Spice I Am began as a tiny Surry Hills shopfront cooking proper, unapologetically hot Thai food for the city's Thai community, and the queues it drew quickly made it one of Sydney's defining cheap-eats destinations. The menu runs deep into regional dishes rarely seen on suburban Thai menus — fiery southern curries, papaya salads pounded to order, crispy pork — and the kitchen does not tone down the chilli unless you ask.
It is busy, brisk and not built for lingering, but the food more than earns the wait. A Surry Hills institution that helped make the neighbourhood a dining destination.