Sometimes the name tells you everything. Cooking with pork fat – as Thai kitchens did for centuries before flavourless commercial oil wandered in – gives every dish here a richness that hits you like a warm hug and then refuses to let go. The pad thai isn’t always on the short, seasonal menu, but when it is, it’s worth an immediate pilgrimage. Toothsome noodles, a deeply rich, flavourful sauce, plenty of freshness and crunch from the lime, garlic chives, sprouts and peanuts, all finished off with some whopping king prawns. Lucky for the rest of Sydney’s Thai food scene that this pad thai isn’t always on offer, because this is the version destined to ruin all others for you. 33 Ultimo Rd, Haymarket; porkfat.com.au

Open since 1996 and housing more than 400 seats in a venue located in one of Sydney’s most densely-packed dining areas, the legendary Thai Pothong just keeps on delivering. The pad thai here is everything this noodle dish should be: tamarind-forward, well-balanced, arriving at the table still sizzling with the kick of dried shrimp and absolutely no restraint. It’s appropriately crowd-pleasing for a restaurant with a gift shop (stocked with larger-than-life steel Transformers, no less…). Book ahead, bring a good bottle and plenty of friends: you’ll want to sample as many dishes as possible from the encyclopaedia-length menu. 294 King St, Newtown; thaipothong.com.au

Thirty-five years in and still setting the standard… not bad for a restaurant that essentially had to invent Sydney’s appetite for real Thai food from scratch. The organic produce comes from Boon Luck Farm in Byron Bay, and you can taste it: the pad thai is bright, clean and lively, built for people who actually know what it’s supposed to taste like. Thin noodles, tamarind that means business, bean sprouts with crunch, vibrantly fresh lime that’s there to use. Peak hour is loud and heaving, which is half the experience. Pairing the pad thai with a curry or a stir-fry and a couple of beers is the rest. Lean into it. 20 Campbell St, Haymarket; chatthai.com

Some restaurants you visit, and others your feet just take you to. Spice I Am is very much the second kind, a tiny Surry Hills room that has been drawing people in off the street since 2004, and that shows no signs of stopping. The pad thai doesn’t mess around: tamarind up front – assertive and almost tart, fish sauce bringing seasoning and funk, and tofu scattered through alongside your choice of protein. The noodles have proper wok hei – that unmistakable smoky flavour you’d find by the side of the road in Bangkok, and the egg is carefully folded in, not plopped on top. There will be a queue, but the wait will be worth every minute. 90 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills; spiceiam.com

North Shore locals, your search is over. While most of Sydney’s best Thai eats are clustered in Haymarket, Khao Pla has been quietly doing the hard work on Chatswood’s Victoria Avenue. This is the sort of place where curry pastes are hand-pounded, limes are sliced to order and the pad thai arrives at your table with that slightly smoky, slightly charred wok hei that only comes from cooking at proper heat. The room is relaxed and the broader menu is certainly well worth exploring, but it’s the generous serve of authentic noodles here that keeps the people coming back. 7/370-374 Victoria Ave, Chatswood; khaopla.com.au

Good Thai in the Eastern Suburbs? It’s rarer than you’d think! And that’s exactly why Rice Pot has garnered the cult following it so richly deserves. There are plenty of hits on the menu, to be sure, but the pad thai here exemplifies what makes this eatery so great: thin rice noodles, tamarind with proper punch and – if you’ve ordered properly – chunky, juicy prawns luxuriating on top. It’s fresh, it’s honest and it comes without the usual predictable beachside mark-up. Rice Pot is a flurry of fire and flavour in a neighbourhood better known for its cold brew and avocado toast. Long may it reign. 46 Hall St, Bondi Beach; ricepotthai.com.au

Big communal tables, harbour light coming through the windows and a room that makes any meal feel like an occasion – Muum Maam was always going to be popular. Happily the food backs it up. The sen jan pad thai here uses thinner, more delicate noodles than the usual rice, and treats them gently: careful folding, restrained heat, a chilli-spiked sauce that coats rather than drowns. Loaded with prawns, radish, peanuts and bean sprouts, it comes out lighter than you expect but still lands every flavour note perfectly. Start with the mud crab, prawn and scallop toast and try to pace yourself. Good luck with that. Shop 6/23 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo; muummaam.com.au

Ten tables, a corner spot on Elizabeth Street and a menu built around the food chef-owner Mon Bongkunkham grew up eating in Chiang Rai, Mon Thai is exactly the kind of neighbourhood restaurant that people in other neighbourhoods get a bit jealous of: small, personal and very, very good. The pad thai here is the real deal: properly sour tamarind, wok heat you can actually taste, and the sort of carefully dispensed seasoning that only happens when the person cooking it really cares how it lands. No shortcuts, no crowd-pleasing fudging, just a brilliant bowl from a kitchen that absolutely wants it to be perfect. 779 Elizabeth St, Zetland; mon-thai-eatery-zetland.nextorder.com

Caysorn would be quite easy to walk straight past, which would be a tragedy. Tucked into the Prince Centre above Paddy’s Market, this Southern Thai specialist is where the Thai community comes to eat, and if that’s not recommendation enough, then nothing will be. The self-serve condiment station loaded with bean sprouts, pickles and Thai basil tips you off that this place dances to the beat of its own drum. The pad thai is sour, punchy and charred at the edges in exactly the right way. Pro tip: taste it before reaching for the chilli jar. You might be surprised. Prince Centre Building, 106, Level 1/8 Quay St, Haymarket; caysorn.com.au

Fewer than 30 seats. Fresh flowers on the tables. A kitchen you can almost see flames leaping out of while your dinner is being cooked. It’s BYO, too (and yes, they’ll stick your bottle in the fridge for you). Baan Chiang is the kind of neighbourhood gem that people drive halfway across Sydney for once they find out about it, and the pad thai here exemplifies why: generous with flavour, precise with heat, finished with the reliability of a kitchen that’s been nailing the same dish for years. Locals guard it like a treasure, because that’s exactly what it is. 390 Victoria Rd, Rydalmere