Going into feels like visiting a friend’s home. Owner Aum Phithakphon lives upstairs, but she has most of her furniture in the cafe, from a comfy couch to wooden tables. You can even browse through her books and peek at a photo of her dog on a shelf.
“I always loved having people over, so I thought it would be nice having people in my living room and making coffee,” she says.
Phithakphon was born in Bangkok, and moved to Melbourne as a teenager with her family. After working in Thai restaurants, she found her calling as a barista at and .
Last April, she opened Udom House in West Melbourne. “Coffee is one of the main reasons I feel like I can be in it forever,” she says.
Her drinks menu includes the typical long black, flat white and such, but also a section called “not the usual coffee”. It showcases creations like , which sees filtered coffee brewed with basil, lemongrass, cinnamon, lime skin, clove and star anise, and mixed with soda water. “It’s sweet, sparkling, refreshing, and aromatic. We came up with that, we’re very proud,” she explains.
Aum Phithakphon pouring coffee at Udom House. Source: Audrey Bourget
Other beverages include her take on Thai favourites, like , a pink milk drink, which owes its colour to sala syrup. The beloved children's drink can be served the traditional way, or the grown-up, Udom House way, with a shot of espresso.
Phithakphon, who was inspired by barista competitions and the , said she initially wondered if Melburnians would be open to that type of caffeinated drink, which is almost cocktail-like, minus the booze. “Melbourne cafe culture is really focused on how the coffee tastes more than mixing things. It’s just about the coffee and the beans so I thought it was risky,” she says. “But people are loving it!”
She was originally going to do coffee only, but her best friend convinced her to do food as well. The menu is simple, featuring snacks she grew up with like kaya toast and jaffles (with fillings like pork floss and chilli jam or ham and cheese), which can be found in Thai 7-Eleven stores.
The coffee cola at Udom House is a fizzy soda flavoured with herbs and spices. Source: Audrey Bourget
Aussie pies are filled with Thai classics like massaman chicken and jackfruit salad. “You go to a Thai restaurant and have curry with roti, which is quite similar, but the pastry makes it easier to grab and go,” she explains.
Melbourne cafe culture is really focused on how the coffee tastes more than mixing things. It’s just about the coffee and the beans so I thought it was risky. But people are loving it!
Her favourite is the green curry chicken pie, with a complex curry paste made from scratch. Not far behind is the larb pork pie, packed with fresh herbs, a speciality of the Isan region, where Udom House’s head chef is from.
Phithakphon offers traditional Thai desserts, which she’d love to see more of in Melbourne. “It has something to do with how delicate they are and how hard they are to make with the ingredients you can find here. You can get them pretty cheap in Thailand, which is probably one of the reasons you don’t find them here, because it’s not so cheap to make,” she explains. “We should really value it more, embrace it and present it to the world.”
Thai sweets (like look choop and ta koh) are a standout feature at Udom House. Source: Audrey Bourget
There’s ta koh, a water chestnut pudding covered with creamy coconut custard, served in a pandan cup. It's a flavour and texture party: sweet, salty, fragrant, gelatinous and creamy all in a couple of bites.
And the almost-too-beautiful-to-eat look choop, shaped like perfect tiny fruit and made with mung bean paste, coconut cream and sugar.
Udom House’s menu travels well, and certain items like the kaya and green curry paste are even sold in jars to take home. But if you can spare a bit of time, there’s nothing that beats settling on the couch by the window with a pie and a coffee.
343 Victoria St, West Melbourne
Mon, Wed – Fri 7:30 am – 3:30 pm
Sat – Sun 9 am – 3:30 pm
