Eat Drink Hong Kong

This funky restaurant and lounge is the latest Thai establishment to appear on Wyndham street. It opened back in February so I figured it was time to have a look.

It covers although you can eat and drink on either, the upstairs is more lounge like with low comfy chairs whilst the ground floor has the bar. There are regular tables and trendy high tables. The high tables are great if you are just stopping by for drinks and snacks but I wouldn’t want to deal with a grilled sea bass with chilli and Thai basil ($140) at one.

And grilled sea bass was what I had my eye on so I sat at one of the regular tables. Fortunately I had a choice. It was fairly quiet when I was there but the manageress assured me that at peak times it can get really busy and it is advisable to book.

Often in Thai restaurants the dishes will arrive all together or just when they are ready. Here they follow the western pattern of starter followed by main. The menu itself holds no surprises, every dish is familiar and almost every dish is probably someone’s favourite whether it be a tom yam soup, a curry or a salad.

I decided to start with deep fried coconut prawns with cucumber and peanut sauce ($78). The coconut in the batter was actually quite subtle but the peanut sauce wasn’t peanut sauce at all. It was actually a dip known as ajan. This is made from white rice vinegar with finely chopped cucumber, shallots and chilli. It was actually very nice and probably better than the peanut sauce would have been so I said nothing.

The sea bass was impressive. Cooked in a banana leaf it was succulent and tender with the aromatic Thai basil adding a pleasing accent. If you prefer you can ask for non-spicy variation.

To finish I ordered the familiar Tapioca pudding ($45). These are small cakes of tapioca wrapped in a piece of banana leaf and topped with coconut cream and a kernel of sweet corn. Rich and filling.

The dishes were all very well done and while the prices may be a little above average for a Thai restaurant they are probably below average for that part of Wyndham Street. Either way booking is recommended.

57 Wyndham Street
Central
Tel 2840 0041

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

Back in the days when the old Kai Tak airport was operational that end of Kowloon City had been famous for a number of exceptionally good Thai restaurants. I got into the habit of always planning evening flights and then getting to the airport in plenty of time to have a good dinner before catching the plane. Since the airport moved I hadn’t been back there to what had become of the area so the other Saturday afternoon I set out to remedy the situation.

To my delight I discovered that, if anything, there are even more Thai restaurants in the area. Indeed there is a thriving Thai community. I also spotted kitchens specialising in Cambodian and Issan/Lao. I even a couple of Islamic restaurants which intrigued me a lot.

Bu I had come to reacquaint myself with the Thai food and so stopped into a place called Lemon Basil. It was still very early and there were only two other guests. The restaurant was simple but attractive. Orange and beige walls dotted with pictures of Thai kings old and new interspersed with small paintings of chillies and other familiar ingredients.

There is a menu which contains all the familiar items plus there is the paper place mat which add a range of snacks as well as drinks and desserts. I ordered myself a red chicken curry ($58) and some broccoli with mushrooms ($48). I was going to leave it at that but then I noticed chicken wings stuffed with shrimp meat ($60).

With that lot I decided rice wouldn’t be needed but I did order myself a mango slush ($30).

The curry was the first dish to show up. These curries are pretty much a standard item in all Thai restaurants. But both red and yellow curries carry the risk of becoming a little too sweet, a bit too coconutty. This one, I’m happy to say, got the balance between sweetness and spiciness just right. I relented an ordered some rice so I could mop up the last of the sauce.

The vegetables had arrived shortly after the curry. These were crisp and fresh but otherwise pretty straight forward.

The chicken was the last to arrive because it takes the longest to prepare. Funnily enough it would have made an excellent starter - and more sensibly for two people. The wings were deep fried in bread crumbs and served with the classic Thai sweet chilli dipping sauce.

I finished off with pandan flavoured layer dumplings ($28). Another dish that would more sensibly be shared between two people.

Kowloon City is well off the beaten track these days but if you are a fan of Thai cuisine it’s well worth the effort.

Lemon Basil
16 Nam Kok Road
Kowloon City

1/F, Foremost Building
21 Jordan Road
Kowloon
Tel 2721 0099

23 Tak Ku Ling Road
Kowloon City
Kowloon
Tel 2716 6269

G/F Shop E
Hau Wo Street
Kennedy Town
Hong Kong
Tel 2889 8849

L1-34 Festival Walk
Kowloon Tong
Kowloon
Tel 2265 7333

Kennedy Town looks like a place worth keeping an eye on. Several new residential developments have been completed in recent years and with new MTR stations under construction at either end it would appear to be an up and coming area. Already there is a small row of bars and restaurants at the Harbour end of Davis Street. Just around the corner on Hau Wo Street there is a Japanese and two Thai restaurants. And just a little further away is an Indian Restaurant.

