Easy Tiger

Easy Tiger indeed! A fantastic «treat yourself» Thai restaurant.
Being pregnant comes with dining out challenges, however Easy Tiger hit these curve balls out of the park with no hesitation. I mean seriously, who offers on their menu a non-​alcoholic drinks matching option for their banquets — Easy Tiger that’s who! And the drinks were delicious!
Even though one of us was ‘eating for two’ the smallest of the two banquets was still a little bit too much for us to manage. All dishes were delicious, even the replacement vegetarian massaman curry that stepped in for the smoked trout that preggers couldn’t eat, and the ‘more cooked than usual’ son in law egg.‘
The space is funky and I loved the colored water glasses. Sparkling water comes as a bottomless glass which I love! Staff are friendly and knowledgeable and more than happy to pass on their recommendations if asked.
Can’t wait to go back!

This is an interesting place

We were pretty excited to try something new outside of the CBD since we love Thai inspired food. The restaurant had a great modern feeling and the right music to get you moving.
The menu is broken up into several sections and the Street Food section has smaller items that can be mixed and matched. The second section, Rice Course, are larger items meant to be shared family style.
We ordered the traditional thai fish cake, betel leaf with tea smoked scallop and crispy soft shell crab. The betel leaf needed more sauce to hold it together and the flavor needed more citrus to balance out the bitterness of the betel leaf. The soft shell crab was on a housemade sriracha that was not spicy, but was a little bitter from the pepper. It wasn’t a good pairing with the soft shell crab. Everything was just ok. They were neither too hot, spicy or sour… just ok… muted.
Moving to the next shared course we shared the sour orange fish curry and the son in law eggs. The fish curry was excellent. The fish was just cooked through and the sour orange curry sauce was just the right punch you expect from Thai food. The son in law eggs were nicely deep fried and as you break the egg on your rice the yolk spills out making the perfect sauce on rice.
Overall it’s ok, but I have had better Thai inspired food. If you don’t like strong flavors this will be a good restaurant for your. If you’re not in the neighborhood, I wouldn’t make the extra trip.

*Review incomplete
Wonderful. Food scrumptious. Worst part was sitting in the doorway on the couches in winter. It was very chilly, but I’m sure it’d be pleasant in summer! Service was fab.

Summary: Interesting/​quality Thai Food, but a little expensive and not quite as «Fabulous» as I was expecting. I rated a bit lower because of the ambience, maybe on a busier night it’s more «buzzy» but we found it a bit low energy.
Ambience: We had a group of 3 at the 8pm mid-​week sitting, the place was busy but not full. The ambience is a little quiet, as there is no music and the waiters almost whisper details of the menu and dishes. We sat very close to the table next to us and if I wasn’t so discrete I could tell you their whole conversation.
Food: We had the $ 75 tasting banquet. Now I’m writing it all up, there was a lot of food, but at the time it didn’t feel like too much. There was no real standout «wow» dish, but overall all the dishes were good quality and interesting flavors.
Starters:
Starting with soy roasted cashews (bit of a non event), then the ma hor (palm sugar cooked prawn, pork, chicken & peanuts, pineapple) which was a delightful little bite. Then the betel leaf (tea smoked scallop, fresh coconut), which was very tasty followed by some oysters (which I didn’t try, I should have said I didn’t like oysters).
Mains:
All came out pretty close together:
wagyu beef shin with pickled cucumber, this was my fave dish, the beef was soft and flavorful, and the pickled cucumber was silky and refreshing. My favorite of the night.
son in law eggs, we took the waiters advice and broke over rice, this was lovely (better than at Ginger boy when they insist you put the whole thing in your mouth at once!).
red curry of roasted duck, lovely as expected duck curry.
sour orange fish curry, was a hit with one diner, but I didn’t care for the combination.
green papaya salad, this was a bit of a disappointment. Spicy but not really any zing.
Dessert:
coconut jelly with some fruit, the jelly was had a really lovely texture and I’m a big coconut fan so very happy with the dessert.

