Eat Drink Hong Kong

Li Yuen Street is not a place I would normally go voluntarily. It is one of those little lanes between Queens Road and Des Voeux Road in Central that seems to be stuffed from end to end with little haberdashery type markets and shops. At least I think it’s haberdashery, I never get close enough to get a proper look.

Fortunately by 7.30 when I had discovered this most of the shops and markets had all closed for the day. I’d had no idea there were restaurants down there of course, I’d received a tip-off about Thai Thai Grill and had gone to investigate.

It looks quite a small place at when you first exit the lift but there is quite a lot of space around the back. The tables are large and solid with elegant Thai style place settings and wonderfully comfortable seating.

The walls are decorated with modern art paintings which, if one takes your fancy, can be purchased.

The menu is modern Thai and while there are plenty of familiar sounding dishes on the menu the photos suggest a more European style presentation. It all looked quite tempting. I Ordered a Singha beer and settled in for a long decision making process.

There is a wide range of snacks/starters to choose from and it would probably be possible to build a satisfying meal from these alone. I decided to start with rice paper spring rolls ($55), an idea borrowed from Vietnamese cuisine. These were stuffed with soft-shelled crab and crisp, fresh vegetables. There are served with the classic sweet, spicy dip.

Another snack I just had to have was Sun-dried beef served with a very spicy chilli sauce ($62). This is a simple dish that I know from the rural north-east of Thailand and Laos. The dried meat is fried with pepper, fish sauce and plum and sprinkled with white sesame seeds. The chilli sauce is used for dipping but if you don’t care for it they still taste good without.

The menu had offered Yellowtail Snapper with Mango and Lime Salad ($158) but the markets hadn’t been able to provide that morning so the chef offered to make the same dish using grey mullet. So I agreed to that.

I was glad that I did. The green mango which had been marinated in the lime brought a delicious tang to complement the fish. This dish is one of the chefs specialities and he has every right to be proud of it. I’ve made a mental note to go back when they have the yellowtail so I can compare.

There are only four desserts on the menu, three of them were the usual suspects; mango with sticky rice, layer cake etc. Pumpkin custard ($45) was unfamiliar so I decided to try that. This consisted of sections of hollowed pumpkin filled with a coconut flavoured custard. There was no extra sugar added so if you have a really sweet tooth this might disappoint. I found it a very pleasant way to round off the meal.

Thai Thai Grill also offer delivery and outside catering.

2/F 9 Li Yuen Street East
Central
Tel 2167 8778