Thai Restaurants are often defined by how well their Pad Thai greets the taste buds of the customer. Lang Suan should be judged by its rustic design, strong authentic flavours and its street food aesthetic. The Pad Thai is pretty good too.
Lang Suan rests in the heart of Chatswood Westfield situated right next to a KFC, providing you with an easy option for cultural dining. The corrugated tin interior and street vendor styled front counter make you feel like you could be on the crowded streets of Thailand tasting the creations of locals. The seating comprises of old metal barrels with cushion tops and chairs each made with a unique scrap metal design.
Once seated the authenticity of the place really strikes a blow. The whole restaurant is dressed in a slowly rusting tin aesthetic and the walls are inlaid with small alcoves housing traditional Thai crockery. The street vendor motif is continued when we receive our food in colourful plastic bowls with mock metal cutlery. Lang Suan makes the effort to immerse you in a street setting even if the seating is a bit basic.
We began with an entrée of Po Pia which is a Thai style spring roll. It comes with sweet chilli sauce and hits the spot. The batter is soft and the filling oozes that multi dimensional flavour Thai food is loved for. These spring rolls are some of the best I’ve tasted and my dining partner, who normally avoids deep fried food finds them to her liking.
Next up are our mains, we ordered the ‘Kuay Teow Ped’ (braised duck noodle soup) which has an option of egg or rice noodle, like all noodle items on the menu and Mum got ‘Kao Mun Gai’ (Thai style Hainanese chicken rice with home made chilli and ginger sauce). Broth is an important factor in all noodle soups and Lang Suan gets it pretty bang on with this dish. The duck is also quite generous considering the price and the meal adequately fills a hole. I wouldn’t go as far as to frame a picture of this dish and put it on my wall but again for the price it falls within the better tier of Thai food options.
Mum would recommend the Kao Mun Gai and that’s a good enough reference for me. She has a pallet for Thai food and is a good food critic. Like the duck dish, this meal does the right thing by the chicken and ensures it’s brimming with enough flavour to accompany the portion of rice. The homemade sauce ties in with the street food theme and makes for the perfect supplement to the meal.
Lang Suan is a restaurant that puts in the effort and for that it should be applauded. It sticks true to the flavours it endeavours to present and the aesthetic it conveys. With its proximity to The Concourse in Chatswood this is also a perfect place to eat before indulging in the Arts or strolling upstairs to see a film.
With so many interesting places to eat at in Chatswood it is worth the risk to stray from your favourites. It might not always be a bullseye but it most definitely won’t disappoint. And who knows you might even end up putting a framed picture on your bedroom wall.
Lang Suan – Chatswood
Shop 431 Level 4 Westfield
Tel: 02 8021 5043