It was one of the Thai restaurants that caught my eye the other evening. It’s a low key informal place. Decor is greens and yellows, as befits it’s name, with pot plants hanging from the ceiling. It’s bright clean and friendly. The staff are friendly too, and keen to point out that since everything is cooked from scratch it may take a little time. I assured them that this wasn’t a problem and busied myself with the menu.

“Thai home cooking with a twist” boasted the place mats. I was intrigued. All the familiar dishes are there. I decided to get the ball rolling with some spring rolls ($25) and a lime soda ($20). The lime soda is simplicity itself. A bottle of soda water with lime squeezed into it. Sugar can be added on request but I liked it as it was. Sharp tangy and very refreshing.

The spring rolls arrived piping hot and, as promised, very fresh indeed. Laab is one of my favourite Thai dishes. Usually it is made from either minced chicken or pork. At Lime they also offer it with duck and “Laab Pla Thod” or fish ($45). I’ve never seen or heard of fish laab before so I had to give that a try.

I also had to try a variation of som tam. This is the infamous spicy green papaya salad. Here they offer a version made with green apple ($42). “It’s very spicy.” I was warned. Oh but I like it spicy, I said, give it your all.

The som tam arrived first and it was excellent. The apple brought a new flavour to the mix and added just a touch of sweetness. Otherwise it was classic som tam with no holds barred.

The laab is served with lettuce. Fish doesn’t mince the same way as meat and it loses a little in the texture. It does, however, stay where you put it and not fall into your lap when you try to fold the lettuce around it. Its a comparatively mild dish but there is a selection of chilli sauces on the table if you need to spice it up.

Another interesting item on the menu was tuna fish cakes. I wondered if these were based on the familiar tord mun pla. There is also a range of Thai beer battered dishes. Both these are going to have to wait for my next visit. I rounded this one off with banana spring roll served with ice cream and garnished with palm seeds ($25).

The restaurant only has seating for about a dozen people but take away orders are welcome.

G/F Shop E
14 Hau Wo Street
Kennedy Town

Regular readers will remember that myself and shopping malls don’t get on very well together so the prospect of a trip to Festival Walk filled me with gloom. Still, chin up I thought, there must be restaurants there as well. Indeed I was barely out of the MTR before I’d identified a place; Lanna Thai.

Geographically Lanna refers the Northern parts of Thailand and was, from the 13th to the 18th centuries, a kingdom in its own right. The restaurant is tucked away at he end of one of the arms of level one. It’s an attractive place, modern furniture. Gongs and vases provide just enough ornamentation to remind you that you’re in a Thai restaurant.

The menu does bear a few nods to northern Thai cuisine but, since this is a family restaurant, I wasn’t really surprised to see that there were considerably more dishes from the south where recipes tend to be less spicy. There were in fact choices from all over Southeast Asia.

There were plenty of a la carte options to choose from but it was the set menu that caught our eye. This offered a four course dinner for a very reasonable price.

For starters we both wanted the the shrimp cake but for the soup course my companion opted for the chicken tom yam while I went for the minced pork with tofu and seaweed. The pork was ok. I’ve often had this with noodles in though I don’t think they are obligatory. Its not meant to be a spicy but I did feel it could have done with a little more black pepper.

Tom yam is a spicy dish and my friend felt that hers was definitely lacking in chilli department. “It’s not bad” she protested, “It’s just not what I’d hope for in Tom yam.”

She was much more enthusiastic about the Green Curry ($108) she’d ordered for her main course. This came with a baguette Vietnamese style and she assured me it tasted like a green curry should. I’d ordered the sautéed prawns with chilli ($118).

Again this had less chilli than I might have expected but it was still a pleasant dish with red and yellow peppers and spring onions.

Dessert was a single piece of coconut and sago cake with sweet corn.

Overall it was pleasant meal. If you want authenticity give it a miss but after a harrowing trip to a shop it’s a good place to unwind. And, for the set meals at least, very good value for money.

Level 1, shop 34
Festival walk
Kowloon Tong
Tel 2265 7333

I hadn’t been planning to eat here to be honest. The bus deposited on Gloucester Road in Causeway Bay and I was intending to walk through to Times Square but the sky looked so gloomy I didn’t fancy my chances of getting there without a good soaking.

Seacoast was just a few paces away so I changed course and dived inside. It’s a simple place, the staff are cheerful and the service is prompt. Chinese tea was poured and a newscaster silently read the news on a wall mounted TV. I suspect that will be used for karaoke sessions later in the evening.

