Thai restaurants have become victims of their own success. While our love affair with this South-East Asian cuisine is firmly in its fourth decade, it has hit amazing heights, including the early 1990s with Sailor’s Thai by David Thompson and the late Peter Bowyer, and the lows of some less-than-average suburban corner diners.

While Thompson has since taken his version of traditional Thai back to its country of origin, and also introduced Londoners to its ancient tastes, back in Sydney things have languished a little outside the city circle and immediate surrounds.

Martin Boetz has long moved on from Longrain, Sujet Saenkham’s Spice I Am and his other ventures tick along, Muum Maam in Surry Hills cranks out lots of lunches, Amy Chan’s Chat Thai is a shopping centre success, while her daughter’s Boon Cafe in Pitt St created an initial flurry of excitement.

So it is good to see then former Sailors Thai chef Pacharin “Air” Jantrakool​ in the kitchen at Chon (Thai for spoon) in Balmain.

Until recently Jantrakool was at Merivale’s Work In Progress in King St, and its fairly straightforward but solid street food offerings.

Chon, in the old Satasia site, has been taken over by Michael Corrente, who also has Blue Ginger restaurant nearby.

Corrente has lured Jantrakool to this stark white two-storey space, with whitewashed walls, polished concrete floors and the ceiling a sea of paper lanterns.

The ever-smiling staff are quick to supply water and wine and food menus and it’s easy to settle in. The small yet decent wine list offers reasonably-priced Victorian BTW Pinot Grigio ($6.50/$28) and the Main Divide Southern Alps pinot noir ($8.5/$48).

Starters sound average, say chicken curry puff ($4) and betel leaf ($4.50), but Jantrakool’s technique and the freshness of the ingredients are a standout with the presentation often delicate and feminine.

The quail egg ($3), for example, is a hard-boiled egg wrapped in minced prawn and topped with egg noodle, deep-fried and dressed with a tangy sweet chilli sauce, and garnished with a spray of micro herbs and petals. The betel leaf is vivid: a roe-topped sliver of smoked trout, ginger, lime and roasted coconut.

On a second visit, five-spice pork bun ($4) on fluffy open dough was a respectable nod to David Chang, the pork rich and unctuous and bun light as a feather. Egg nets ($14) offer moist shredded chicken with Thai basil and Kaffir lime, wrapped up in a crunchy net coating.

Mains are also similarly well executed. There is fall-apart beef rib ($22) hidden under salad of deep-fried red shallots, mint, coriander, green mango, green apple and Thai basil with a tangy dipping sauce.

The vegetarian curry ($20) is uplifting too, with tofu, pumpkin, potato and greens floating in a pond of rich, red flavoursome curry sauce, and many of the mains are offered as vegetarian options.

The barramundi in banana leaf ($26) is also in a red curry, but this time a dry one, the sauce sticking to a decent-sized barra fillet, a drizzle of coconut milk cutting through the heat.

Wok-fried cashew chicken ($20) is a family-safe option, a sizeable mound of sliced chicken breast, snow peas and dry chilli that will not frighten off more delicate palates.

It’s a trim dessert menu: tapioca pudding or pandan noodles with coconut cream (both $7), black sticky rice or caramelised dumplings filled with coconut and palm sugar, or coconut, mung bean crunch (all $8). Save yourself the effort and order the selection of the day ($12).

On both visits, child in tow, we were early starters but within half an hour, it was full of families, couples and groups lugging in BYO, Corrente greeting many a familiar face. He looks to have opened a much more than pedestrian Thai restaurant to Balmain’s passing foot traffic.

Originally published on dailytelegraph.com.au