Twelve Spices — Restaurant in Sydney

TWELVE SPICES, CANLEY HEIGHTS If you ever happen to be in the Canley Heights suburb, why not go visit @twelvespices, a restaurant that is dishing out delicious, authentic Thai and Lao dishes at their lovely establishment. Opened since 2001, they are currently still going strong by adapting to the COVID situation with takeaway-based delivery options and dining in being available at their establishment.

☆ LAO SAUSAGES/SAI OUAH ($15.90) Any time l see Lao Sausages on a menu, l must order a serving of this particular dish as every restaurant has their own recipe in creating the perfect blend for their version of Laos Sausages. @twelvespices ‘s version of Lao Sausages is packed with a blend of Pork Fat, Pork Meat, Fresh Herbs and Spices.

When the Lao Sausages are grilled and kissed by flames, the application of heat wakes up the Pork Fat, various Spices and Herbs used within the sausage mix, resulting in the flavours coming alive when the diner takes that bite into the sliced Lao Sausage.

☆ GRILLED OX TONGUE ($29.90) If there is an offal ingredient l would love to introduce to my foodie friends, it would definitely be Ox Tongue! Simply marinaded and grilled to perfection, the Ox Tongue at @twelvespices is soft yet has some texture to it when you eat it which allows one to appreciate that it is a cut of meat not many people use.

☆ FISH CAKES ($9.90) When the Fish Cakes arrived to the table, l was amazed by the appearance as l could see what looks like slices of Green Beans all throughout the surface of the deep fried Fish Cakes.

Taking that first bite, l could feel the bouncy texture of the firm white fish used which has been flavoured with hints of Chilli and other seasonings which all excited my palette for what was to come next to the table. The addition of Pickled Daikon and Carrot as a garnish to the Fish Cakes was lovely as it offered acidity and crunch to the meal. The Fish Cakes are accompanied by a Sweet Chilli-based dipping sauce which serves to add some sweetness to the deep fried Fish Cakes, adding another dimension of flavour to this delicious appetiser.

The bouncy texture of the Fish Cake is a result of the process behind the making of Thai Fish Cakes or Tod Mun Pla as it involves pounding a type of White Fish into a paste and combining it with various seasonings and ingredients which is then shaped into a patty and deep fried to golden perfection.

☆ COCONUT DEEP FRIED ICE CREAM ($13.90) l am going nuts for this Coconut Deep Fried Ice Cream ($13.90) that @twelvespices has on their menu. If you want to end your meal on a high note, definitely order the desserts at @twelvespices in Canley Heights as they have different flavoured Deep Fried Ice Creams you can choose from plus classic Thai Desserts like Sticky Rice with Durian and Sago-based desserts as well.

Coconut flavoured Ice Cream has been encased in a golden Phyllo-based shell that is so crispy yet delicate under the force of the spoon breaking into it. The Coconut Deep Fried Ice Cream is paired with a Coconut Sauce which reinforces the coconut flavour in the dessert. In addition, the roasted Coconut based Crumble with pieces of Dehydrated Summer Fruits and Toasted Nuts mixed into it really adds a wonderful texture to the overall dessert.

When eating all these components together, you are transported to literal food ecstasy with how delightful this dessert is with the range of varying textures and mouthfeel you get from each spoonful of the Deep Fried Ice Cream.

Absolutely lovely staff, service and how the food came out quick. Dishes were delicious and just hit you with the flavours of Thailand + Laos as stated by the menu. Atmosphere is...

Review Twelve Spices poorly

Went to eat here with my family after going here once before and enjoying my first experience. Staff were mostly polite however Sonia, one of the workers, treated me extremely rudely. The many moments where she treated us poorly:

She took our order for drinks and repeated it back to us to confirm what we had ordered, which was correct. The waiter came and brought out the drinks plus an extra can of coke that we didn't order. We sent the coke back and she came to our table angry and said that she never makes a mistake and that we obviously did because she had read out our order before confirming (even though she definitely did not say coke, otherwise we would have corrected her) We ordered at the counter as it took some time for a waiter to come by and when Sonia did come by, she told us bossily that we weren't supposed to do that because that waitress didn't know how to take orders (even though by that point the order had been taken without a problem and we had already paid) She told my uncle that he needed to tuck his chair in because he was blocking the walkway in the restaurant, which is totally fine, but she said it very condescendingly and kept persisting even when he was obviously moving it in. She could have been much more respectful about it, rather than making it sound like he was doing it in purpose or that he was significantly in the way We ordered a barramundi fish salad as part of our meal. It was well into our meal and I asked staff to check when it would arrive. We were told it would be 2 minutes. After 10 minutes, we asked for it to be given to us in a takeaway box as most of our other dishes were already done. This is when they told us that the dish hadn't been prepared and we then were refunded the money for the dish which was extremely disappointing as one of our family was pescatarians which means they can only eat fish and went away hungry.

All in all, please don't visit here. Food is okay but horrible service. Most staff are nice but Sonia needs to stop thinking that everything she does is right and start treating her customers...

This used to be one of my favourite places to go. However, I've notice over the years this has changed. Not sure if there is a new owner or a manger but their attitude and services is horrible now. My partner and I called the place to place a take away order, however no one pick up. So we decide on something else for dinner, within the next 10minute our phone was blown up with missed called from a number that we didn't have saved. Called back to see who it was and it was a lady at twelves spices asking if we called ? Like what kind of restaurant calls backs multiple times. I thought it was an emergence call. This was not the only occasion. Twelve spices have their afternoon break and reopens around 5pm, I called at 4:50pm ask if they can prepare it for me by 5:30pm. The lady said yes and that she'll make it straight away. Stupid of me thinking services woas all great again and that I'll have my food on time. At 5:20pm i made it to the store but knew I had 10minute to spare, so I went the Asian store next door to twelves spices to buy a drink and some snacks. As I was walking I realise the workers were still standing outside. I just minded my own business thinking it probably the front house of the store waiting and that the kitchen people are already prepping for the night services. I was wrong, apparently the whole store was waiting for someone to come open up. Fast forward, I asked one of the waiters if he knows whether my food was easy since it was almost 6 at this point. He said he'll check and let me know, long store short. My food wasn't prepared, I've waited an extra hour and the food came out to be wrong. I've ordered a vegetable red curry with extra tofu for myself. Got home and open it up, there was no tofu, parts of chicken was at the bottom of my container. I understand they probably used chicken stock to make the broth or used the same pot to reheat the food but wouldn't you have more caution in removing meat out of a vegetable curry. Luckily I'm not a vegetarian or vegan, I just simply wanted a full veggies dish.

Sorry twelve spices but I'm really...