Though all the classic dishes such as tom yum are there leans heavily towards southern Thai with a seafood in milder yellow curries. There is also a nod to the local palette with Chinese influenced dishes.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted. Until I walked in my mind had been thinking of a different cuisine entirely. The first item I ordered was a spicy raw shrimp salad ($88). The waitress was keen to make sure I realised they were uncooked. The menu is mostly pictures and from the photo I could understand how some people may not realise.

The prawns themselves are not spicy at all. The little slice of green chilli that decorates them can easily be brushed aside. The dipping sauce is spicy but it does allow for the individual to add a dab or a dollop according to taste.

The next dish was grilled pork neck ($58) which comes with a sour coriander sauce. I had decided t forgo rice in order to avid getting too full but a serving of sticky rice would have set the pork off perfectly.

I was just about to wave my hand to attract the waitress when she appeared anyway with a large plate of stir fried vegetables with bamboo fungus ($58). I sensibly reconsidered the rice. The pork and the vegetables were enough.

I finished off with a time honoured favourite if mine, sago pudding with coconut cream ($25). Four little cakes of sago wrapped in banana leaf and topped with a layer of creamy white coconut. I think maybe two would have been sufficient but I ate them all anyway.

This is a funky, modern Thai restaurant on Arbuthnot street. It’s quite a hike if you’re coming up the hill from Central but well worth the effort.

Seating is canteen style on benches at large wooden tables but they are very spacious so there is no need to worry about bashing elbows with people sitting nearby. They are set with eight place mats but if you were planning an office night out they could probably fit as many as twelve quite comfortably.

I was on my own and had a whole table to myself but it was still early. Early is good at Box Thai. If you go before 7.00 pm they offer an early bird special where $88 will get you one main dish (not including the chef’s specials) and a choice of beer, house wine or soft drink.

The price is attractive and the portions are generous enough but I couldn’t imagine restricting myself to just one dish. The menu is also you place mat and if busy I’m sure you could just tick the boxes and hand it to the waitress. The place wasn’t busy at all and the waitress took the time to tick off some of her recommendations.

I passed by her suggestion of satay favouring instead the betel leaves with savoury pork ($45) but I did take up the suggestion of baramundi in yellow curry with mango and banana ($85). She also thought the grilled calamari and pomelo salad ($60) would go down well.

She was right. That was the first dish to arrive fresh and tangy. It was a little spicy but not too much. Indeed very few of the dishes on the menu are from the hotter end of Thai cuisine. I hastily put in an order for sticky rice which I had forgotten to do earlier.

The rice arrived along with tan elegant display of betel. An appropriate amount of pork was already placed on each leaf and all I had to do was fold it over an pop it into my mouth. The flavour was a little smoky and slightly dry. It was a pleasing contrast to the calamari and also to what I was expecting to be a fairly sweet curry.

Yellow curries are always at the sweeter end of the scale but this interpretation was particularly interesting. The sauce itself was not as sweet as others I’ve had. The sweetness comes in little explosions when the palette finds a piece of mango or banana. The chunks of baramundi were succulent and plentiful and cherry tomato halves added a little colour. I mopped up the remains of the sauce with the last of the sticky rice.

There were a few desserts on the menu, all familiar choices. I opted for banana fritter with vanilla ice cream ($40)

1/F Shiu King Court
4-8 Arbuthnot Road
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2537 6887

96 Tung Lo Wan Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2578 5932

Shop 112-113 Level 1
New Town Plaza, Phase 1
Shatin
New Territories
Tel 2693 3128

Shop A,C,D G/F Miami Mansion
13-15 Cleveland Street
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2504 3930

1/F 20-22 Tang Lung Street
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2575 7128 or 6010 8128

G/F Lakeside 1
Phase 2 Hong Kong Science Park
Shatin
New Territories
Tel 2210 7022

West Block
Island Road
Deepwater Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2812 1826

This is a large and very popular restaurant in Pacific Place and whilst it may be called Thai Basil, there is no shortage of Vietnamese influenced dishes on the menu.

I arrived shortly after seven. There were still quite a few tables available then but I was very lucky. I took a seat near the front in the belief that I would be able to watch shoppers bustling to and fro while I enjoyed a leisurely dinner.

I was wrong. By the time I had studied the menu and ordered, the place had filled up and there was a throng of a dozen or more people waiting outside. Since my view of busy shoppers was blocked I studied the decor. The walls were midnight blue. Decorating them, at least the part that was nearest to me, were stainless steel skulls of a variety of horned animals.

