When Sujet Saenkham opened Spice I Am in Surry Hills, Sydney, 15 years ago, he made a controversial decision that he wouldn’t water down his dishes for the Australian palate.
"At the beginning, it was mainly Thai people and expats that used to live in Thailand," the 55-year old says.
"It took a year for more western customers to come. People knew the flavours I was doing, but no one cook the way I cook. They say it was too hot, too salty and a perception that it had to be cheap.
