How to order Thai food like you mean it

10 July 2026 · 2 min read · Rim Thang Thai, Glenelg

Ordering Thai isn't complicated, but there is a shape to it. Get the shape right and dinner lands better: the table shares more, the rice does its job, and nobody ends up guarding a bowl of curry like it's their own personal soup.

Here's how we'd explain it to a mate who's only ever ordered Pad Thai — with real dishes and real prices from our menu at 39 Jetty Rd, Glenelg.

Two ways to eat: shared, or one plate

A traditional Thai dinner is shared. A couple of curries and a stir-fry go in the middle of the table, everyone gets jasmine rice ($4 small, $7 large), and you help yourself to a spoonful of this and a spoonful of that. The rice is the anchor; the dishes are the flavour.

The other way is the street-food way: the one-plate meal. Pad Thai, Pad See Ew or drunken noodles, or a fried rice — a complete dinner on one plate, no sharing required. Both ways are right, and mixing them works fine: shared curries in the middle, one stubborn person with their own Pad Thai. Every table has one.

Pick your protein

Most of our mains are priced by protein rather than by dish. In the curries, tofu or chicken is $21.90, seafood is $25.90, and the combination — chicken, prawns and calamari together — is $27.90. Stir-fries run $20.50 to $25.50, noodles $19.50 to $26.90, and fried rice starts at $18.90.

The one exception is the Panang Beef Curry at $22.50 — beef slow-cooked for four hours with capsicum, kaffir lime and coconut cream, so it's beef or nothing. And if you can't decide, the add-ons let you cheat: extra prawns for $5, a fried egg on your fried rice for $3, cashews for $3.

Spice: say what you actually want

You set the spice level on every dish, so say it straight. Mild means all the flavour without the fire. Medium has warmth you'll notice. Thai hot means we cook it the way it's eaten back home — order it and own it.

Some dishes have a natural temperament, too. Pad Cha is meant to be fiery — the name comes from the sizzle when it hits the wok. Tom Yum should have proper sour-spicy depth. Green curry carries a gentle heat even when it's mild. If in doubt, start at medium; you can always go hotter next visit.

What we'd order for a table of four

Enough variety to cover the whole table — starters to graze on, shared curries with rice, and a plate each. It comes to $133.20 all up, or a bit over $33 a head. Call 0426 359 311 for takeaway, or come in from 5PM and order this:

• Mixed Entrée, $24.90 — two each of spring rolls, fish cakes, curry puffs and prawn cakes
• Dumplings, $16.90 — handmade, pork, chicken or mixed, with ginger, spring onion and sesame
• Green Curry with chicken, $21.90 — shared, with a large jasmine rice for the table, $7
• Panang Beef Curry, $22.50 — rich and slow-cooked; the one everyone fights over
• Basil Stir-Fry with chicken, $20.50 — wok-fired with garlic, capsicum and basil
• Pad Thai with chicken, $19.50 — because someone at the table will want it, and they're right