I went here with a group of ten family and friends, the catch of making a booking is that you must have one of the two banquets, the cheaper one being $ 75 (with $ 25 minimum drinks per person, so about $ 100 each!). Service is good — well, good to the point of being so unobtrusive that glasses or plates seem to disappear or be magically refilled without you even noticing, which can be annoying if that’s not what you want — but the staff were friendly and knowledgable. The restaurant was reasonably full (Friday night), but there was no pressure to hurry up and vacate the table (I suspect that the size and drinking capacity of the table was a factor here though). I loved the food, the banquet being a couple of tapas-​size servings and a few mains to share. Great variety of textures, flavours and aromas — pricey but worth a group dinner on a special occasion.

arrived here for dinner at 6.15 and we were ushered out to the courtyard past the tiny magical kitchen.
The restaurant was indeed fancy whilst the courtyard had a warmer feel, open fire, exposed tin-​shed roofing, wooden tables/​chairs. It almost feels like a fancy party at the back of someone’s house.
«Har Mo’ was a hit with mince prawn and meat in a ball mixed with herbs and palm sugar sitting on a perfect circle cut of watermelon. Tangy, spicy, tasty, and refreshing. this was a great start followed by the fishcake, nice but very small portion of taro chips, softshell was served with homemade sriracha sauce that needs more ‘kick’, the betel leaf is nice but also can do with something extra. Son in law eggs was cooked perfectly.
I was happy with the street food, I thought they all needed either more ‘kick’, another herb, more lime, or whatever «Thai food» conjures up in your head, but they were all yummy and fabulous. The street food/​entrees took 1.5 hour to be served (we waited around 10 mins after finishing each plate before served another)
We shared mains of penang curry with pumpkin, and chicken salad with homemade egg noodles. The penang curry looked great but tasted average, the chicken salad tasted fresh and tangy.
When we asked for dessert menu after finishing our mains, we were ‘reminded’ that we had to leave in 10 minutes for 8.30 booking. My partner and I were very disappointed by this considering that they took their time to serve our ‘street food’s.
Nevertheless, a meal is no meal without dessert.
We had 3 out of 4 desserts on the menu (did not go for sorbet/​ice cream) and highly recommend the Coconut Jelly — fresh, light, not too sweet and has a good mixture of fresh exotic fruit on the plate.
Long review short, Good but expensive Thai food. the professional service can border inconsiderate. Be prepared for your food to come sporadically as they are prepared by the kitchen together with orders from the other tables.

My wife and I had dinner here for the first time while visiting Melbourne. Loved the food, atmosphere and service. We started with the chilli taro chips and some Oysters in a lovely fresh herb dressing. Moved on to a delicious corn, coconut and banana flower salad accompanied by a yummy eggplant and rice roll dish. The two of us walked out full and content. Will definitely revisit next time we’re in Melbourne.

Take it easy, Tiger! If you book a table for the early session be warned that you will need to allow for a significant amount time if you would like to order the banquet. My group of four was refused the banquet. Apparently there wasn’t enough time for the kitchen to prepare a banquet for a small group in under 2 hours. The kitchen had received too many dockets.
I did object, explained it was my birthday and even offered to forgo the dessert course. The waiter kindly informed me to check the website booking terms and conditions. The waiter then informed me that he would be back to take our a la carte order in a couple of minutes. Nice treatment for a birthday dinner that was booked well in advance. Customer relations training wouldn’t go astray.
Management did eventually offer to «reconfigure» their dining room to meet my small group’s dining request, however the damage was already done.

A reason why this restaurant is called Easy Tiger? Because it’s hard to stop picking at the delicious food. We ordered the banquet — so did 90% of the patrons around us. So it’s clearly good. Actually, it’s highly recommended, as it allows you to sample a hell of a lot of the menu. Entrees were delicious — probably yummier than the mains. In relation to the mains, the son in law eggs were the best by far. Service was impeccable — very attentive but not intrusive. Lovely, cosy setting too. Would suit a catch up with friends or a casual date.