A series of white Romanesque columns showed the way to the back of the restaurant where, in the distance, I could see the kitchen staff going about their art.

I wasn’t to dwell on the fixtures and fittings for long before my first dish arrived. This was the Vietnamese style clear white rolls with mango and beetroot ($72). They also included carrot, cold noodle and were garnished with mint. They were really quite sumptuous.

Within moments of this arriving my second dish, papaya salad with seared tuna ($85) arrived. This is a Vietnamese variation of the famous Thai dish som tam. It is not as spicy as som tam - instead it has a tangy fruitiness which compliments the tuna perfectly. I’ve had other variations of this made with green mango and whilst my papaya version was delicious I’d love to try it with the mango as well.

The last main dish was Thai tiger prawns($165). These came wrapped in a nest of crispy noodles with a sweet and sour dip. As with all the dishes they are probably best shared, and while I had no trouble eating the lot single-handedly, the noodles did get a bit boring towards the end.

I rounded off with lime meringue pie ($42). Two small ones to be exact but with a tower of meringue that reminded me of something Van Gogh might have painted. Otherwise they were fairly ordinary.

The food at Thai Basil is great but the service is necessarily fast and furious. I would have have felt guilty dallying over coffee and meringue whilst the folks outside were eying it hungrily.

I was back over in Elements again this week. I decided that this time I would stay away from the roof garden area and see what else I could find. There are plenty of other restaurants in there so I wasn’t worried about getting too hungry.

I didn’t have to search too hard. From the outside Sala Thai looks relaxed and inviting and there is an enlarged version of the menu by the entrance to tempt anyone who is not entirely certain.

I really like Thai food so it didn’t take much to tempt me at all. The interior is pleasantly wooden. Some booths, some parts raised a little and they seem to be able to pack a lot of people in without actually appearing to be too crowded.

I was lucky. When I arrived there were not too many other guests but the place filled up quickly and by the time my food had arrived the place was buzzing with life.

The menu offers all the Thai classics, green and red curries, tom yam soups and spicy salads. Although it is divided into appetisers and mains I never really expect the food to arrive according to that order. It never does in Thai restaurants. So it came as no surprise that the the dish I ordered last, stir fried mixed vegetables ($58) arrived first. Shortly before the rice.

The dish I’d ordered from the appetiser section did arrive next. This was a green mango with soft-shelled crab salad ($68). The Mango is julienned in the same way that papaya is in the famous som tam but the flavour is more tangy and complements the crab rather well. It is mixed with cashew nuts, chillies and a dash of lime juice.

To go with the vegetables I had ordered the salt encrusted grilled mullet ($118). This is very popular in Bangkok and is one of the chefs specialities. It is also quite big but it was moist and tender. The fish is stuffed with lemon grass, galangal and lime leaves before it is grilled and these impart a delicate fragrance to the fish. But be careful of bones. They are not particularly small in a mullet but there is always one that sneaks in and stabs your gum.

For dessert I chose the ever popular mango and sticky rice. The black and the white rice were shaped into two halves of a heart with coconut cream poured all over. Mmmm delicious.

I can normally rely on my son to demand steaks and burgers when we have occasion to dine out. A plate of taco chips is usually about as exotic as he’s prepared to go. But that was before he and his mates skulked off to a full moon party in Koh Samui.

Now Phad Thai has entered his mental menu so this time, when I suggested dinner, that was what he wanted. We went to Thai Delight on Lockhart Road. It’s a fairly large and modern restaurant and I have a suspicion it does better rather later at night than it does at 7.30 when we were there.

The staff were friendly and courteous and we had our pick of the tables. We chose one that would have had an excellent view of a large TV screen had there been anything on it. I thanked heaven for small mercies and ordered beers.

It’s a reasonably extensive menu but there are no surprises. All the items you expect in a Thai restaurant are present; curries, spicy salads, tom yum… “I’d like phad Thai with tiger prawn” ($88) he said. I suggested we have some other dishes as well.

For starters I ordered the mixed platter (small $72). This included Vietnamese style spring rolls, fish cakes, prawn cakes, chicken in pandanas leaves and som tam. To my taste buds the som tam was lacking in oomph but not everyone like chillis as much as I do. If you prefer it spicy be sure to let the waitress know.

Following that we had the Tom ka kai ($53), and smoked duck breast with mango, tamarind and chilli salad. The Tom ka kai was chicken in a spicy coconut milk soup and was very good indeed.

I thought the duck was good, though I did think chef had been quite conservative with the chilli. My son wasn’t impressed - I think he was holding out for the phad Thai which duly arrived complete with a huge prawn on top.

