[Gold Coast] Boon Chu Thai

one of the main reasons I love holiday, despite the refreshment of course, is the culinary journey.. I believe that every place offers unique and different taste.. that's why I always do a little research before going to ensure that I have put the best restaurants in my must-visit list.. but Gold Coast is a different case.. it's really hard to find references for good food there.. I come up with basically nothing.. this was actually a trip I shared with another three girls, who I have known since high school.. a long and happy friendship.. arriving at Gold Coast on Sep 21, 2012.. we went directly to Robina area where we have rented our other friend's house and car.. on the way, we met a new friend there who has been really kind and tell us where to get the best food in the coast.. the first she ever mentioned is Boon Chu Thai.. 

quite amusing for me.. since I don't think I will be having Thai food while I'm in the land of kangaroos.. but that's the surprises of life.. so on our first night at the Coast, we went to Broadbeach and got ourselves a table at Boon Chu Thai.. soon after we were seated, we were greeted by an old Thai man, who I suspected was the owner, asking whether we knew how to make an order there.. of course, it was like a huge 'TOURISTS' sign were shown in our faces.. he then explained that every order should be made in the cashier, where other than the a la carte menu, you can also choose from the ready-served dishes.. 

the place was very humble.. a small eatery located in the busy street of Broadbeach.. neighboring to what seemed to be a high-class eatery.. no decoration at all.. only food display, cashier and eating spots, consisted of white tables and chairs.. however, the place was full and packed with people.. we didn't get any seats inside the restaurant that we have to eat on the outdoor area, which was basically tables and chairs arranged at the side of the road.. it was a windy night and sitting at the outdoor area definitely had made us freezing..

anyway, our orders that night were tom yum noodle soup with seafood combination (AUD15.50) and pad thai seafood (AUD17.50).. I did say that there were four of us.. but we saw the portion on our next table and it was huge.. we didn't eat that much since *cough* we intended to maintain our weight haha.. logically, don't let yourself suffer obesity after holiday.. four glasses of tap water and a shared Thai iced tea (AUD3.50) completed our dinner that night.. 

I had never expected to find the best pad thai so far right there, in Gold Coast.. but in fact, I did.. it was delicious.. top notch.. maknyuuuss, quoting Pak Bondan.. it was really that good.. add a little lime juice and stir it with the dried chili.. I had the best meal ever.. did I sound exaggerating? but that's exactly how I felt.. the dish there, was flawless.. and even though I wasn't that hungry, I can't help myself from taking more of the pad thai.. the portion was huge with generous seafood.. quite pricey for our Indonesian standard, but it was worth every dollar spent..

the tom yum noodle was also above our expectation.. a warm soup during a cold, windy night was a great way to warm our body.. the soup was very tasty.. I can taste each taste boldly, without having to add anything to improve the taste.. a bit too overpowering for my liking, but my friends enjoyed it very much.. the fillings were generous, the portion was huge and I can tell we had a great first dinner..

we were so amazed by Boon Chu Thai that we came back for our last dinner in Gold Coast.. basically, our journey in Gold Coast was opened and closed by Boon Chu Thai.. this time, we decided to have another portion of pad thai seafood (AUD17.50).. it was addictive, really.. to accompany the pad thai, we decided to pick from the ready-served food.. it was the appetizing Boon Chu chicken with rice (AUD14.50) and spring rolls (sorry, I forgot the price) with Thai iced tea (AUD3.50).. 

a portion of spring rolls consisted of two pieces.. it was just okay.. I didn't find anything quite special about it.. on the other hand, I found the Bangkok chili very good.. unlike the ones sold in Jakarta, this one was very tasty with a nice level of spiciness and sourness.. 

although it's a ready meal, this dish was delicious.. it looked appetizing, right? Boon Chu chicken is one of the best selling dish here.. sweet and tasty chicken, onion and pepper with a portion of hot rice.. I love Asian food.. I love the balance of the dish with no single taste overwhelming the others.. it was a perfect cooked chicken and I just love it.. I wasn't quite sure whether it should be categorized as Thai food or Chinese food.. but anyway, the bottom line is it was good :)

on our second dinner, we ordered three glasses of Thai iced tea.. that's just how much we fancied it.. however, after we made our orders and payment, they told us that they run out of Thai iced tea and only able to serve two glasses.. we didn't want to substitute it with Thai iced coffee and got our money returned instead.. after we almost finished our meal, the same uncle who greeted us on our first visit came and deliver a glass of Thai iced tea.. he told us that he was gone to pick up some ingredients earlier and was not able to serve us our third glass of Thai iced tea and for that inconvenience, he gave us the third glass for free and even offered to refill our first two glasses.. talking about flawless service.. he was so nice and he surely has given us a good memory about this place..

Boon Chu Thai

Shop 15 & 16 Phoenician Surfer Parade

Broadbeach QLD 4218, Australia

Ph.: +61 7 5592 3466