Sabai Cafe

kitneper Eylül 22, 2022

'Sawadeekap! Sabai dee mai?'
'Sabai sabai.'

This Thai greeting can be the most heartwarming words that you can get. 'Sabai' in Thai refers to being happy and comfortable, feeling fine and take it easy. It transmits the sense of comfort and laid-backness, which is the philosophy behind Sabai cafe.

Sabai cafe is a cosy cafe situated near to popular Glenelg which serves Thai fusion food. In addition, this cafe is also vegetarian friendly due to the variety of vegan offerings. Classics with a twist always catch the attention of my taste buds and this cafe is not an exception. Celebrating the start of our winter break, me and my friends made a visit to the cafe.

The Thai lunch menu is only available from Wednesday to Sunday and fortunate for us, we went on one of those days. My friend ordered the Khow phad pik gaang which was the spicy Thai style fried rice with onion, capsicum, spring onion, carrot and soft fried egg on top.

What I would like to commend was the soft fried egg was served up to the expectation. The soft egg yolk was runny and the egg had a crisp border. The rice was not gluggy and had a subtle hint of spiciness in it. I would actually prefer it to be spicier. The lemon which came with the dish gave freshness and sourness to the fried rice.

Spicy Thai fried rice

Pad Thai is an essential order in every Thai restaurant and so there wasn't an exclusion from our table. The vegetarian Pad Thai had stir fried rice noodle with egg, spring onion, bean sprouts, crushed nuts and coriander. It was not oily and had a considerably big portion. Not the best Pad thai that we have ever tasted but it was sufficient for a satisfying meal.

Pad Thai

Another vegetarian dish on the table was the Thai bean curd salad. The fresh marinated bean curd was accompanied by mixed crispy salad and herbs, doused with refreshing Thai style dressing. I did not manage to taste the dish but it did look amazing. My friend was satisfied with his order.

Thai bean curd salad

Lastly, I ordered the curried lamb shank, mint, chickpea, pumpkin pie with sweet potato chips and coriander, cashew nut salad. The lamb shank pie was amazing! The addition of coriander seed on top added another dimension in terms of aroma to the pie. The lamb shank was cooked perfectly and shredded to be added together with chickpea and mashed pumpkin as the pie filling. The pastry was made so good and flaky that I cannot resist to pick up the residual fallen pieces of pastry on the plate. In conclusion, it was a good pie.

The sweet potato chips did not come out as what I had expected. The sweet potatoes were shaved into thin long pieces and deep fried. Some bits were crunchy but some were not. I would prefer the chips to be hand cut. The salad came with sweet chilli dressing and was executed well.

Lamb shank pie

It was a pleasant meal for me and I loved my lamb shank pie (especially the pastry). If you are thinking to have a modern Thai fusion food, this cafe is probably a good place to go. ทานให้อร่อยนะครับ (Bon appetit)!

Address: 105 Patridge Street, Glenelg

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sabai-Cafe/157729377590534?fref=ts

Trading hours: 9am-4pm (Sun), 8am-4pm (Mon-Tues), 8am-8.30pm (Wed-Sat)