He would have been quite happy to wolf down the lot himself though I did manage to secure a few mouthfuls. Phad Thai has never been a favourite dish of mine. I have nothing specific against it, I just feel that Thai cuisine has so much more to offer.

But, like fried rice and banana pancakes, it is a budget travellers staple and who can criticise a young fellow for wanting to recapture, for a moment, the flavour of his holidays.

“How often did you eat phad Thai in Samui?” I asked. He screwed his face up thoughtfully and then said “Every day.”

This is a very pleasant restaurant in Sheung Wan. I’ve passed it several times at lunch times and it always seems to be doing good business. But since I can’t pass restaurants very often without eventually going in you could say its time had come.

The decor is unpretentious. Bright walls with just a little Thai ornamentation give it a spacious airy feel. Kenny G played in the background but not loud enough to put me off my dinner.

What makes this particular restaurant interesting is that its menu leans heavily on dishes and styles from southern Thailand and Malaysia. It even includes the Singaporean dish, Hainan chicken, and you can enjoy your curry with either rice or roti.

I’m a sucker for crispy fried soft shell crab ($55). There were plenty of other things to choose from though, all of them quite familiar, spring roll, fish cakes, chicken in pandanus leaves.

But the soft shell crab was a good call. Southern Thai cuisine is not as spicy and is sweeter than the more familiar Thai dishes and while the crab wouldn’t have been a very spicy dish anyway the southern sweetness was quite apparent..

It became even more obvious in the green papaya salad ($35). This was an interpretation of the famously spicy dish som tam. It was not even slightly spicy. The chillies were simply not there. Now I have to confess, I am a great lover of the real Mccoy, and without the chilli it took a few mouthfuls to get used to.

But it was still an interesting dish. It will never replace the spicy version in my affection but not everyone likes chilli and with those people in mind this is a perfectly acceptable adaptation.

The main course was chicken curry baked in pastry ($68). This was a delicious coconuty yellow curry served in a chicken shaped clay pot with a layer of filo pastry on top. I’d thought about ordering some roti but along with the chunks of chicken there were chunks of potato. Combined with the pastry itself, it was quite filling enough.

Dessert was the only disappointment. I’d ordered the baked apple roll with ice cream and pandanas sauce ($28) and while the ice cream and pandanus sauce were fine the apple roll itself was rather tired and uninspiring and completely lacking in flavour.

But even without the dessert this restaurant is good value for money and a great Thai option for those that don’t like it so hot.

There are a number of restaurants around town that over the years have become so familiar that I tend to forget about them. Or at least forget to talk about them. Good Luck Thai is one in particular. I’ve lost count of the number of times I have eaten here, whether it be lunch or after an evening in the Fong, it’s a restaurant that rarely disappoints.

They must be doing something right or I wouldn’t keep going back, so I decided it is time to put something into words.

The restaurant is in Wing Wah Lane which, for those that are unfamiliar with the area, is a sort of appendix to Lan Kwai Fong. It’s a rowdy little alleyway, packed with interesting eateries. At the entrance to the lane jovial touts try to encourage you to dine at their place. Good Luck Thai is on the left just around the corner

Like the alleyway itself it is often rowdy, particularly at night time. I decided to go along early to beat the crowds but even at 6.30 there were a number of people already there. There is seating inside and out, I took a table just on the inside, ordered a beer and settled down.

The decor is basic and functional and a brief glance at the menu tells you that the emphasis here is on value for money. Yum Talay ($75) is one of the more expensive items on the menu. I decided it would make a nice starter.

Yum Talay is a spicy seafood salad dressed in fresh lime juice. The menu does offer other, more familiar, starters such as fish or prawn cakes and spring rolls and if you are in a group then a selection of these would be a good choice. The yum talay would be considered a main dish but one that I guessed, incorrectly, would be quite light.

The seafood consisted mostly of squid, prawns and mussels. It was a generous serving and came garnished with a full compliment of chilies. If you prefer a milder version be sure to let your waitress know when you order.

There is a Malaysian restaurant just across the alleyway that is owned by the same company and because of it’s proximity Good luck Thai is able to offer the option of Indian bread with your curry. Being a great lover of nan bread I ordered two ($20 each) to go with a green pork curry ($48).

I’ve had the green curries here before, they are particularly rich and creamy and come in portions that could easily be shared amongst a group of four. The pork was lean and tender and the nan and the curry sauce seemed almost as if they were made for each other.

