After wandering around not quite aimlessly for half an hour, we came upon Thai City. I hadn't eaten Thai food for over a year, and Dave had never tried it.
Yes, I may have mentioned once that most Asian desserts aren't to my taste, and that we really like dessert, but we decided to eat here anyway.
Thai City has a pretty standard Thai restaurant atmosphere about it. You have a choice of western-style or Thai-style seating, the latter coming complete with pretty triangular cushions that look nice but don't offer much support unless you're really laid back. The service was very good (not only did they provide a water jug without being asked, they regularly stopped by the table to refill our glasses with it). It was a pretty quiet lunch hour, so I can't tell you what the service would be like when it's busy.
Prices are quite reasonable for the CBD. Most entrees were around $10 and the mains varied between $12 and $20. The large variety of dishes to choose from made me want to return before I'd even tasted the food.
We started by sharing the Prawn Crackers and spicy peanut sauce ($3.90) and the Larb Gai ($9.90), which is a spicy minced chicken salad with onion, chilli, mint, and lemon juice. The prawn crackers were, well, prawn crackers. The satay sauce was authentic but we could have used a slightly larger serving. The Larb Gai was delicious, spicy and tangy and very very more-ish.
For mains, Dave chose the Moo Yang ($12.90) - chargrilled pork marinated in honey, garlic, pepper, lemongrass, and red wine. It was crispy, sweet and spicy. Very nice. I had the Red Curry with beef ($12.90), which was fragrant and well stocked with beef and veggies but surprisingly not as spicy as the Larb Gai. We accompanied these with Coconut Rice (Dave) and Jasmine Rice (me).
After all this, we were satisfied enough to actually skip dessert (don't tell anyone!). So I can't comment on what they offer here.
The restrooms were clean but otherwise unremarkable.
Given the amount of choice on the menu, the prompt and efficient service, and food worth wandering 30 minutes for, I think we could probably wander back over here sometime. Even if dessert is still an unknown quantity.
Not bad for Dave's first impression of Thai food.
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Dave's summary: "The best Thai food I've ever had."
Probability that we will return: 36 / 42
Note that the probability rating is affected by the fact that there are hundreds of places to eat around here.