It started with the opening theme song and soothing tones of Freddie, singing, “Who wants to live forever, who wants to live foreeeeeever?”, followed by the quote that has lived with me since the 80’s, “I am Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod. I was born in 1518 in the village of Glenfinnan on the shores of Loch Shiel. And I am immortal”.
Highlander was one of those movies that I watched as a child growing up and completely fell horrified in love with it.
So much gore and so much violence and yet, just so completely captivating for a young mind.
When I recently took my routine lunch walk around Melbourne CBD to stretch my muscles, I couldn’t help but have Freddie’s voice and the quote above play on repeat in my head as I noticed the signboard for Thailander.
A new Thai joint within 5 minutes strolling distance from work? One with such a cute name that I couldn’t just walk on by without entering its domains?
Thailander’s interior is pretty cosy with a few tables and benches for punters wishing to dine in. I was early, it was new. I was the only person venturing in at 12pm. As I placed my order, I asked the staff when they had opened, to which she replied “a week ago”. Time warp, flash forward a month later, I’m finally sitting down to blog this entry 🙂 The crowd has definitely picked up from them and I do need to make a return to try all the other yummy curries on offer (Ash,I’m looking at you!)
But for my first pick off the menu, I knew I had to get my tastebuds onto their Pad Thai.
It certainly did have a lot of wok breath and tasted ultra delicious. Almost as good as the Pad Thai Restaurant in Melbourne’s Target Centre Food Court and I don’t have to walk so far.
The one thing I couldn’t get over was just how ginormous the serving was! It was almost enough for two people. Despite that, I still finished it off as it was so good and I couldn’t stop eating it.
I’m so lucky to have found this little eatery. Now it’s time to stop telling people about it so that I can get it easy during lunch hour and not have to battle the crowds.
Do you think it’s too late for that? 🙂
*Disclaimer: All food ratings & review are purely based on my own experiences and how I feel about the service, food and quality at the time of visit
Food/ Cuisine: Thai
Dining Style: Casual Dining
Opening Hours:
Monday to Thursday, 11:00am – 9:00pm
Friday to Saturday, 11:00am – 10:00pm
Closed Sundays
Address:
425 Little Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 9600 2552
Website: http://www.thailander.com.au/
How to get there:
I would love a nice Thai restaurant 5-minute walk away! And with huge servings, that’s a plus!
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
Love it when your pad thai comes with a little corner of crushed peanuts and a fresh wedge of lime. Essential stuff imho!
I have been to this joint a few times to be able to say that the place is not worth a visit, if you are looking for real Thai food
This is not Thai food. This is Thai food, Singapore/Malaysia style. If you are looking for genuine Thai, this is not for you. If you don’t care much about what real Thai food taste like, by all means, go. Don’t get me wrong, the food is ok – not much flavour but edible.
The people who run this place, also run the one before this – Hot Wok Breath (I think). Back then as HWB, it was a Singapore/Malaysia food. So, a shift to Thai in such a short period? Its all a bit suss.
Back to the food. Serving is not generous, it is expensive and the flavour is mild – a dumbed-down version of what the real flavour is. I have tried half the items on the menu but have decided not to return.
Value for money? Absolutely not – you get cheaper and better Thai food elsewhere.
One star (out of five) from me.
Such a cute, colourful place. I love it’s name actually… makes me think of heartlanders in Singapore… aahaha!
Ohhh is it super new? Because I haven’t seen Thailander around before 🙂 But if you say the Pad Thai is THAT good i’m definitely going to have to go try!
Someone here in Utah quoted Highlander at me two nights ago. What a world!
Thai food is always love for its unique taste.