Sometimes dreams take us to unexpected places. At least, so it seems for Thai Mudgee’s owner Siranee Hocheuay, known to her guests as ‘Boo’.
After moving to Sydney from Central Thailand, Boo fell in love with the Gold Coast when visiting friends.
“It was just like my home town,” Boo tells us. “In King Street, Newtown, our restaurant did very well. But we lived above the restaurant and it was very noisy. I came from the countryside and, to me, the Gold Coast was just like that.”
With her partner Peter and sister Tae, Boo moved to the Gold Coast, opening Thai Mudgee in Railway Street Mudgeeraba.
“There was a country village feel to Mudgeeraba that we loved,” Boo tells us.
Thai Mudgee gained in popularity and soon outgrew its premises.
The couple had bought a residential acreage property further north up the coast, where they grow all the herbs used in the restaurant without any pesticides or fertiliser. With galangal, chilli, ginger, turmeric, lemongrass, kaffir lime, sweet and holy basil, chives, lemon, papaya, cherry tomatoes and tomatoes, and bean sprouts harvested fresh every morning, it’s no wonder their curries and stir fries are so vibrantly fresh. It’s easy to tell the difference, our curry fragrant with flavour, the roast duck served in summer with banana blossom salad compliments of their home garden. Banquets range in price and though licensed, the restaurant allows BYO wine with a surcharge.
Early in 2016, the trio moved the restaurant to their purpose-built premises in Station Street. The new venue is expansive with two storeys of restaurant, crisply decorated in lush purple and pink silk setting off teak furniture and wooden wall carvings. Verandas face out to the street, overlooking the roundabout and playing fields beyond.
It’s events where the balcony really comes into its own: baby and bridal showers, birthday parties and christenings, Devonshire teas and afternoon tea with cake served on vintage crockery, a full cocktail menu kicking in from 10 am.
Whether you come to Thai Mudgee for dinner or a function, there’s much to recommend such fresh food.
69 Railway St., Mudgeeraba
Thai Mudgee Ph: 07 5525 1655 Thai Mudgee Balcony available for functions.
Thai Mudgee open: Mon – Sun 5pm – 9.30pm; Lunch for group bookings.
NOTE: Good Food Gold Coast dined as guests of Thai Mudgee.