During the course of the meal the evening staff started their shift but although the number of customers had grown it was still early and they filled in the time chattering and catching up on the days gossip. The waitress was still chattering away when she came to collect my plates and, forgetting to switch back to english, asked me in Thai if I enjoyed my meal. I replied in Thai (it is one of the few things I can say) which earned me a big smile.

I ordered Tak Goh ($20) for dessert. These are little cakes of sago and corn topped with a thick layer of coconut cream and wrapped in banana leaf trays.

As I left more and more people were flowing into the lane looking for good and inexpensive places to eat. It wouldn’t be long before Good Luck Thai and all the other restaurants would be doing brisk business. I wandered off into the Fong in search of another beer.

I’d just come back from a wonderful break in the land of smiles and was yearning to extend it for just one more dinner time so I wandered along to Sukho Thai in the Sun Hung Kai Centre. This is the newer of the two branches, the other one being in Stanley.

I was the first customer of the evening and, for a short while, had the waitresses all to myself. I ordered a glass of draught Carlsberg ($48) and munched on crackers dipped in either chillies in a sweet honey sauce or chillies in fish soy sauce while I contemplated the menu.

The ancient city of Sukhothai, a UNESCO world heritage site in the north of Thailand, was the first capital of the Kingdom and is regarded as the cradle of Thai civilisation. The name means “dawn of happiness” and during its 200 year reign the arts flourished, the Thai alphabet was born and its influence stretched across parts of Burma, Laos, Cambodia and far south into the Malay peninsula.

I ordered the crispy, soft shelled crab with green mango salad ($65) for starter. The salad is related to the popular som-tam (green papaya salad which is also on the menu) though it is not as spicy. This was fresh, sharp and tangy. A little spicy but not too much. I felt the urge to ask for sticky rice to go with it but the meal had only just begun and there was a lot more to eat yet.

For main course I ordered a Phanaeng style curry with roast duck and garnished with cherry tomatoes and grapes ($62). This is a rich, thick curry from the south made with peanuts and coconut creme. Consequently it leans towards the sweet rather than spicy.

To go with it I ordered steamed tofu stuffed with spinach ($52). Both of these dishes were large and would be more than suitable for sharing.

The tofu was served in a herbed lime sauce and while it was quite delicious I could have perhaps chosen a better option, say fried vegetables with salted fish, to follow the mango salad.

For dessert I opted for the lemon grass panna cotta with marinated plums and berries ($68), and rounded off with coffee.

It was an enjoyable meal in pleasant surroundings but stepping out on to Gloucester Road I could feel the onset of winter in the air and had to accept that my vacation was over.

Green is a funky little Thai restaurant in the Sanlitum Causeway Centre. That’s on the walkway opposite the Sun Hung Kai Centre in Wanchai. There is an abundance of foliage outside underlining the restaurants name, and if that doesn’t get the message across, the green neon glow radiating from the bar most certainly will.

The owners have managed to achieve quite a lot with the space available. A lounge area, basks in the green neon beside the bar and is separated from the main dining area by another two trees. The furnishings are simple but stylish. The overall effect is very modern but also very Asian.

There are no major surprises on the menu and all the classic Thai favourites are there - Tom Yam Gung, those delicious fish-cakes and the spicy sour salads - and they are done well. The menu also offers the infamous som tam (green papaya salad) but it’s only for those that like it hot.

They have an impressive range of set dinner options (and lunch for that matter) but in the end we decided to go a la carte. I never really think in terms of appetisers or main courses when eating Thai, usually I just order a range of dishes and see which comes first. But before we could do that we had to first make a short list and then whittle it down.

The frogs legs with lemon grass ($68) and the seafood pomelo salad ($85) were both very tempting but alas they had to be postponed for another time. What we couldn’t possibly go without though was the soft-shelled crab with chilli and basil ($88). To go with it we also ordered the Thai style charcoal grilled pork neck ($68) and a classic green chicken curry ($88).

The crab was the first to arrive. It has a delicate flavour and is best while it is still crisp and hot so we dug in with gusto. My guest thought it was just about the right level of spiciness but I added just a little extra chilli. We were soon distracted by the arrival of the pork.

The slices of pork come with their own, deliciously spicy, dipping sauce. The meat itself isn’t spicy, just dip as much or as little as you want.

Lastly came the green chicken curry. For me this is as quintessentially Thai as tom yam gung. Sometimes I think that all Thai children are taught to make this dish at school. I’ve eaten it so many times and in so many different circumstances from home cooking in rural Thailand to the swankiest restaurants but I’ve rarely had a bad one. This, I’m happy to say, conformed to the trend - lean tasty chicken, crisp eggplant and the almost intoxicating fragrance of hora pa, or Thai basil.

