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A Taste
of Thai
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| While Hong Kongers may not douse each other with water, the Thai New Year is a good excuse to sample a few of Thailand’s favourite foods. |
According to the 2006 census, approximately 12,900 Thai people live in Hong Kong. It is certainly not a large proportion of Hong Kong’s total population of 7 million or so. Yet the Thai influence in Hong Kong is quite noticeable, especially from April 13 to 15 when, if you walk past a Thai restaurant, you may just find yourself soaking wet.
The three days are known as Songkran, the Thai New Year. In Hong Kong, Songkran is referred to as ‘splashing water day’ in Cantonese: Thais celebrate New Year with a huge water fight in the middle of the street. Which has to be the coolest New Year tradition in the world, pun intended. Seeing that Songkran falls in the hottest time of the Thai year, a giant water battle all over town seems like the perfect way to celebrate, even though the origin of the water ritual lies not so much in defeating the heat as a belief that ‘water washes away bad luck’. Since Songkran originated as a tribute to elders, both alive and deceased. People are encouraged to visit their elders, pray with them, bring them gifts, and just generally spend time together.
Which means, of course, eating and drinking. It would be difficult to say who enjoys food more, the Thai people or Hong Kongers, but so long as eating together fosters friendship between the two, who really cares? With that in mind – and some curiosity about Thai delights cooked up for the New Year celebrations – bc slipped into several Thai restaurants for a bite or two. |
Thai Farmer
G/F 98 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, 2520 6607
On a street with several big restaurant chains, this small family-owned eatery maintains a loyal customer base because of its specialty, Thai Hainan chicken, which “sells out every day around 1:30” according to waitress Ms A. Another big seller here is the char-grilled chicken with Thai herbs, which takes 25 minutes to prepare. We had green papaya salad with chilli, peanuts and shrimp ($45) and Poo Chaow Na, a deep-fried whole crab cooked with dried chilli garlic and spice sauce, for $200. That’s a good deal considering the size of the crab. And Thai tea here comes in the traditional style with milk, or a non-dairy version for the poor lactose intolerants out there.
What they’re doing for Songkran:
“We’re gonna splash water outside the restaurant, and party till late. Even when we get off work, we will stay behind and party with the customers,” Ms A says.
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Coconuts Lounge
No 5 Lan Kwai House, Lan Kwai Fong, 2801 6168
For those who get the munchies late at night after – or in the middle of – partying, Coconuts Lounge serves Thai food until 3am every night. Soak up the alcohol in your system with any of coconut milk soup with chicken ($65), curry pork, beef or chicken ($68), or minced pork rice with eggplants ($68).
What they’re doing for Songkran:
Come on, it’s Lan Kwai Fong, what else? Partying! |
Chili and Lemon
8-12 Wo On Lane, Lan Kwai Fong, 2234 9918
On Wo On Lane in Lan Kwai Fong you’re still close to the atmosphere but don’t need to feel like you’re in the mosh pit of a rock concert every time you walk in and out the door. We also like that the restaurant is above ground level with windows that open, so you can watch all the comings and goings on this increasingly popular lane. Moving on to the food, Chili and Lemon serves both Thai traditional and Thai fusion and that’s not just a gimmick; a separate kitchen is designated for each. The set lunch ($78) comes with two courses (grilled chicken/beef, curry) and a soup. The Thai fusion special has soup/salad, a choice of main courses, and tea/coffee. The set dinner will give you tom yum goong (spicy and sour prawn soup), Thai noodles with green chicken curry on rice, and dessert for $165. The Spice Band performs Monday to Saturday from 8pm to midnight. When we first heard about the live music, we wondered if it would be a traditional Thai band. Sadly not, they play pop music from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Well, it is Lan Kwai Fong after all.
What they’re doing for Songkran:
They’ll be serving a special dessert, sangaa fucktong, with the set dinner. And yes, that’s how they say pumpkin custard in Thai. |
King & I
APM Level 4, 418 Kwun Tong Road, Kwun Tong, 3560 1660
You don’t have to be Anna to enjoy this corner eatery on the more relaxed side of APM. King & I is a Thai-Vietnamese fusion restaurant and the most interesting item on the menu is baked curry chicken with fresh bread ($125). The curry is stuffed inside bread baked in the shape of an actual chicken – you can understand why this dish takes all of 30 minutes to prepare. Still, the restaurant’s signature dish is king prawns with durian curry and mangosteen ($135). According to the manager, the extensive dessert menu is mainly westernized so you won’t find traditional Thai desserts here. Mind you, a standout that doesn’t sound like any western sweet we know is basil pancake with Thai ice cream ($48). The pancake is made with Thai basil, and accompanied by lemongrass, coconut, or black sesame Thai ice cream.
What they’re doing for Songkran: Nothing special planned. |
Thai Delight
Shop A, 117 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, 2877 7983
This place gets so busy at lunch we had to move to a tiny corner on the side to write this… Thai Delight has an outdoor dining patio overlooking Lockhart road. For those wanting a little of everything, the assorted combination (small $77, large $138) has Vietnamese rolls, fish cakes, prawn cakes, and chicken pandanas. For dinner, the dinner naan bread will kick start your appetite, onto the popular menu items here such as the charcoal-grilled rack of lamb ($128) and deep fried soft-shell crab and garlic ($78)
What they’re doing for Songkran:
The restaurant is staging a raffle, magic show, and buffet on the 12th, 13th, and 14th. The buffet will include appetizer, salad, soup, naan bread, and 15 mains (such as curry crab, chicken, pork and clams) and, of course, dessert. Running from 6:30pm to 11:00pm, the meal will cost $198 per person.
