Muum Maam
The following are BAD names for a Thai restaurant:
- ThaiTanic
- Thairanosaurus
- Thai Hard with a Vengeance
- It’s My Party and I’ll Thai if I Want To
- Hit Me Baby One More Thai
A cheesy, tacky name is often the first sign of an average Thai meal headed your way. Like a lot of Asian in Australia, Thai has been whipped and beaten to suit our taste buds leaving traditional dishes almost unrecognizable to its natives. Muum Maam, on the other hand, is a far cry from the westernized Thai-in-a-box style cuisine. It’s here you’ll find a more authentic menu with an emphasis on Asian street food style dishes, without the risk of a dirty Bankok side-walk.
Opening in December of last year Muum Maam is a welcomed addition to the expanding restaurant lined Holt Street in Surry Hills. Nestled amongst clothing wholesalers and down the road from media haven News Limited you’ll find a warm and inviting space.
By day you’ll find the tuk tuk on the footpath serving street food style dishes for those in need of a quick, tasty lunch at a good price.
At night the tuk tuk is tucked away, the lights are dimmed and the restaurant is transformed into a sleek, casual domain. You’ll find polished timber, long communal tables, large Asian artworks and an open style kitchen. An impressive fit-out considering the owners did it themselves!
Those clever chaps behind Darlinghurst’s Omerta, A Tavola and Gelato Messina are to thank for Muum Maam. So how did we go from Italian experts to opening a Thai restaurant? A talented man named Andy moved from Bangkok nine years ago and was a Manager at Messina. It was his dream to one day open an authentic Thai restaurant in Sydney. Declan Lee and the team loved eating Thai food but couldn’t find anywhere they liked. Inevitably Andy’s dream came true!
Andy isn’t the only one who dreams about food and the meaning of Muum Maam; ‘little glutton’ was certainly appropriate for our Asian Street Food Experience. A banquet of authentic dishes with fresh, seasonal ingredients was lovingly chopped, wrapped and skewered in Muum Maam’s tuckshop and brought to the table.
Grab a napkin…your mouth is about to water.
Entrees:
Fresh Muum Maam rolls with vinegar and sweet soy
Smoked ocean trout and caviar, betel leaf, with coconut, ginger, lime and tamarind
Prawn cakes served with homemade plum sauce
My favourite dish was the trout in betel leaves, a nice change from the commonly served prawn. I liked the interaction of rolling your own and according to Andy it is served very similar on the streets of Bankok only on a skewer.
Mains:
Green papaya, dry shrimp and roasted peanut salad, served with sticky rice and grilled marinated chicken
Northern style crispy egg noodles with slow braised red beef curry
Green chicken curry, apple eggplant and basil with fresh rice noodles
Sen Jan Pad Thai noodles with prawn, tamarind and egg
Crispy pork belly and snake bean phrik king
The beef curry and the pad Thai were my two favourite dishes from the banquet. The beef curry was absolutely delicious and the beef soft and flavorsome. Pad Thai is often a greasy hangover cure but not at Muum Maam. The prawns were fresh and the egg on the outside very authentic. I found the chicken a little gristly and didn’t love the pork belly, with so many other amazing dishes on the menu I wouldn’t order it again.
Dessert:
Sticky rice with Thai custard wrapped in banana leaf and served with coconut sorbet
I’d expect nothing less than an amazing coconut sorbet considering the background at Messina and thankfully I wasn’t disappointed. The custard was a delight but make sure you eat the sticky rice fast…dry rice not so tasty.
Andy and Declan
I know I’ve found my new local Thai restaurant and even if you don’t live/work in the hood, it’s worth the trip. I suggest you grab your friends, and a bottle of wine (it’s BYO) and head to Muum Maam.
But enough about what I think, let’s hear what our foodies have to say…
xxMsD
Muum Maam and Tukshop
Shop 1/50 Holt St, Surry Hills, 02 9318 0881
www.muummaam.com.au/
Category: All Restaurants, East
dishes look really interesting. will have to try
Fantastic food and well organised – something a little different to just going out for a normal meal.
After my slight initial disappointment at finding out the venue was in the building where I work as I had been really looking forward to trying somewhere new, I had a great evening.
I had previously been to Muum Maam for lunch when it first opened, and wasn’t blown away by the food. However, the quality of the food on this second visit was much better (the dinner menu is better than the lunch, and I also think some of the initial teething problems have been addressed). I agree with the Betel leaves being the star entree, with only a delicate trout flavour balancing well with the other ingredients. The rolls were also great with interesting presentation.
Onto mains, the beef curry was melt-in-the-mouth delicious, although the noodles didn’t stay crispy for long. I always judge a Thai restaurant by the quality of their Pad Thai (one of my favourite dishes) and this was one of the best I’d had. I also liked the chicken, but the salad was a bit too hot for my taste. The pork belly was a disappointment – I usually love it but there wasn’t enough crunch to the crackling and it was slightly chewy.
The coconut sorbet for dessert was gorgeous. I didn’t find the custard and the rice anything special , but by then I was so full that it didn’t really matter!
All in all a great evening with great food and company!
I had such a great night, and will definitely be back.
Going to a restaurant for the first time with a big group is always worthwhile as you can give everything a try. When I return with just a friend, I’ll definitely be opted for the betel leave entree and Pad Thai (I’m still having cravings!!).
Great article! It’s totally mouth-watering especially the crispy pork belly. I guess it’s all about the presentation that makes it more inviting.
I love the ever expanding number of Thai restaurants opening in Sydney as it’s one of my favorite cuisines. Mumm mumm sparked me straight away as a restaurant offering something different from the standard Thai you get in Sydney.
Favorite dishes was the mouth watering Beef curry and smoked ocean trout on betel leaf. I’ll head back for these. Also they have a machine to squeeze their own coconut milk-love it! Added I love places you can BYO. Worth trying the coconut water.
I also loved that they have a little tuk tuk atbthe entrance that they use for lunch time trading. Neat!
Great new favours, clean and good service, affordable, Worth the visit if your in the surryhills area.
[...] developing precinct for hot new restaurants and bars. Two doors down is the authentic Thai serving Muum Maan, Vini and 121 BC next door and a few streets away you’ll find El Capo, Orto Trading and new [...]
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[...] developing precinct for hot new restaurants and bars. Two doors down is the authentic Thai serving Muum Maan, Vini and 121 BC next door and a few streets away you’ll find El Capo, Orto Trading and new [...]