The restaurant was starting to fill up now, but we had just enough room to share a dessert. Mango sushi is a slightly different take with the mango and sticky rice combination. The black and the white sticky rice are rolled together with the black on the inside and then sliced sushi style the mango is then layered on top and coconut cream and a sprinkle of peanuts added. An elegant finish to a delicious meal.

G/F Miami mansion
13-15 Cleveland Street
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2504 3930
Fax 2511 0326

I’ve known about Cafe Siam for years, I used to go past it at least once a day as I rode up the Central to mid-levels escalator. I have worked in three different offices that were all within a five minute walk of the restaurant. I even walked around for at least a week with a miniature take-away menu in my pocket. But it wasn’t until the other day that I finally got myself through the doors and up to a table.

Whenever I enter a Thai restaurant the cooking smells always trigger a Pavlovian instinct to order all my favourite Thai dishes and it takes a great force of will to look elsewhere on the menu. My favourite dishes, of course, are all classic dishes that can be found on all good Thai menus. That little pocket menu helped immensely, because it meant that even before I arrived at the restaurant I already had a shortlist of not so common dishes I wanted to try.

The starters I’d narrowed down to two; Koh Moo Yang, or char-grilled marinated pork served with a tamarind, toasted rice and shallot dip ($65) was very tempting but was pipped at the post by the Gai Manow, chicken and water chesnut roll ($68). These are cut into bite-sized pieces and served on a bed of crispy fried basil with a dab of mayonnaise and a sliver of lime.

One of the great things about Thai cuisine is that it happily borrows from its neighbours and the flavours will change according to which border you are near. The larbs and the ever popular green papaya salad, som-tam, originate in Laos, the mild yellow curries come from the south.

The next dish was Khao Soy ($65), a Burmese style chicken curry served with soft and crispy noodles. This was also a mild curry but not as sweet as the southern style curries. It is served with a hot and sour northern style chilli paste.

The main course was completed with Deep Fried Garoupa in a very spicy chilli sauce ($158).

The dessert menu is made up of tried and trusted favourites such as mango with sticky rice, banana fritters and fresh fruit. Cafe Siam make their own brand of herb tea and at $28 a pot is well worth a try. In fact it is so popular that they even sell it in packets to take home.

G/F 47 Elgin Street
Soho
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2521 1600
Fax 2521 2600

G/F 13 Wing Wah Lane
Lan Kwai Fong
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2877 2971
Fax 2511 1723

Shop 117, Podium Level 1
The Westwood
8 Belcher’s Street
Hong Kong
Tel 2542 7777
Fax 2542 7721

G/F 65, Wing Lok Street
Sheung Wan
Hong Kong
Tel 2545 2588
Fax 2545 2162

Shop C/D 6/F Lee Theatre Plaza
99 Percival Street
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2890 1993

1/F 1 Hillwood Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2377 0989

DD124 Lot 2289 Hung Shui Kui
Tuen Mun
New Territories
Tel 2473 0168
Fax 2473 0893

11/F Food Forum
Times Square
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2506 3303

C-D Beverly House
93-107 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2866 0228
Fax 2865 5073

1/F Jade Centre
98 Wellington Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2815 5926

G/F Yen Kung Mansion
401 Tai Mou Avenue
Tai Koo Shing
Hong Kong
Tel 2886 4133

1/F 16 Wing Wah Lane
Lan Kwai Fong
Hong Kong
Tel 2523 9543

?? Tang Lung Street Street
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong

Kimberley Plaza
Knutsford Terrace
Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon
Tel 2316 2288

G/F 442 Prince Edward Road
Kowloon City
Kowloon
Tel 2716 0099

Shop G23, Festival Walk
Kowloon Tong
Kowloon
Tel 3105 5055

6 Knutsford Steps
2/F Miramar Shopping Centre
132 Nathan Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2730 1300

1/F 88 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2527 2872

Flat B5, (/F Block B Kingston Building
2-4 Kingston Street
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2915 0083

1/F 51 Elgin Street
Soho
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2868 9672

G/F 379-389 Jaffe Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2893 5777

G/F Tang Fai Building
36 Tang Lung Street
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2834 2500

2/F Elements Mall
Kowloon Station
1 Austin Road West
Kowloon
Tel 2196 8696

16 Chan Man Street
Sai Kung
New Territories

303 Shek O Village
Hong Kong
Tel 2809 4426

G/F 39 Electric Road
Tin Hau
Hong Kong
Tel 3579 2486

G/F 30 Graham Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2542 2760

Shop G110 Ocean Galleries
Harbour City
17 Canton Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2735 0733
Fax 2735 6767

