Senn Noods has bold flavours to go with their bold and fun decor. Photo: Tenele Conway.
In November of 2023, when Senn Noods in Braddon first opened, my colleague and fellow food writer Lucy Ridge declared, “I know it’s early, and I don’t want to sound clingy, but this might be love”.
She was calling it early, but that’s what we food writers do: make bold statements of love to bowls of noodles and meat on skewers.
Well, Lucy isn’t alone; it’s love for me too, and having recently returned from three weeks of eating in Bangkok, a deep ennui set in, and I made a beeline for Senn Noods for a steaming bowl of boat noodles. Its meaty sweet broth, earthy blood jelly, fragrant spices and slippery noods took me right back to the streets of Bangkok and all was right with the world again.
For Becky Khanthavongsa, the owner of both Senn Noods and its sister venue Zaab, this food is home for her.
“My parents are from Laos, and I grew up eating this food. When I travel to Thailand and I visit family, I eat this food, and I love it.”
A clever design makes Senn’s indoor spaces feel cozy but also flow into the outdoor spaces. Photo: Tenele Conway.
The restaurant is cleverly designed to deliver an indoor-outdoor experience, with the indoor spaces being cosy yet opening up into an outdoor courtyard where bench seats and counters provide the ideal spot for a casual drink and snack. Becky explains that this wasn’t the first attempt to bring the street food experience to Canberra.
“Taking it back to Zaab, nine years ago, it started as Zaab Street Food. We had low stools and corrugated iron; it was very much a replica of the streets of Thailand. At that time, it wasn’t received the same as it is now,” explains Becky.
Having slowly morphed Zaab from street food to a more modern and refined dining concept to meet the market, Becky has since seen a shift in the perception of street food as well as an emboldening of diners who are now more adventurous. It was a change in the landscape that allowed her to pursue her street food vision again with Senn Noods.
“That’s why our logo says ‘back to the streets’ – we’ve come back to the concept we wanted to bring to Zaab. This particular location I had eyed for so long. I love the community here, and I love the nooks and crannies. Each location you dine, you have a different experience,” Becky says, looking around at the warm burgundy hues of her restaurant.
The menu complements the street food experience. The concept of having many small snacking dishes with alcoholic beverages is so embedded in Thai culture that they have their own term for it, aahaan kap klaem, which translates to ‘drinking food’.
Senn Noods offers a wide array of street food dishes. Photo: Supplied.
Street snacks are the heart of Senn Noods. Combine them for a full feast or laden the table with little nibbles to go with a beer and good company. However you assemble your meal at Senn, there is one thing that will hit you like a freight train, and that’s flavour.
Smattered with descriptions like peppery, spicy, intense and bold, the menu sets your expectations for a memorable meal.
“We don’t compromise on the flavours, says Becky.
“They are often very pungent or spicy, so sometimes the dishes come with a warning, as we are bringing all of those flavours.”
Becky’s bold dishes have found a varied audience at Senn Noods, and she’s so proud to be sharing her culture through food.
“We’ve been able to capture the people who miss this food, people who have moved to Canberra from Southeast Asia and travellers who want to relive their street food experiences. People come in and tell us that they haven’t been able to find Khao Soi anywhere, which is how they tracked us down,” Becky smiles.
In Thailand and Laos, the street food experience is so much more than the food; it’s a way of life and an all-encompassing experience of the senses, and Becky goes to great lengths to recreate this feeling at Senn.
Senn Noods and Zaab owner Becky Khanthavongsa. Photo: Zaab.
In what might be the most baller hospitality move ever, Becky sent one of her supervisors on an exchange program to Chiang Mai.
“It was a two-month program, and she’s come back with that experience and can have more conversations about the culture with our diners. It helps me bring my culture to life, which I do through food because I love food.”
As for what you should try when you go to Senn, the answer is simple: everything is good, everything is an experience, and everything will have you wondering where this food has been all of your life.
Kick off with a bowl of Thai beef jerky; this marinated semi-dried beef is loaded with flavour and texture and was born to accompany a beer. Pair your jerky with some Moo Ping. These marinated, grilled pork skewers are a staple of Thai street food.
For something more adventurous, try the Sai Grok Issan, a northern Thai fermented sausage from the Isaan region. It’s a little confronting at first with its tart notes, but I find it oddly moreish, and it’s a hell of a lot more affordable than jumping on a plane to Thailand, one of the few places you’ll find this dish.
Dip your toes in further with a soup. Becky says that her kuay teow toon is an excellent gateway to the street food of Thailand and Laos and likens it to Vietnamese pho, which many people are familiar with.
Thai soups are a winner on the Senn menu. Photo: Supplied.
When you’re ready to level up your soup game, I’d go for the boat noodles or the guay jub; again, these are two dishes you’ll be hard-pressed to find outside of Thailand, an intentional move on Becky’s behalf.
“This is food you can’t typically find in Australia. Things that I grew up with, that chef grew up with.”
If you want to truly cross the threshold and dig into the depths of flavour, go for a tum maak hoong. This Lao papaya salad has both crab paste and fish sauce and is known for its pungent taste. Becky has been surprised at the dish’s popularity since she opened.
If pungent and unfamiliar is not your style, you can grab a more familiar dish like Pad Thai or a green curry. All of the dishes at Senn deliver complexity and flavour even when they sit within your comfort zone, but if you want to live on the edge a little, Becky and her team will bring you into their world, and trust me, it’s worth the journey.
Senn Noods on Lonsdale St, Braddon, is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday to Sunday, 11:30 am to late. You can keep up to date with Becky and the team on Instagram.
