We had been recommended Chalio’s Thai in Beecroft by a friend and decided it was about time we try it out. Renowned by locals, Chalio’s Thai is extremely popular and we were advised to book in advance, especially on the weekends to guarantee a table. Even though we were dining on a Thursday night, we booked a table about a week before for 6:30pm and was so glad we did as by the time we arrived, the restaurant was pretty jam solid.
Perfectly placed close to the Beecroft train station, you could easily stop off here on your way home from work, whilst there is plenty of car parking on the road outside.
We were greeted with a smile by the waitresses and were shown to a table close to the servery. Chalio’s Thai was already buzzing with activity and there was a large group of people already dining here on the opposite side by the entrance.
Chalio’s Thai is a BYO restaurant, but we just stuck to tap water and soft drinks. We were provided with a menu and specials of the day, and there was ample choice of entrees, soup, mains and rice and noodle dishes.
Reasonably priced, this restaurant has a number of wonderful sounding menu options to tantalise the taste buds with entrees including Prawn Dumplings, Money Bags and Peking Duck Spring Rolls. We ended up ordering the Prawn Dumplings and Peking Duck Spring Rolls to start whilst mains comprised of a variety of fish dishes, curries, chicken, pork and beef dishes.
After much deliberation, we ended up ordering the Crispy Pork Belly and the Chicken Chilli and Basil dish to share between us with some boiled rice.
Before our entrees came out we were given a small sample of their homemade Pumpkin Soup. This smelled wonderful and was extremely moreish. This Pumpkin Soup had hints of chilli running through which was very warming and was thick in consistency, yet extremely smooth and satisfying. This was absolutely delicious and I could have easily had a whole bowl of this to myself.
Shortly after we were served with our entrees and my four Prawn Dumplings were full of prawns and ever so juicy and moreish with the soy vinegar. Needless to say these were gone in a flash!
Not long after this our main dishes came out and our little table only just managed to fit everything on it. The Crispy Pork Belly was very crunchy and was well rendered. This was flavoursome and tasty and we had to fight each other for the last piece! The Chicken, Chilli and Basil dish was equally full of flavour with plenty of chilli and a range of vegetables.
Chalio is the man in charge of the fine creations at this restaurant and he first came to Sydney in 1973 where he worked at some of the major hotels including The Hilton, Summit Restaurant and Lakeside in the ACT. Chalio also joined partners in the Siam, one of the first Thai restaurants in Australia. Today, you can still find Chalio cooking in the kitchens and coming up with new and inspiring menu options to wow his diners.
We ended up feasting like kings and queens and devoured the lot and left happily satisfied with smiles on our faces and our bellies brimming of goodness.
Overall, the service at Chalio’s Thai was friendly and attentive and the food was particularly good and memorable, especially the pumpkin soup and Crispy Pork Belly. Thanks again Chalio’s Thai – we certainly will be back!