Can Smith Street get any cooler? I find myself drawn here every week to try another brilliant place to eat!
Easy Tiger is pretty special, there is a homeliness and comfort whilst looking super stylish! The welcome lily flower tea settles you in to browse through a wonderful menu with street food bites, salads and curries. The banquets sound really good and very reasonable but we are creating our own tonight! CLICK HERE for menu.
The street food list is all too tempting so … we get them all!
Taro crisps with chilli salt are gorgeous, we are happily tucking in whilst we get into the 2011 Valere Riesling, winemaker Mr Valentine’s first baby is wonderful!

Easy Tiger is a small eatery which at night, quite literally glows golden like a Thai beach bangalow. Inside, the vibe is almost as beach-​club-​like, laid back and bouyant. Its interior décor matches its non-​surf-​dude clientele though, tasteful and discreet. It’s a geometric lay-​out. Two rectangular communal tables on one side, and a few angular tables for trios and duos on the other, juxtaposed against the curvy low lounge seating at the window. Setting itself apart from Melbourne’s exasperating obsession with black bistro chairs, large galley bars and warehouse industrial chic, there’s none of that stock-​standard aesthetic here — wide 1970s retro chairs with posterior-​friendly cushioning, caramel-​coloured tables, walls panelled with recesses that are back-​lit, accentuating a sentinel line-​up of tinted glass tumblers. The one décor touch that alludes to Easy Tiger’s culinary focus is a tribal-​esque palm frond and fish wall mural, it reminds MoMo & Coco of large kites that we used to fly as children, and also of a very typical South-​East-​Asian dish that sees the wafting of smoky and spicy aromas accompanying the unwrapping of fish heaving with steamed white flesh
…Unlike a recent newcomer of similar culinary focus (we refer to the much-​vaunted Chin Chin of a popularity which we simply do not comprehend), it’s so very easy to fall in love with Easy Tiger. There’s an ambience that’s dynamic and relaxed. There’s a generally good understanding of what hospitality entails in the hospitality industry. There’s a décor marrying perfectly with gastronomic offerings that follow the path of what Australia does best — elegantly and deftly fusing well-​balanced, nuanced South-​East-​Asian flavours and ingredients to mostly Western foundations, rather than futilely (and foolishly) trying to recreate in totality South-​East-​Asia. Overall, it’s sophisticated, refined modern-​Asian/​Australian dining for the more discerning diner. However, as is the similar misfortune of similarly-​focused restaurants, Longrain, Gingerboy, Coda etc, Easy Tiger occasionally seems like a subdued lamb rather than a tiger. Whether modern or traditional, South-​East-​Asian food is about incisive poetry, rather than a sfumato painting. Flavours need to be fired through with a resounding gunshot, not a soporific tranquiliser. Easy Tiger could possibly sketch less easy strokes and embrace more bold lines, because its roar certainly has the potential to reverberate far beyond the inner-​city northern fringe.

Let me tell you a little story about Easy Tiger.
Strolling down Smith street on a date, I suggested we check this new place out. Thai food is always good, cheap and I’d heard that Easy Tiger did «fancy» thai food. Perfect date, right?
Both very nervous, we were placed in the stunning back area, slightly hidden from the rest of the restaurant, in front of a roaring fire. It was deathly quiet and we were the only ones out there.
My date ordered a variety of different appetisers such as betel leaf with prawn, peanuts and fresh coconut, and water chestnut, chicken and shitake mushroom spring roll. Delicious, no?
The wait staff came out with a large, crisp white plate and placed it in front of us. That tiny dot in the centre? That was the food. They explained to us exactly what we had ordered, how it was cooked and what we should have after.
I was impressed, but hungry. My date was awkward.
The night continued on until we felt we had finally filled our bellies, and my date requested the bill and in an effort to be chivalrous said «It’s on me.» He gave a quizzical look at the bill and nervously placed his credit card down. I’m not sure of the exact amount but, well, it was a few hundred.
As we left I thanked him and apologised, as I was certain all Thai food was cheap and greasy.
ALL IN ALL: Easy Tiger really IS «fancy» Thai food. It’s expensive but delicious. The staff know exactly what they’re doing, and I would take a bet that the chef does as well. The food is small, almost tapas-​style, but exquisite. Oh, and maybe don’t take a first date here.