For many years now, Canberra has been turning out some respectable Thai food (thank you Lemongrass and Zen Yai). With menus that rely on the classics like pad thai and chicken satay, there's plenty of wiggle room on the restaurant scene. Enter Morks, a new restaurant joining the hoohah on Kingston Foreshore. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am quite astounded by the transformation that Canberra has undergone over recent years. It's almost a wholly different city, now rated as one of the world's most liveable. Who'da thunk it?
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| BBQ Pork bun. Something I had been looking forward to trying out. The pork belly was quite delicious, all in a perfectly soft bun. The addition of the desiccated coconut made it extra special. David Chang eat your heart out! |
Moving from humble beginnings in Foley six years ago, Morks has found prime position in Kingston and is happily reaping the rewards. The team at the helm are siblings Mork and Benn Ratanakosol who lead the kitchen and front-of-house respectively. If you wondered about the name, you have it! A google search of "Morks" quizzically brings up Robin Williams in a bright red onesie (from a 70s sitcom). The dining room at Morks is spacious with a functional fit-out in subdued black and grey tones with spherical lanterns to spice it up.
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| The Kingston Foreshore precinct, am I advertising this or what?! Source: restaurant.australia.com |
The menu is a great point of interest, bringing together the best of the beloved Thai classics with some contemporary dishes all marching to the beat of the same drum. The feature of a 64 degree egg may leave some unconvinced but the flavours are all there. I also appreciate the Pokemon reference in the dessert Jigglypuff (it's just so fun to say!), a lemon and lychee sorbet. It's a young team and the mood is kept light-hearted, all whilst maintaining their food credentials.
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| Exhibit A: red duck curry with crispy rice cake. This is a massive departure from the Thai that we have grown accustomed to and that can only be a good thing. The duck was nice and tender but tended on the dry side. The curry sauce was just the ticket. A very generous portion size |
I must say one more thing about the service. It ended up being quite hysterical, but in a good way. Making a rather late booking for a largish group, we were relegated to a table outside (fair enough). What we weren't counting on was the precipitous drop in temperature that night, leaving us to shiver in our coats and scarves. However, the front of house staff were a delight, happily shifting portable gas heaters all around us. We proceeded to eat our meal in what felt like the Fort Knox of heating. We literally had to extricate ourselves from the table, not just because we were spectacularly full...
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| Rainbow trout, tamarind reduction, fried onion, dried chilli and witlof. The wow-factor of the trout was literally lost on me. Where was the fish? Tucked under a delicious layer of rich tamarind sauce and fried shallots. Perhaps slightly overpowering for the trout, the dish still tasted great |
How excitement. Morks spells great things to come for the nation's capital. Putting a modern spin on Thai cuisine is perhaps exactly what Canberra needed. What you see now are restaurants and bars that aren't afraid to flirt with the boundaries. There's a new sort of energy and exuberance that fills the air and it's infectious. My faith has been restored that "the hole" is filling up, and pronto.
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| "Back in my day" this space was Source: Morks |
Thanks for reading!
xGourmand
