Sumalee

BREAKFAST in a Thai restaurant is a stroke of genius and now it's come to Bentleigh in the form of Sumalee. Why? Well, it's mainly to do with the liquor licence.

Nine months old, the cute daytime cafe/night-time Thai joint is run by Kumpol Prakongsunt ("Paul") and partner Ratchada Chieochanwitthayavet ("Renee"), who works front-of-house.

Sumalee — Paul's mum's name — is a first-time venture for the couple, although Paul has done his time in Melbourne kitchens. He was head chef when Tom Phat's roti-omelet won best breakfast in The Age Cheap Eats 2007 and since then, he has worked at Camberwell's Magic City and Min Lokal in Fitzroy while looking for his own digs.

After a two-year search, Renee found a former Italian cafe on Centre Road. Paul, who was visiting family in Bangkok, whizzed home and the deal was done.

They added a few touches — a handmade sign telling of the shaded courtyard out the back; a framed picture of Thailand's king; clusters of succulents and a couple of chandeliers — making the place homely and their own.

Out the front, the yellow umbrellas signal Cisco's coffee, a creamy, well-made brew (especially if Renee is on the coffee machine) of the gutsy "Prahran Blend".

But more about that liquor licence. On signing the contract, there was a verbal agreement that a full licence would come with the business. It failed to eventuate. At present, Sumalee is BYO only, with the full licence in the bureaucratic pipeline.

The silver lining is that while Paul waited for the BYO tick, he started serving fabulous breakfasts. It's a mostly Western take, with Belgian waffles and eggs benedict, although the Sumalee fry-up of crisp fried eggs with chilli, cashews and spring onion is what he ate for breakfast as a kid in Bangkok. Here it's served on bread instead of rice.

Creamy scrambled eggs are soft and fluffy, a big loose scramble dotted with chunks of goat's cheese and chopped dill on Noisette wholemeal toast. A side of spinach is sauteed in vegie stock, making it extra tasty, and tomatoes are cooked soft with a dusting of oregano.

The sweet-potato and corn fritter is a pretty little stack of two cakey fritters layered with top-notch smoked salmon and spinach, topped with a soft-poached egg and a sweet, made-here tomato relish. An avocado fan is splayed nearby.

When things turn Thai, there's a sparky sweet-sour beef salad — colourful with carrot and capsicum and hot hits of red birds eye chilli.

The lemon-lime fish is a bit of a let-down; the rockling fillets were frozen instead of fresh. Crisply battered and tender, this dish would have been a stunner with fresh fish.

Good though was the mildly spiced green chicken curry, creamy, with carrots cut like crinkle-cut chips.

Of the two cuisines, Sumalee delivers on both fronts but it's the breakfast dishes that I'm still thinking about.

nrousseau@theage.com.au