It was 8pm on a Monday night when I first went to Doodee Boran. As I headed down that long driveway and realised the restaurant was completely tucked away from Charlotte Street, I had to wonder if we might be the only ones there – but as the venue came into full view, I was very quickly disabused of that idea.

The deck area was packed and there were clusters of people standing outside the restaurant, all waiting for a table. As we joined the queue, you could see people taking seafood out of still-simmering pots, holding big bowls of noodle soup to their mouths, or drinking Thai milk tea from colourful straws.

When we were sitting, they gave us an A2-sized menu each. It had been a while since I’d seen such an extensive offering – duck curry, offal noodles, wok-fried squid, papaya salads – the list went on. As usual, the raw section caught my eye.

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I know what you’re thinking: “Shocking, another crudo. I’ve eaten my share of crudos, I know exactly what that’ll taste like”. And I’m here to tell you: you don’t. Not like this, at least.

When the dish came, I had one of those “What-did-we-order-again?” moments. This didn’t look like any crudo or carpaccio I’d seen before. Those dishes, although delicious and a faultless way to start any meal, tend to follow a “less is more” mantra. And while Doodee Boran’s version is made up of familiar crudo components – raw fish, sauce, garnish – it is loud and maximalist in the best ways possible.

Slices of raw salmon are all but swimming in a nam jim-adjacent Thai anchovy sauce that is so zingy and savoury, you almost forget about all the tiny chilli seeds in your mouth. A generous handful of fresh mint, coriander, red onion, halved cherry tomatoes, and more fresh chilli is piled atop the salmon because, in this case, more is definitely more.

Is it a salad? Is it a crudo? That’s not important. What is important is this dish’s ability to live, as the kids say, “rent-free” in your mind. As predicted, I haven’t been able to return to Doodee Boran without ordering the spicy raw salmon. The balance of flavour, the sharpness of freshly grated garlic, and the sauce that isn’t afraid of providing an almighty kick, all play their part to make up a dish that is so far ahead of the game in the raw fish race that it’s disappeared over the horizon.