In the last two years, Top Ryde Shopping Centre has been knocked down, rebuilt and refurbished and and now boasts a whole bunch of stores and restaurants. The La Strada section features the well known Hurricanes and Kazbah but I was very excited to see the addition of Red Spoon Thai. There is the option of indoor and outdoor seating and although dim inside, there are many candles and plenty of natural light flowing in. The decor is mainly black (probably contributing to the dimness) and contains lots of wooden furnishings and a giant glass window for you to view the kitchen cooking up a storm.
My first visit was to the Castle Towers branch where I found the food absolutely fantastic. And so I had to visit the Top Ryde one last year when it opened and was very impressed by their lunch menu; for around $15 you get a main meal and a whole bunch of sides including spring rolls, son-in-law eggs and some salad. Unfortunately they have sinced removed this option and the lunch menu is rather limited and boring now and no longer differentiates itself from other Thai restaurants.
Chicken Pad Thai – $12.90
There are three of us having lunch today and we all opt for noodles. The first is the Chicken Pad Thai; it tastes normal (just like every other Pad Thai) and the chicken is well cooked. Nothing special. The flavours at Good Thai were much better in comparison.
Beef Pad See Ew – $12.90
The thing I love most about Pad See Ew is that it contains a sweet soy sauce flavour. However, the one here is more salty than normal and lacks that sweetness. On the upside, the beef was cooked well and the dish doesn’t seem as oily as it usually is.
Chicken Cashew Nut Noodle – $12.90
Our final dish is the Chicken Cashew Nut Noodle. I am not sure what to expect but the sauce has a sweet taste and I would liken this dish to a Pad See Ew with added cashew nuts. It actually tasted more like what a Pad See Ew is meant to taste like over Red Spoon’s version of it. The menu says there is basil and chilli jam in this dish but those flavours are quite mild and not too noticeable. The snow peas and capsicum adds a nice crunchy tough and there is a good proportion of chicken. Towards the end of the dish I found it became a bit saltier (all the sauce at the bottom?) so it is good to have a glass of water on hand.
Overall, I was not that impressed. It is still a good restaurant but seems to have lost the quality and flavours which used to set it apart from others. As someone who loved your lunch menu, PLEASE BRING IT BACK! To me, you have now faded into the array of Thai restaurants in terms of your lunch offerings and from a price point, there is not much persuading me to come back here anytime soon. I hope the Castle Towers branch didn’t follow your lead (they are separately operated businesses and have slightly different menus).
Red Spoon Thai
Shop 3002R, G Level
La Piazza, Top Ryde City
Corner of Blaxland Rd and Devil St
Ryde, NSW 2112
Ph: (02) 9808 3998
