Nahm

Shop 1045, 1/F Elements, Kowloon
Visited 3rd December 2009

A midweek movie at Elements and we decided to try somewhere new for dinner. When cruising the water zone I normally find it pretty hard not to head to the roof for tapas at Olive, but I was a little more willing to experiment when I discovered that Nahm is bought to us by the same crew; the good people at Dinning Concepts. It's an upmarket Thai and Vietnamese place that's dolled up to be a step above your average pad Thai joint. The restaurant is fronted by big 'windows' that open onto, well onto a shopping centre... The decors slick though I couldn't find a picture of his Majesty Rama IX.

There are plenty of the usual Thai and Vietnamese favourites on the menu, but also a few dishes that I hadn't seen before and a selection of 'main courses' that seem more aimed towards individual munching rather than sharing. We went for the 'signature' spicy beef noodles, smoked eggplant and roasted game hen. The rice noodles came with a generous amount of beef and oozed fresh flavour from a mountain of chilli, basil, fried garlic and lime. The peeled, smoked eggplant was served with a chilli and vinegar dressing. I really liked this dish, though its flavours were pretty subtle and got a bit lost amongst the wild aromatics of the other two dishes; Joey however wasn't a fan and found it too sweet. The roasted game hen was half a smallish bird, stuffed with fragrant rice that helped keep it really moist. This Thai version of a Sunday roast was served with potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower; it was sticky, sweet and obviously flavoured with turmeric.

Our visit to Nahm was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I liked the food, I liked the setting and to top it off the service was excellent. Impressive touches like cloth serviettes and constant refills of iced water went a long way to impress me. Our tab came to very reasonable $235, which I thought was a bit of a bargain, though looking at the menu I think you could spend a fair bit more if you got stuck into the booze and seafood. Nahm; I'm now a damn fan.
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Red Penny Thai

148 Kam Sheung Rd, Kam Tin, Yuen Long
Visited 3rd September 2009Hand up who's been to Kam Tin? Well Red Penny Thai isn't in Kam Tin, but kind of way out the back of Kam Tin somewhere and if you're riding your bike it feels like the middle of nowhere. Yet on entering this big, outside restaurant it’s a surprisingly classy setup. Lots of white, Thai style statues and big water feature give place more than a hint of being in Thailand rather than the back blocks of the New Territories. The location suggests that it’s probably a restaurant that’s more aimed at those thyat drive rather than rely on public transport or pedal power.

The menu has all the usual Thai favourites as well as a few Vietnamese dishes. We were with a big group, but strangely everyone ordered their own dishes and I ended up sharing with a friend. We ordered Chang Mai style ox-tail, water spinach with belacan, rice and garlic bread. I thought the ox-tail was pretty good - the meat was tender, though the sweetish sauce was perhaps a little too runny. The big serve of water spinach was disappointing; it was over-powered by the fishy shrimp paste and was way too salty. Oh yeah the garlic bread; what is it with garlic bread and Thai restaurants in Hong Kong? It's not a traditional Thai dish, yet seems to be the most popular dish on every Thai menu. Anyway are garlic bread was OK, though not quite crisp enough for my tastes. To drink it was a couple of bottles of Singha; served in a beautifully chilled glass.

Res Penny Thai has a lot going for it, especially the outdoor dinning area. I was generally impressed with the service; they managed to correctly deliver six different orders and the correct bills to the same table. My only complaint was that it was a little difficult to get a new beer. The food wasn’t overly cheap, but was fair value at $264 for the two of us; the oxtail was $98, the water spinach $58 and the beers $28 a pop. But to be honest I’m not the biggest fan of Red Penny Thai. The food is OK, but rather unexciting and I feel there are plenty of better Thai places around.

Thai Orchids, Quary Bay

39 Tong Chong St, Quarry Bay,
Visited 28th November 2008
I haven't spend much time in Quarry Bay, but as some mates had just moved into the area it was time for a visit. After a tour of their flat (something that never takes long in Hong Kong) it was time for a drink. I was surprised by the strip of bars on restaurants on Tong Chong St near the MTR station; it was Friday night and while it wasn't Lan Kwai Fong it was a lot busier than I was expecting. After a beer at the East End Brewery (the HK Brew House's Quarry Bay outlet) we hit Thai Orchids for a feed. There are apparently three branches of this Thai joint in Hong Kong, the other two are at Langham Place and Mega Box.

What attracted us to Thai Orchids was the advertising my mates had noticed touting an all you could eat and drink satay deal. $120 for as much beer and meat on a stick as you could stomach seemed almost too good to be true, the only catch was the rather late time frame of nine til eleven each evening. For us though it was perfect as we hadn't eaten and before we knew it we were sucking on our first frothy pints of Carlsberg. Initially two piled plates of satays arrived accompanied by peanut dipping sauce. The first was a simple mix of beef, chicken and pork sticks, while the second had a few more interesting titbits including chicken wings, tongue and squid. Freshly prepared, the well flavoured satays were good and we were able to keep ordering up selections of our favourites.

I enjoyed my night at Thai Orchids; atmosphere was relaxed, the grub tasty and the staff excellent. I was really impressed with the service; the friendly bloke behind the bar was attentive and totally understood how the all you can eat and drink setup worked - just before the beer was shut off he ensured we had full pints in front of us and kept us amused with a bit of friendly banter. I've got no idea how the regular menu at Thai Orchids stands up, but they're pretty good at beer and satays.