Hong Kong Park
Cotton Tree Drive
Admiralty
Hong Kong
Tel 2522 6333

8/F Chuang’s London Plaza
219 Nathan Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2735 3638

40-42 Lyndhurst Terrace
Central
Tel 2851 4803
Fax 2851 3545

Shop A 117 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2877 7983

Shop 11-12 Tonnochy Tower
254-252 Jaffe Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2123 1115

B13 Citygate Outlets
Tung Chung
Lantau
New Territories
Tel 2109 4438

3/F California Tower
30-32 Lan Kwai Fong
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2905 1688

1/F Knutsford
10 Knutsford Terrace
Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon
Tel 2312 1118

G/F 69 Tai Mei Tuk Village
Ting Kok Road
Tai Po
New Territories
Tel 2664 5218

Food Forum, 11/F, Times Square
Matheson Street
Causeway Bay
Tel 2506 1333
Fax 2506 1271

Knutsford Square Shop L-M, G/G Universal Mansion
52 Hillwood Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Tel 2369 4033

Shop 5, LG/F Pacific Place
Queensway
Admiralty
Hong Kong
Tel 2537 4682

38 Bonham Strand
Sheung Wan
Hong Kong
Tel 2850 6380

2/F, 215 Porland Street
Mongkok
Kowloon
Tel 2191 4977
Fax 2191 4967

Shop 2004 Podium Level
IFC Mall
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2521 1117
Fax 2521 2050

Shop 1&2, G/F Siu Yat House
Hoi Pong Square
Sai Kung
New Territories
Tel 2791 1561

10b-12a, G/F, Site A
55 Tai Hong Street
Lei King Wan
Hong Kong
Tel 3101 1580

Shop G23, Festival Walk
Kowloon Tong
Kowloon
Tel 3105 5055

Shop 1 Promenade level
Tower 1, China HK City
33 Canton Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon
Tel 2735 8898
Fax 2736 9883

T03, 3/F Hang Lung Centre
2-20 Paterson Street
Causeway Bay
Tel 2972 2272

3/F 27-37 D’Aguilar Street
Lankwaifong
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2525 2577
Fax 2525 2925

Shop R1 G/F Marina Magic Shopping Mall
Gold Coast
Tuen Mun
New Territories
Tel 3194 3823
Fax 3194 3820

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1 Matheson Street
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2506 1212

2/F Sun Hung Kai Center
30 Harbour Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2598 7222

UG36 Festival Walk
80 Tat Chee Avenue
Kowloon Tong
Kowloon
Tel 2265 8188
Tel 2265 7336

G/F King Tao Building
98 Lockhart Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2520 6607

G/F 456-464 Prince Edward Road West
Kowloon City
Kowloon

3B, G/F Site 4 Whampoa Garden
Hung Hom
Kowloon
Tel 2356 1182

B1, Grand Tower Arcade
639 Nathan Road
Mongkok
Kowloon
Tel 2380 0705

38 Elgin Street
Soho
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2868 4445

G/F, 50 Leighton Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel 2808 0734

Shop 5, L13, Langham Place
8 Argyle Street
Mongkok
Kowloon
Tel 3542 5725

39A Gough Street
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 2581 3303

Level 2 Stanley Beach Villa
90 Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2899 0999
Fax 2899 0775

14-15 and 23-27 Nga Tsin Long Road
Kowloon City
Kowloon
Tel 2716 7318

Shop 105b, Block A, Water Margin
Discovery Bay
Lantau
New Territories
Tel 2987 0767

2/F One Capital Place
18 Luard Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel 2126 7900
Fax 2126 7902

101 Murray House
Stanley
Hong Kong
Tel 2899 0147
Fax 2813 5361

191-193 level 1 Phase 1
New Town Plaza
Sha Tin
New Territories
Tel 2473 0168
Fax 2473 0893

Level 8, Langham Place
Mongkok
Kowloon
Tel 3542 4123

1/F Harbour Plaza Metropolis
7 Metropolis Drive
Hung Hom
Kowloon
Tel 3160 6882

15 Old Bailey street
Soho
Central
Hong Kong
Tel 3622 3222

Level 11, MegaBox
38 Wang Chiu Road
Kowloon Bay
Kowloon
Tel 3543 5633

2/F, 1 Knutsford Terrace
Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon
Tel 21919886, 21919880
Fax 2191 9878

Shop 1028A Elements Mall
Kowloon Station
1 Austin Road West
Kowloon
Tel 2609 1898