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Thai Street-side Eatery
26 South Wall Road, Kowloon City, 2716 3865
First of all, Thai Street-side Eatery is only a literal translation of the Chinese, as this restaurant has no English name. But this is a popular local hangout, serving a cheaper, more on-the-go style of noodles and rice – like a Chinese noodle joint. It even has an open kitchen. Hainan chicken ($28) and Thai-style fishball noodles ($20) are the two hottest selling items here.
What they’re doing for Songkran:
“We will be working hard and opening later than usual.”
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Touch of Spice
1/F Knutsford 10, Knutsford Terrace, TST, 2312 1118
It is easy to miss this gem of a restaurant on one’s walks around Knutsford Terrace, after all, there are enough things to see and do on the ground floor alone. But Touch of Spice, on the 2nd floor of an office building, offers a good mix of Thai and Vietnamese food. We tried the deep-fried golden fish with lemongrass in spicy lime broth ($140) – it’s a long name for fish cooked in tom yum goong soup, which infuses the flesh with a tangy sour and spicy flavour. Chiang Mai salad with sticky rice ($62) is another favourite at this restaurant which won the Smoke Free Restaurant Favourite Culinary Award from smokefree.hk this past December. A favourite for dinner is the Singapore style tiger prawn ($140), which despite its name, is a traditional Thai item.
What they’re doing for Songkran:
“Unfortunately, being on the second floor and indoors, we don’t have the place equipped for any kind of water celebration. I wish we were, though.”
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Chedi
G/F 38 Elgin Street, SoHo, 2868 4445
Chedi is a traditional Thai restaurant located near the escalators in SoHo. The Massaman lamb ($108) is a South Thailand dish, according to the chef, consisting of a lamb’s shoulder, slowly braised in medium spicy curry. For something lighter, the Miang Kham ($68) is a traditional Thai snack, with roasted peanuts, ginger, fresh chilli and shallots served with bread. If you want something a little healthier, try the green veggie curry ($88), it’s a mixture of green vegetables lightly spiced, mixed with coconut milk.
What they’re doing for Songkran:
“We’ll be working, the customers will be eating, haha.” |
Thai BBQ 2
Nam Kok Road 33A, Kowloon City, 2718 6588
Thai BBQ 2’s Chinese name is ‘King of BBQ’. On a street packed with other Thai restaurants, this place stands out because its main items are all on skewers. For $7 dollars each, skewer chicken wings make good snacks for those always on the go, but most popular is mango sticky rice ($30), a traditional
Thai dessert.
What they’re doing for Songkran:
“How am I celebrating? Ha! I wish I could celebrate; I’ll be working. Nothing special will be happening, just working hard!” |
Chili N Spice
Shop A, C, D 13-15 Cleveland St, Fashion Walk, Causeway Bay, 2504 3930
Located on the ‘quieter’ side of Causeway Bay, Chili N Spice is a favourite among both locals and tourists. The restaurant serves mostly Thai food but also features some South-east Asian dishes. Red curry braised lamb shank with pumpkin ($88) and stir-fried duck breast with trio bell pepper ($68) are among the signature dishes. There’s also the curry durian fish fillet ($58) for dinner. A bar in the back, open terrace facing the shopping centre, and a side facing the streets, give a trio of dining experiences.
What they’re doing for Songkran:
Chili N Spice will be serving special Thai snacks for the three days of Songkran.
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Green Thai
Shop 7, 1/F The Sanlitun Harbour Road 28, Wanchai, 2802 0666
Located at the popular Sanlitun with a view of the harbour, Green Thai, a restaurant and a bar, gets crowded on a Friday night. Their four-course set dinner gives you a choice of starter: Thai spring roll, grilled pork neck or Thai shrimp salad. For soup, you get to choose either tom yum goong or pumpkin & lemongrass soup. The main course offers you plenty of choices, the king prawn in xoo xee curry sauce is very popular. There’s also chicken green curry, deep fried tiger prawn, and phad Thai w/ king prawn. Prices range from $178 to $198. At the bar, Green Thai’s happy hour runs from 6-8pm every night with discounts on all drinks.
What they’re doing for Songkran:
Green Thai will be having a Songkran party on Friday the 13th, the first day of Songkran. |
Looking for other ways to celebrate besides eating?
The Thai Regional Alliance in Hong Kong will be celebrating with a Songkran/Water Festival in Kowloon City from 9:30am to 6:30pm at the soccer pitch in Carpenter Road Park. There will be plenty to do and see though if you can’t make it out to Kowloon City, you can always splash a bucket of water on a random stranger in the street. But unless you’re a big dude, make sure you can run fast afterwards.
9:30 to 11:30am Religious ceremony
12:30pm Booth shows
1:20pm Community dancing to live music
1:30pm Welcoming speech by the Chairperson of Thai Regional Alliance (Ms. Bungon Tamasorn)
1:40pm Speech by the Thai Consul-General (Mr. Vichai Varasirijul)
1:50pm Community Thai traditional dance
2:00pm Bathing ceremony
2:30pm Thai traditional dance ‘Ram Auay Porn’ from Miss Natchaya Chimpibul
2:40pm Dance show from informal education group
2:50pm First round of the Songkran cutest kid competition
3:15pm Muay Thai performance from Swish Club
3:25pm Musical show from Thai Regional Alliance
3:45pm Talent show of the Songkran cutest kid competition
4:00pm Traditional Thai dance performance from Thai Women’s Association
4:15pm Traditional Thai dance performance from Friends of Thai Association
4:40pm Announcement of winner of the Songkran cutest kid award
5:15pm Musical performance by Thai Regional Alliance |
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