnay ($19/glass) from Tasmania, which is lovely by itself with buttery richness, but not the best cuisine match for the range of dishes we selected. With grapefruit and pear making it taste almost uncharacteristically sweet, it’s the 2011 Bella Ridge Chenin Blanc ($16/glass) that goes gangbusters with our Hokkaido Seared Chilli Scallops ($15). Presented like a wreath floating on water, the scallops are interspersed with juicy pink ‘melon balls and adorned with crisp fish skin and black caviar. The greenish lake has a lovely green chilli bite with balancing fish sauce that dries up the chenin blanc I initially found too sweet.

Soft, pliable green Betel Leaves ($13/4) show Pongsakorn’s eye for quality produce. They’re topped with pungent dried prawn offset with sticky herbal palm sugar caramel, black caviar and finger lime to keep it from being too sweet, and all too easy to fold into your mouth in rapid succession.

While I enjoyed Appethai’s Wagyu Beef ($35), the Soi 25 version is even more refined. Tenderly handled MBS 7+ wagyu beef is grilled and fanned out to show off its pink interior against a crisp green salad and a tamarind green chilli dressing. It’s a good exemplar of the more mature flavours that this restaurant puts out, that sets it apart from its...

My girlfriend found this restaurant on Instagram, she booked it for valentines day.

We were so hyped about the menu that when we got there we were bombarded with a set menu for valentines day (photo) $119.

Okay so lets try it we thought. Out of 9 dishes I'd say only (1) was great. Here are the cons of this place and why I gave it only (1) star.

(1) we arrived at 730. Sat down and was served a drink herbal tea and 1 wine glass. Our first entree came out 8:30pm. By then I knew the wait time was going to take my life away.

(2) After every dish the wait time was 30 mins or so. It was quite torture.

(3) The dishes weren't even that great, the green curry was flavorful and the smoked wagyu. Only dishes I believed that made my night.

For a thai place I thought service was quick and efficient but this was not the case.

(4) because the wait was so bad it really tests your patience with your partner. Everyone was on their phone here lol it was sad.

(5) A waiter mid way came and touched my fork and spoon and walked away. (WHAT!) I knew they didn't know what was going on. Properly overwhelmed by the amount of customers.

(6) Pricey as, I'd never pay that much again for those dishes. Felt like most dishes had no care.

(7) parking was bad and we left the restaurant around 10:30pm. (By then I was asleep).

Only pros I would give is, the sit down time is long, so you can enjoy the meal.

😭 Maybe it was just a bad first time experience but first impressions count. And I wouldn't...

I had an absolutely amazing dinner experience at Soi 25 Burwood! From the moment I stepped in, the ambiance was inviting and the staff were friendly and attentive. The highlight of the meal was definitely the seafood dishes.

The grilled king prawns were succulent and perfectly cooked, showcasing the natural flavors of the prawns. The grilled scallop with watermelon was a delightful combination of sweet and savory, with the juicy watermelon complementing the tender scallop perfectly.

The salmon scallops were incredibly fresh and had a melt-in-your-mouth texture that was simply divine. The Pacific oysters were a treat for the palate, with their briny and delicate taste. One of the standout dishes was the betel leaf prawn scallops.The baked rice wagyu beef MB5+ was a true indulgence.

To end the meal on a sweet note, I couldn't resist trying the mango sticky rice for dessert. It was a heavenly combination of ripe mango slices, sticky rice, and a drizzle of coconut milk. The dessert was not overly sweet and provided a refreshing conclusion to the meal.

Overall, my dinner experience at Soi 25 Burwood was exceptional. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a delightful and flavourful Thai...