[Nara Thai] Cuisine lands in Shatin

Wherever you are in Hong Kong, it is quicker from your location to travel to Nara Thai Cuisine than to fly to Bangkok. [Not to be confused with this other one in TST]

Nara Thai Cuisine is a famous restaurant from Thailand that has received the best restaurant award every year since 2007! How could I not try it when I was at Mimila earlier that day.

Began with the appetizers: Prawn carpaccio, Salmon carpaccio, Thai Fish cakes, Green mango salad with Thai sausage and North Eastern pork balls with lettuce.
[Prawn carpaccio]

[Salmon carpaccio]

[Thai Fishcakes]

I liked the way the pork salami was diced and made crispy as everything went together nicely in the [Green mango salad with Thai sausage].

To my surprise, the [North Eastern pork balls with lettuce] stole the show among the appetizers because they were crunchy on the outside while it was moist in the middle packed with fiery kick, hence the lettuce mellows the fierness.

There is always soup in the Thai Cuisine such as coconut chicken, tom yum kung etc. Tried the tom yum kung which was refreshing with a prominent herb flavour while the lemongrass was not too strong.

The Soft Shell Crab Yellow Curry with Butterfly Pea Rice, Jasmine and Roti Prata is great for sharing, the best thing is the curry as it was thick yet light, great with the rice or roti.

The Grilled Pork Neck is also worth ordering as it was lean and meaty.

The Fried Butterfly Pea rice with Crispy Fish and Thai Herbs was really photogenic, while the egg turned out to be the star of the show as it was salted egg.

Nara is also famous for noodles especially the [Ayuthaya boat noodles with Beef] which come in a strong beefy broth infused with herbs.

They also had the [Rainbow soup rice noodles with fish fillet], another noodle that has become popular in HK.

For dessert, the [Nara Coconut ice cream with assorted Thai sweet condiments] was a brilliant experience as you are presented with all these sweet toppings to add on the coconut icecream.

Finished off with this photogenic butterfly pea tea drink!

A video of the Ice Butterfly tea changing colour:

Overall, I really like the food and hope there will be another branch coming to the city.

[NARA THAI]
Shop 507, 5/F, New Town Plaza, 18 Sha Tin Centre Street, Sha Tin
Tel: 31881138

[Greyhound] Great modern Thai fare at Whampoa

It's been a while since I last dined at Greyhound so I have forgotten how good their Thai dishes are.
As it was my friends birthday we went here as she wanted the coconut crepe cake.
The menu has changed quite a bit since my last visit in 2012 and they now have more pasta dishes and Western dishes to cater for a bigger audience.
While the menu has expanded, the dessert menu is still fab with a great variety of desserts which make it hard to decide what to end the meal with.
+++++
Started dinner with this evilicious Cherry soda, I chose it because you rarely see it on menus in HK.
It turned out better than I expected because some cherry flavours can taste artificial but this one was sweet and moreish.

It comes with a side of coke which you pour in, therefore giving you a cherry cola flavoured drink.
After a while when the icecream has melted you get a delicious cherry soda float.
+++++
The other drink we had was the Pick you up which was a healthy concoction of juices:

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Started with the Waterfall Grilled Lamb which is Sirloin of lamb served on skewers with Thai north eastern style spices with chopped shallots, spring onion, dry chilies and lime juice.

This was my favourite because their sauce was really similar to the sauce at [Chili club, Wanchai] for the thinly sliced grilled beef filet. Surprising the lamb and the sauce were a great match and lamb meat has never been so appetizing and moreish. I will definitely order this on my next visit which means I have to come back to this branch as they only serve it here. They also offer this at their Beijing branch because the people up North like lamb. It had no gaminess at all and tasted like tender beef slices.
+++++
Greyhound's famous chicken wings are indeed delish as they are so convenient to eat because of the single bone element. They were crispy with a delicious salty fish saltiness.

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For noodles, had the Beef balls and stewed beef noodles which came in a rich beef broth.

I loved the thin rice vermicelli which soaks the broth and you also get condiments with it so you can add accordingly.
Yellow chili sauce was my favourite and really brings the flavour to the next level.
+++++
Spaghetti with Thai Anchovy:

This item is another must order item because the taste is very strong, from salty anchovies to strong basil leaves.
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Larb Salmon E-Sarn Style:

This was similar to the waterfall lamb, but the dressing at the bottom was tangy and fiery.
The salmon tastes really good when you mix it all together.
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Coconut sherbet:

Usually sherbets have a tart taste but this one was not. The taste was sweet and soothing like coconut melting in your mouth. It is made of young coconut and the coconut water inside which tastes so much better than coconut milk. The icy frozen coconut sorbet melting sensation was so refreshing especially when it was made from coconut water.
+++++
Coconut crepe:

The crepe was covered in cream which was lovely and light and it was slightly sweetened but not too sweet. In between the crepe layers there was delicious pieces of young coconut. It reminds me of the buko pie but this one is nicer because it is not so sweet. On top of the crepe, there was a piece of water chestnut which is the one served in the Tub Tim Krob dessert. Overall the cake was delicious, however the coconut meat in the middle was a little hard comparing it to the one I tried a while ago.
+++++
[Greyhound Branches]

Greyhound Cafè - ifc
Shop 1082, Podium Level 1, ifc mall, Central
Tel: +852 2383 1133

Greyhound Cafè - OT
Shop OT G01, G/F, Ocean Terminal, Harbour City, TST
Tel: +852 2383 6600

Greyhound Cafè - FW
Shop L2-42, 2/F, Festival Walk, 80 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong
Tel: +852 2383 4838

Greyhound Cafè - GCP
Shop 301-302, 3/F., Moko Place, 193 Prince Edward West, Mong Kok
Tel: +852 2394 6000

Greyhound Cafè - TKS
Shop 007, G/F, Cityplaza Phase 2, Taikoo Shing, Tai Koo
Tel: +852 2560 9668

Greyhound Cafè - NTP
Shop 103A, 1/F, New Town Plaza Phase 1, Sha Tin
Tel: +852 2699 3939

Greyhound Cafè - MT
1/F, Midtown, 1 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay
Tel: +852 2383 4038

Greyhound Cafè - Thai-pas Bar
1/F, Midtown, 1 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay

[Thai Bin Lo] Thai style hot pot

If you like Thai food, I think this is a great place for hotpot because the appetizer, dessert and drinks cabinet is all you can eat including chicken, Thai salad, etc.

