Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Holy Basil - Canley Heights


We have always loved Thai food, and we wanted to go inside Holy Basil since AGES AGO. Finally on this particular evening, we could get there early to avoid the queue. It was right at opening time and we were totally exhausted, hungry, but ofcourse, excited! We wanted to come here because of the Fried Ice cream (100% of the people who ate them have given positive feedbacks) and we were also curious about the main dishes too.



The interior looked very traditional, with all the golden statues and Thai decorations, and then you get the benches instead of chairs for seating. One side was completely open to fresh air, and we picked our seats there to enjoy the bit of evening breeze.


Coconut juice  $4.50

We both picked Coconut juice, as it was just something simple and refreshing to drink. Although I found the one from Holy Basil had a richer and smoother coconut flavour which was very pleasant, and it also included more coconut pieces than the ones we have tried at other restaurants.



Mixed Appetizers - Fish Cake, spring roll, chicken wing, and curry puff (4 pieces)  $9.90

Who can get away a Thai meal without some Appetizers? I know I can't!! The little pieces were just too irresistible! I loved how flavoursome the chicken wing was, how crispy the curry puff and spring roll were, and how well the fish cake combined with the sweet chilli sauce.




Crab Meat Fried Rice - Stir fried rice with crab meat, onion, tomato, garlic, Chinese Broccoli, shallots, lime, and shrimp paste  $14.90

This was one of the very few times where we have picked fried rice in a Thai restaurant, and we absolutely loved it! You could spot several chunks of actual crab meats, and the overall mixture of ingredients was just so fulfilling. I loved how the salt and other flavours balanced perfectly and the inclusion of cucumbers and tomato to add a bit more refreshing tastes.




Green Curry - Available with meat, vegetables or seafood (we picked chicken) $12.90

When we picked this dish, the waiter asked us what level of chilli we preferred. We weren't sure how hot they were like so we picked medium, and it turned out not as spicy as we thought...Phewww. It was a great main dish to have with rice, and the base was really creamy with a tiny bit of sweetness. We selected Chicken as it had a relatively lighter taste, hence we felt that they would balance with the strong curry flavour really well.


 
Holy Basil Fried Ice cream  $13.90

After trying so hard to save that last bit of room in the stomach, the legendary dessert has finally arrived! I thought the appearance was more like a thick toast or something, you couldn't really tell what was really inside by the look of it. But after that very first bite, OH MY GOD. The pastry was so crispy, along with that sweet wave of ice cream melting into your mouth, oh I could now flew to heaven. Also I wanted to mention the caramel sauce and the crunchy coconut pieces on the side, as they have all added that extra bonus to this dessert. I gave it 2 thumbs and 2 toes up, it was lovely :P



Sticky coconut rice pudding + Mango  $13.90

This was the other dessert that Bun picked, after my epic fail to persuade him in getting a fried ice cream too >.< But it turned out he totally loved it! I thought the sticky rice had a really unique flavour, it was better than the white sticky rice that we have tried elsewhere. The Mango was fresh and the temperature didn't have too much contrast, we found it as a good aspect as too much difference has caused me toothaches before.


In the end we completely fell in love with Holy Basil and no doubt it was one of the best Thai restaurants we have tried so far. Now we can understand why there is always a long line waiting at the door around lunch and dinner times, it certainly deserves the popularity. They have a chain in Shark Hotel, and we'd love to eat there sometimes too. Next time, I am definitely going to try their Pad Thai!



Address:
233A Canley Vale Rd, Canley Heights NSW

Phone number:
02 9727 7585

Opening time:
Lunch:
12-3pm
Dinner:
Sun - Wed  5-10pm
Thu - Sat  5-11pm


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Holy Basil on Urbanspoon

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