I-Spicy 2

I-Spicy 2

80 Victoria St, Richmond

(Ph) 9429 4559

Parents were in Melbourne and we felt like some Thai food so I looked in the Entertainment book and found a 25% off voucher for I-Spicy =) They have a few locations but we thought Richmond would be the most convenient. The original I-Spicy is in Hawthorn and is a much more casual restaurant where you order at the counter compared to this one at Richmond.

We booked a table for 7pm, got there 5mins late and saw all the tables were taken already =O we told the waiter we had booked a table and she looked at us blankly and said there were no bookings made for the night =/ she then talked to another waiter and finally told us we could go upstairs. *phew* we didn't even know there's an upstairs! There was only one other group up there, guess they try to not seat people upstairs 'cause the waiters have to carry the dishes up and down =P

Dad wanted to start off with BBQ Stuffed Calamari - marinated minced chicken, stuffed in calamari grilled served with ispicy lemon sauce $10

Would have been nicer if they grilled the calamari longer. The mince chicken wasn't too flavoursome but the supposed "lemon sauce" was very spicy =/

P wanted the Tod Mun Pla - fish cake is made from blended fish, red curry paste, kaffir lime leaves and sliced green beans $8

Aren't fish cakes meant to be like fish balls and have a slightly chewy and bouncy texture? These didn't feel too bouncy - they were kinda like fish patties but quite tasty nonetheless.

Next came the Tom Yum Mixed Seafood - clear seafood soup cooked with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, galangala, coriander roots, flavored with fish sauce, lemon sauce and chilli $21

I didn't think I would be able to drink tom yum, I normally can't take much chilli but the sourness made the chilli not too bad and actually quite refreshing =) galangala is a very strong ginger-like plant - couldn't really taste it whatever it is. There was a small candle underneath it but it didn't do much to keep the soup hot =(

Of course we had to get a Pad Thai (chicken, pork and beef) - a sweet and sour stir fry of thin rice noodles with ground peanuts, eggs and bean sprouts $12

Such an ordinary Thai dish but so tasty - slightly sweet and slightly sour with the crunch of bean sprouts and peanuts =)

Dad saw the other table get this and wanted it too. Garlic Soft Crab - deep fried soft crab topping with crunchy garlic $21

So much soft shell crab and so crunchy and delicious with the sweet and sour dipping sauce! There were meaty bits (soft shell crab is actually very sweet!) and there were crunchy leg bits =) My favourite dish of the night even though it's not a very typical Thai dish!

Of course we had to also get a curry - Green Curry (chicken or beef) - home made curry with green chilli, lemongrass, garlic with your choice of meat $16

It came in a small pot and surprisingly was quite big. This one also had a small candle flame underneath but because it was in a copper pot it kept the heat much better than the tom yum soup =) Green curry is a bit too chilli for me but it went well with some Roti - flat pan bread $3 each

The star of the meal was the Pork Shank - pork shank slowly three hours cook in five spicy herbs then deep fried until crispy and serve with spicy sauce $24 They need some improvement on their English =P

I'm not normally a fan of fatty meat but this was surprisingly so delicious! Super crispy skin on the outside and the meat inside was so soft and tender and wasn't too fat either =) Apart from serving it with a sweet and sour sauce, how is this a Thai dish? =P

Dessert time! Thai Sweet Potato Delight $5

Didn't taste like sweet potato - kinda like sweet glutinous rice balls, deep fried and crunchy on the outside =)

Last came the Thai Coconut Rice Pancake $5

We could have it with corn or spring onion - spring onion sounded really weird but we decided to go half half. Surprisingly the spring oinion ones were tastier as the savouriness balanced the sweet coconut flavour nicely. They kinda look like half takoyaki balls - soft and gooey inside with a slight crunch underneath =)

Food~
6.5/10 - quite good food overall =) definitely get the soft shell crab and the pork shank!

Service~
2/5 - food took a while to come out, guess the waiters had to walk up the stairs took them a bit longer =P

Atmosophere~
3/5 - downstairs was quite cramped but upstairs was nice and spacious =)

C.
xo