Critics’ Pick of the Year: Ama

Surry Hills

Ama is a restaurant named for Rowena and Kate Chansiri’s Thai-Chinese grandmother, and grounded in memories of her beef noodle soup. The recipe, never recorded, was re-created by family in Bangkok and taken to Australia, where it became the breakout dish at the Chansiri’s suburban Kingsgrove cafe, Ickle.

Now, it’s served to ever-increasing lunch crowds in Surry Hills, alongside salted-plum cold brews and bowls of coconut milk flan drizzled in caramelised coffee molasses (using house-roasted specialty coffee, of course). And what could be more Sydney than that?

The Chansiri sisters are powerhouses of hands-on, women-led hospitality, and in sharing their warmth and family history with us, they demonstrate just how much the industry has to gain when everyone has a seat at the table.