In Chinatowns all over Thailand, far from well-worn tourist tracks, are shops that exclusively sell one dish: beef noodle soup.

The classic Thai-Chinese street-food dish was impossible to find in Sydney until, in late 2023, the owners of Kingsgrove’s Ickle Coffee – sisters Rowena and Kate Chansiri – started selling their grandma’s family recipe from a pop-up called Ama. Now Ama has a permanent home in Surry Hills.

“We think it’s a really special dish that a lot of people have never tasted before,” Rowena tells Broadsheet. “It’s a good feeling to offer something that’s underrepresented, and because it’s our ama’s recipe, it’s really close to our hearts.”

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The bowl consists of sliced beef brisket, beef balls and greens served with a choice of egg, rice or glass noodles. Then a dark broth is ladled over the top.

The simple label of “beef noodle soup” fails to impart the dish’s complexity. “We make a stock from two types of beef bones, spiced with Chinese five-spice. Because we’re Thai, we like big flavours, so we add vinegar and chilli for a kick.”

Like Thai Chinatown shops, the original Ama pop-up only served one dish, but the Chansiris’ new menu celebrates the diversity of Thai-Chinese dishes. There are salapao (steamed buns) filled with salted egg yolk and pork or vegetables; rolls of pork and prawn wrapped in bean curd skins and fried; jok (or congee), topped with minced pork, liver, ginger and golden threads of crispy rice noodle; and a chicken noodle soup with spiced broth.

For dessert? An outstanding mor gang flan, made with caramelised molasses and a shot of Ickle espresso.

While the idea for Ama the restaurant came from the Chansiri sisters’ maternal grandmother and her famous beef noodle soup, their ama passed away when their mum was 16 – and the official recipe was never written down. The soup you’ll be slurping is based on their mum’s memories of flavour and making the soup as a child.

“Our mum has practically been eating this dish since she was born in 1963,” Rowena says.

In Surry Hills, the Chansiris have tried to achieve the feeling of a Thai home – quite some feat considering the restaurant is in a contemporary space with high ceilings and full-height front windows, which Rowena softened with sheer white curtains.

“In Thailand there’s a type of shop called ‘baan ama’, which means ama’s house. We looked at my mum’s childhood photos and tried to emulate her family home: lots of dark, matte wood and green tiles, red lanterns and gold. We also have porcelain vases from family members decorating the shop.”

A large artwork by artist and Ickle barista Sharna Lea hangs on one wall. It’s a bird’s-eye view of a group of women gathered around a meal at the dinner table.

“In my mum’s generation and earlier, if you were of Chinese background, the women usually stayed home while the men went out and worked late. We commissioned an artwork that depicted a cosy dining table with mums, grandmas and girls eating together. Our family is full of women and I think the artwork and Ama reflects that.”

Ama
47 Cooper Street, Surry Hills

Hours:
Daily 8am–4pm
Dinner hours to come

@ama.surryhills