Green Peppercorn Lao & Thai Restaurant, Fairfield

Green Peppercorn is one of those restaurants I have heard so much about and my friends keep raving on about it, so I thought it was about time I checked out what all the fuss was about. The menu is full of traditional Lao/Thai dishes with decor to match. It does remind me slightly of the popular Holy Basil restaurant and I thought they were related, but in fact they are run separately with no relation. Talk about stiff competition!

Despite opening over a year ago, the restaurant has maintained its popularity with the masses. There was already a queue when we arrived just before 6pm on a Sunday, but fortunately we only had a short 15 minute wait for a table. I did notice though that there were lines outside throughout the night up until we left, impressive!

Fruit Shakes – $6.50

We started off with some fresh fruit shakes which allowed us to choose a combination of up to 3 fruits. I chose a lychee and watermelon mixture which came out promptly. I really enjoyed my combination and it was a delightful sweet starter that left me very hungry for some savoury food.

Lao Sausages – $10.90

Our first dish for the night was Lao pork sausages which were served with a sweet and tangy dipping sauce. They were full of flavour and well seasoned, and also charcoal bbq-ed giving it a crispy skin with tender centre.

Charcoal BBQ Ox Tongue – $10.90

Next was the sliced BBQ ox tongue served with the same dipping sauce from the Lao sausages. This was cooked perfectly with a pink centre and was very tender. It had a lot of flavour even without the sauce, probably due to the marinade that was used.

Pad Se Ew (Chicken) – $12.90

Following this was the pad se ew. It had an interesting presentation with sweet soy sauce drizzled in circles around the dish. I found it a bit too salty though, and decided to eat it with some plain white rice. It wasn’t the best pad se ew I’ve had unfortunately.

Gang Kiew Wan (Green Curry) – $12.90 (with chicken)
Gang Masaman (Beef Masaman Curry) – $16.90

Two of our curries were then served – the chicken green curry and beef masaman curry. The green curry was rich and spicy, but I found the portion to be a bit small and it disappeared quite quickly amongst the table. The masaman was once again a small portion, but was very rich with the thick curry sauce and tender beef. It went well with our side of plain and sticky white rice which absorbed all the curry flavours.

Crispy Fish – $44.90

The final savoury dish we ordered was the crispy fish – an entire fried fish served on a bed of green mango salad, topped with mint, coriander, shallots, onions, chilli and lime juice. The fish pieces were all boneless (hooray!) but I found it to be a bit tasteless and not that crispy. The salad that accompanied it was very tasty thankfully and the chilli/lime juice did add some flavour to the fish.

Banana Fritters – $12.90

After all that food, of course we still had room for desserts – 4 of them to be precise! The banana fritters were coated in desiccated coconut and fried, and served with vanilla ice cream and pandan sauce. This was a great combination, with the pandan sauce enhancing the coconut, and the ice cream adding sweetness to the banana.

Fried Ice Cream – $13.90

The fried ice cream came out next and this is highly reminiscent of Holy Basil’s. A triangular mound of ice cream wrapped in thin filo pastry and then fried, and served with lightly fried coconut and caramel sauce. This is heaven on a plate! I especially love the thin pastry and how it breaks easily, but remains crispy.

Pandan Creme Brulee – $14

Many of my friends had been telling me about the creme brulee which was meant to be amazing…and it certainly lived up to my expectations! Served in an oval bowl sat a pandan flavoured custard encased with a crunchy sugar topping. Cracking upon touch, the custard was rich and smooth – overall, it was a winning dessert.

Coconut Lava Crumble – $11.90

Our very last dessert for the night was the coconut lava crumble which was served in a small glass tumbler. Encased inside were layers of coconut jelly and vanilla bean custard, topped with a macadamia crumble and mango sorbet. The vanilla and mango flavours were really apparent, especially when you dug your spoon straight in, scooping up portions of each element. The crumble added great texture as well, and it was a fantastic way to end the meal on a high note.

Overall, my dining experience was quite positive. Green Peppercorn is a wonderful restaurant with a great selection of food and all at affordable prices. Although some of the savoury dishes were a bit small, and the desserts slightly more expensive compared to other restaurants, the quality of the food is quite high. Judging by the constant queue throughout the night, it seems like I’m not the only one who thinks so as well! It might be a bit of a trek for those who don’t live in Western Sydney but it definitely is worth the trip.

Green Peppercorn Lao & Thai Restaurant
1 Hamilton Road, Fairfield 2165
Ph: (02) 9724 7842

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