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Its doors open onto the humdrum footpath of a CBD street, but there is a distinctive feel of north-eastern Thailand at Yok Yor. Its Isan heritage is palpable, unmistakably flavoured with smoke, fish sauce, chilli and lime. Set between faceless Sydney office buildings at the eastern end of Thai Town, Yok Yor serves some of the most authentic versions of classic Isan dishes available south of Khon Kaen, and some of the best Thai food in all of Sydney.
The vibe
We visit for a weekday lunch and sit at a steel table on the footpath, close to the hush of passing taxis and zipping bike couriers. Yok Yor’s outdoor tables sit behind concrete barricades on Campbell Street, and they are scuffed by years of cutlery and conversation. Across the road, the windows of Thai grocery shops are stacked with brightly-coloured packets and tins.
Although it describes itself as a ‘Thai Food Factory’, the interior is far from industrial. It’s homey and unmistakably Thai, with neon signs, food murals, long wooden tables and fishbone ferns hanging from ceiling baskets.
The food
At an Isan restaurant, I’d normally (maybe always) order som tum. But, to try something a little different, I go for the tum tang ($19.50), which substitutes green papaya with thinly sliced cucumber. The aroma rises as the plate hits the table – sharp, cucumber freshness colliding with the tang of lime and the earthy edge of pla ra (dried fish paste). The chilli announces itself with the first bite. And then, with the second, it delivers a clean, assertive heat. Unlike the papaya version of this spicy Thai salad, the cucumber doesn’t crunch, it yields, releasing its cool, fresh juice to balance the chilli’s punch. It's served with a little heart shape of cooling cabbage leaves. I separate one and use it to scoop the salad, like a fiery san choi bow. It’s a reminder that Yok Yor’s chefs know exactly what they’re doing with the powerful heat they serve.
Next, the nue dad deaw ($19.90), a tangled arrangement of gnarled strips of sun-dried beef reaching upward, charry at the edges. Although it looks similar, the first bite makes it clear that this isn’t ‘jerky’. It has depth, like someone has taken all the satisfying flavours of a perfectly grilled steak – the caramelised edges, the scorch marks of the grill, the deep meaty hum – and condensed them into twisted ribbons you can pull apart with your teeth. The nahm jim jaew sauce (tamarind with chilli, lime and fish sauce) is a perfect accompaniment, and it delivers the kind of tang that makes you sit up straighter.
We have another starter, gai hor bai teuy ($12.50) – four grilled chicken bites wrapped in pandan leaves. I open the little parcel, and the chicken inside is caramelised and fragrant. It’s served with a sweet and salty soy sauce, with ginger that cuts through like a familiar voice in a crowd.
The finale is the pla sam rod ($35.90), a whole snapper with its skin crisped to brittle, generously topped with chilli, lime juice, garlic and a sweet-and-sour tamarind sauce. The flaky flesh is silky tender and glossy white as if the inside has been steamed while the outside has been fried to a crisp. Unlike some fried fish that can feel heavy and oily, this is delightfully light.
Yok Yor is the kind of restaurant that keeps you coming back. I definitely do. Other dishes that I’ve loved from past visits are the pad see iew – flat rice noodles glossy with dark sweet soy, and an unmistakable char that tells of its brief visit to a scorching hot wok. And the pad prik khing with crispy pork belly ($22.90), cooked until it is almost hollow-rendered, in a dry red curry sauce with green beans and kaffir lime leaves.
The drinks
I usually order the Thai milk tea ($6.90), served in a tall glass packed with chunks of ice. It is sweetly perfumed and milky, the kind of drink cast in a Bruce Willis-like role, smashing through an icy window to rescue you from the chilli. It cools your mouth and prepares you for the next bite. Other cooling options are a whole young coconut ($9.50) or a blended watermelon ice ($7.90).
Yok Yor is BYO ($3.50 corkage per person). Cold beer, prosecco or maybe a dry white would be the perfect companion for Isan food.
Time Out tip
Return a few times so you can move around the menu. For your first time, I’d suggest ordering the spicy cucumber salad and sundried beef together, moving between the cucumber’s fiery cool and beef’s smoky density. It’s a combination that demonstrates Yok Yor’s mastery of Isan cuisine, and it’s a way for you to enjoy a little piece of north-eastern Thailand on a Sydney CBD street, 8,000km south of the Chi River.
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