Doo Dee Paidang, Haymarket

On my day off, I was left to my own devices and decided to make my own breakfast and lunch, while mum bought home some takeaway for dinner. Between those three meals, I ate a total of six whole chillies, two for each one. Truthfully, I didn’t even realise I was eating that many until I was cutting the fifth one into my takeaway laksa. It was only then did it dawn on me that I probably shouldn’t be eating such a large quantity of this red hot pepper. In Vietnamese culture, in particular, they say that eating chillies causes acne. Despite this, I still found myself eating out at Doo Dee Paidang in Haymarket the next day, which is known to have one of the hottest soups in Sydney. My lunching companion was none other than the other half of this blog, Angela, and we were ready to have our socks blown off.

This place has three branches, one in Cabramatta, another in Bondi and this one in Haymarket. I’ve walked past this Haymarket branch on a Friday night and it was absolutely packed, with mounds of people still waiting for a coveted seat. Luckily, Angela and I went during lunchtime so we didn’t have to wait for a table. Service is friendly and they gave us two menus, which, at first, overwhelmed us, but having done some background research, we already had an idea of what to order of course.

Thai ice Volcano Ovaltine - $4.50

With the upcoming warm season, I couldn’t help but order a Thai milk tea, but not just any ordinary one. A Thai ice Volcano Ovaltine. This is basically Thai milk tea with Ovaltine powder mixed through and a mountain of the powder itself sitting on top. It is deliciously sweet, ice cold and incredibly chocolatey. It takes me right back to my childhood of eating those little Ovaltine packets from the school canteen.

Pork skin - $2.00

I have been long thinking about pork and pork crackling so when I saw deep fried pork skins on the menu I couldn’t help myself. These are wonderfully crunchy and golden, but I wish they tasted more freshly fried.

Doo Dee Nursery (Tom Yum Noodle without Chilli) - $6.00

Doo Dee Monster (Tom Yum Spicy Noodle Level 1) - $6.00

Next, was one of the specialties at Do Dee Paideng. This is a noodle tom yum soup, in which you can choose your own sort of noodle and the level of spiciness you want. It ranges from levels 1 to 7, however excludes numbers 4 and 6 as they symbolise bad luck in Thai culture. We both choose fresh thin rice noodles, as that’s the most popular option and I personally go for level 1, as I have been given some warning about the higher levels. Angela opts for a bowl without chilli, as she has tried level 1 before and said it was way too much for her. Rather, she added her own ideal amount of spice powder from the condiments available on the table. This bowl is the highlight of the meal. The soup itself is packed with so much flavour. It’s sour, sweet and the spice just creeps up on you and dances on your tongue until you are left reaching for a drink. The fried wonton skins on top gave it a necessary crunch and the pork components (pork sausage and ribs) were wonderfully soft and tender. I was quickly left slurping my bowl of noodles and did not leave a single drop.

Crispy pork belly with chilli jam - $12.90

The crispy pork belly with chilli jam sounded very appealing. However, biting into it, it was disappointingly dry. The thing that saved it though was the slightly rendered pork fat that went well with the wonderful crunch of the crackling. Angela said the sauce was quite nice, with it having heavy notes of galangal.

Vermicelli seafood salad - $11.90 

Then came a palette cleanser of a vermicelli seafood salad. The glass noodles that were in it were coated in the sauce, which had a strong hit of acidity and hints of chilli in the background. The mussels in the salad were perfectly cooked and my favourite part of the dish.

Deep fried bread stick donuts with pandan custard - $5.50

Incredibly full by this time but we couldn’t help but have room for dessert as it sounded so tempting – deep fried bread stick donuts with pandan custard. Like come on, how can you say no to that? The donuts came out hot, golden and deliciously crispy. They were a bit dense and heavy after such a big meal, but dipping them into that pandan custard really lightened it up as there were also hints of coconut in the custard. I longed for more pandan flavour though.

Overall, the tom yum noodle soup was the highlight and something every chilli lover should try out. Even the people inexperienced at spicy foods would still enjoy this though! Service is incredibly fast and prices are low, so there really isn’t much stopping you from having a good bowl of this delicacy.