For the main hotpot broth, you get a choice of Thai style soups such as tom yum kung, coconut chicken, curry etc.
I chose two because it was only $10 extra for two different pots.

For me, the best bit were the noodles because they have Thai Mama noodles and Cambodian noodles which I had first before the broth get oily.

With the Cambodian noodles, I like the way, the softness of the noodles is up to me.

It was nice eating out of bamboo bowls for a change.
Both noodles were good but I prefer the Instant noodles.

After having the noodles, it was time for the beef and seafood.

You get half a grey mullet which goes nicely in the tomyumkung as the strong broth balances the strong flavour of this fish.
I put the pandan leaves in the coconut pot which were used to garnish the seafood platter and it enhanced the coconut broth even more because pandan and coconut always go well together.

The huge oysters didn't shrink in the hotpot and they had a very strong taste to it.

For drinks had the fizzy cucumber which was refreshing and soothes the spicy food.

As well as the hotpot I was really satisfied with the appetizer bar so I hope to come again soon.
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[Thai Bin Lo]:
9/F, King Wah Centre, 628 Nathan Road, Mong Kok
23678876

[泰麵膳 Boat Noodle] Authentic boat noodles in TST

To get decent boat noodles in Hong Kong, you have to trek into Kowloon City where most of the Thai joints are, but saying that the food can be disappointing because quite a lot of it is localized.
There is new joint in TST for boat noodles helmed by a Thai Chef and the menu and noodles are amazing.

The menu is simple and offers boat noodles, Yentafo in soup or soupless and Tomyumkung in soup or soupless with a choice of the usual rice noodles, Cambodian noodles, flat rice noodles etc.

I tried the Yentafo and boat noodles.
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YenTaFo:

Strangely not many Thai places serve Yentafo but it basically contains my favourite fermented red beancurd and chili in the broth.
The soup was tangy and had a strong red beancurd taste followed by a slight chili kick.
Rice vermicelli is the best noodle for this because it absorbs the soup.
It is topped with meatballs, fishballs, fishball slices which were surprisingly delicious and there is also a fish skin dumpling included as well.
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Boat noodle:

Had the beef boat noodle and the broth was strong.
It was topped with tasty beef and fragrant basil leaves.
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For snacks had the chicken skin and chicken drumettes.
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The chicken skin was a delicious guilty moreish snack because it was so crispy yet not oily.

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The chicken drumettes were well seasoned.

I could taste yellow ginger.
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Definitely coming back again for more noodles or during the late supper section from 9-11pm because they serve smaller bowls for $12.
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泰麵膳 Boat Noodle
https://www.facebook.com/boatnoodlehk/

Thai night at Sun Thai Restaurant

There are lots of choices in Wan Chai but went here because a friend worked nearby.

Here was what we had:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pineapple smoothie:

A bit too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sambal okra:

Normally dishes cooked with sambal are very spicy but the sambal here was not very spicy so I liked it and the cherry tomatoes gave it a strong tomato taste in the sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Stir fried young pea shoots:

The pea shoots were crisp and tender in a light sweet garlic gravy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fish gas bladder soup:

This was a warming thick soup loaded with fish gas bladder slices, chicken and shitaake mushrooms.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sweet dessert:

To be honest, it looked like sushi.

It was a piece of sweet egg on top of fragrant pandan flavoured glutinous rice that was not too sweet.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Thai dinner by the harbour at Namo Thai

I don’t normally dine in Kowloon but tried this place because of the lovely harbour view and vibes.
It is a popular spot for people nearby to have drink afterwork.
Anyway, we sat inside and tried some items on the spring menu.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pink basil:

This was made with a sweet concoction of pomegranate, Thai basil, guava syrup, lime juice and egg white.
The drink was sweet with a lovely basil in the taste to give it more dimension.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tuna tower:

This was a nice starter with tuna tartare and creamy avocado dressed in tangy lime dressing that made it moresh.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Coffin bay oysters:

The oysters were big and fresh.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chicken charms:

I loved these pieces of fried chicken because they were crispy and coated in mild spicy sauce that was slightly creamy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lobsters in two ways:


The lobster was served in two ways, one was made into Tom Yum Kung soup but unfortunately it was too salty.
The other was served in a egg cream curry which was delicious with rice because the lobster was springy and the curry sauce was just perfect with the rice.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Banana-mundi:

This was barramundi wrapped in banana leaf hence the name banana-mundi,
The fish was delicate and silky surrounded in aromatic herbs and fragrant sauce.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
chiang mai ribs:

As well as the fish, the ribs were good because the curry sauce was really tasty and there was also light pumpkin puree that gave it some sweetness.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ticky-lice:


I ordered this because of the tri coloured layers of sticky rice, there was a layer of purple glutinous rice, then coconut glutinous rice and pandan glutinous rice which was sweet and satisified my dessert cravings.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★