Dee's Vintage Thai in Toowoomba

Dee's Vintage Thai
http://www.deesvintagethai.com.au/



I can't get away from Thai food in Toowoomba. And I'm not really complaining. When I lived in Brisbane, I never really 'got' Thai food. There seemed to be Thai restaurants everywhere but I had so many other options available that I steered clear of them. The one that gave me the best impression was Modern Thai at Mount Gravatt.



Since moving here, Thai comprises of maybe 80% of what I eat when dining out. When Mochi and I did our restaurant trip of the week last Thursday, it wasn't so much 'what type of food should we eat?' but more 'which Thai restaurant should we go to?'




We were leaning towards Thai Majestic but unfortunately for them, Margaret Street was impossible to park on so we found ourselves up Ruthven Street, right outside Dee's Vintage Thai.

I was cautious on approach because Byron had described the restaurant as 'more formal' and I hate formal on a weekday. Luckily it didn't seem too demanding in that aspect, although it was refreshingly busy.

Tom yum soup - cooked with mushroom, lemon grass, galangal, coriander, kaffir lime leaf, chilli and lemon juice

Mochi and I were frozen from the temperamental Toowoomba weather and we decided to start with soup. She ordered a seafood tom yum.

Tom kha soup - spicy and sour soup with coconut milk, galangal, lemon grass, coriander, chili and lemon juice

In order to be different, I chose a chicken tom kha. I asked what the difference was and when it was brought out, it was pretty obvious. Tom kha is like tom yum but creamy, thanks to the addition of coconut milk. I really liked it. It's great how these soups manage to be spicy, sour and (in my case) creamy all at once.

For our mains, we chose a chicken panang curry and a lamb massaman. Lamb massaman was special of the day and on the blackboard, it said 'lamb mass', which I thought was some new and interesting dish. We were amused to discover they meant massaman. I asked that the curries weren't too similar before confirming the order.

Chicken panang curry - sliced chicken cooked with chili paste, vegetables and coconut milk

The chicken panang was mild and creamy with an abundance of chicken and fresh vegetables. It was extremely moreish and went excellently with the rice.

Lamb massaman - with potatoes and mixed herbs

As promised, the lamb massaman was very different. It is a more robust curry, thicker in consistency and heavy with potatoes. Another distinct feature was the sweetness. It was sweet not only in the sauce itself but also thanks to large chunks of pineapple swimming around. I liked it but not on its own (too sweet) - it was nice mixed with the chicken panang.


Dee's Vintage Thai was another pleasant Thai food experience in Toowoomba. The staff were friendly and food was brought out within a reasonable time frame. We liked the dishes we tried and are eager to try the other menu options.