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Thai Modern

Transport Plaza, Fung Cheung Rd, Yuen Long, NT
Visited 12th June

On my first visit here six or seven months ago I ordered a beer and was told "we don't have any, but feel free to go and buy what you want from 7/11". This open, corkage free, BYO policy quickly secured Thai Modern a place amongst my favourite Yuen Long restaurants. Though they've since (unfortunately) managed to get a license, they still dish up plenty of tasty Thai dishes. We visited with a group of friends for our usual Tuesday night meal.

To begin we shared a couple of plates of spring rolls and prawn cakes; some quality fried, crispy starters to accompany the Singha beers we grudgingly ordered. Eventually moving onto the mains we ordered prawn curry, fried squid with spicy pepper, Thai style vegetables, grilled lamb, sweet and sour chicken and satay beef and chicken skewers. All were good: the curry was based around a smooth coconut cream sauce with plenty of fresh Thai basil; the squid was fresh, tender and well seasoned; the not overly sweet chicken was served with big, appealing chunks of mango; and the char grilled satay skewers were accompanied be an excellent peanut sauce. Our meal came to about $100 a head, pretty good value considering we drunk a few beers and were stuffed full of food.

Thai Modern's ambiance is a step up from your average Yuen Long eatery. The food is well presented, with enough orchids scatted about to impress any lady. The open plan restaurant is filled with Thai inspired decor, statues, wall hangings and fake palms, and is nicer then it sounds. While the service is not always 10/10 - we had too ask a couple of times for a round of beers and at busy times the food can be a little slow - Thai Modern does try and the staff are usually polite and relatively efficient.

Friendly service, comfortable decor, reasonable prices and tasty food definitely make Thai Modern worth a visit. The final good news was I managed to talk them into letting me keep bringing BYO wine without a corkage charge.

Sawadee Thai

1 Tung Shing Lei Rd, Yuen Long, NT
Visited 15th May

A day without pollution is a special day in Hong Kong and a pollution free day often signals a visit to Sawadee Thai. The restaurant is a pleasant kilometre walk from Yuen Long KCR Station, just past Pok Oi Hospital on Castle Peak Rd. Easily Sawadee Thai's best asset is it's well landscaped, outdoor seating, though those relying on cars will love it's carpark. Potted plants, chunky wood benches and plenty of mosquito coils create the perfect place to drink beer while trying and pick out faint stars on clear evenings.

Sawadee Thai offers several menu options; there is a range of tasty Thai dishes, a smaller Indian menu and a large outdoor BBQ area grilling seafood, steaks and vegetables fresh to order. We started our meal with a serve of spring rolls and vegetarian samosas, both were pretty good. The four of us then indulged in a mass of food; Indonesian chicken curry, lamb with mango, fried water spinach, chicken with cashews and a massive bowl of Singapore style curry prawns. The prawns were fantastic; big juicy fellows halved and swimming in a huge bucket of mild sauce. Also superb was the Indonesian curry; the creamy coconut base was a great accompaniment to large chunks of tender chicken and potato. Both the chicken with cashews and water spinach were good. The lamb with mango was perhaps a bit of a weak link - a shame because previously I've thoroughly enjoyed this dish - this time however the meat was tough and the dish lacked adequate chunks of juicy mango that Naomi loves so much. It is hard to resist sucking on bottles of Chang, but Sawadee Thai's winelist looks good and includes a couple of classic Australian producers like Brown Brothers and Taltarni, though not at overly cheap prices.

Sawadee Thai is a good. The service is reasonable - though at times gets a little lost amongst the potted plants. The food is fresh, tasty and abundant; offering some interesting takes on authentic Thai cooking. Our bill came to $700 for four and considering the masses of leftovers I'm having for lunch today this doesn't seem terrible value, though it's certainly not the best bargain in Yuen Long. What Sawadee Thai does offer in is an out of this world location, or at least a location were you feel like your out of Hong Kong. Do yourself a favour one evening and head along to Sawadee Thai for a relaxed meal in an awesome setting.

Shek O Chinese and Thailand Restaurant

No 303, Shek O Village, Hong Kong Island
Visited 21st April

Overcast, drizzling weather and a slightly sore head isn't really the best recipe for a day frolicking at the beach, but my first visit to Shek O was a wonderful surprise. A little surf, great views, waves of white sand, beach volleyball and big sandcastle were complemented by a good meal at Shek O Chinese and Thailand Restaurant. This eatery just back from the beach in Shek O village is ideally suited to a big group sucking down a shared banquet; the perfect place for wet sandy bathers and noisy families.

The extensive menu was probably closer to Thai inspired Chinese, rather than authentic Thai, but what was offered was good, cheap grub. Our big group shared a never ending parade of tasty dishes including: chili coconut crab, salt and pepper squid, deep-fried tofu and two whole steamed fish. The winelist looked surprising good and reasonably priced, with a couple of interesting Australian Rieslings and Semillions listed, but after a day on the beach it was big bottles of Tsing Tao that we were getting excited about. The service was friendly, the food good value and the atmosphere relaxed. Shek O Chinese and Thailand Restaurant is a great place to finish a day on Shek O's beach; both are worth the trek.