How did I find this place? We were staying in the Sutthisan area of Bangkok and arrived late (after 1 am) into Bangkok. Basically, we were looking for a place to eat late at night on a weekday. We hopped onto a cab and asked the driver to take us to a place to eat (NOTE: this is not always the best way as there are alot of drivers who scam you and take you to an expensive restaurant that cheat you and at the same time, the cab driver gets a kickback for taking you there). But, we were lucky, and he took us to the Huai Kwang nightmarket, and we decided to check it out for ourselves. We walked around and there was one restaurant in particular which had a lot of locals inside. It was called Noi Seafood, and I gotta say, for being largely anonymous (hardly listed online and very little mentions about it in English), it is better than its other more famous seafood counterparts such as Somboon Seafood and T & K Seafood.

The entrance is quite easy to recognise as the outside kind of looks like a mini seafood market. Most of the seafood is displayed, prepared and grilled outside. Inside, you’re not exactly going to find a ‘clean’ restaurant… but maybe something like the cooked food markets of Hong Kong, so its clean enough. Even at 3am, there was a good number of people in the restaurant eating and chatting away!

Most of the patrons of the restaurant were actual Thai people and despite having eaten at this restaurant more than 6 times already, I have rarely seen any other tourists except perhaps one or two tables of Chinese patrons. This was highlighted by the fact that there was no English menu, and the amount of English spoken by the staff was very very basic. There was a menu that was completely in Thai, and then for those that can’t read Thai, there was a photobook for you to pick whatever dishes you wanted to eat (just point and say how many when applicable). Note that there were no prices labeled in the photobook so the first time I ate here, I was virtually eating blind, and perhaps slightly worried I was going to be cheated. BUT luckily, when the bill came, considering what we ordered, it was very very reasonable and much lower than I expected. Actually, although I’ve eaten there many times, I still don’t know the cost of each of the dishes… Its now all based on trust, and perhaps I also think they might recognise me already. The only thing I do know is that the each grilled prawn was 85 baht or just under HK$23 which is such a good deal when you look at the size of them! Put it this way, I have not felt anywhere close to being cheated by them yet! The amount should end up being between HK$60 (230 baht) and HK$200 (750 baht) per person depending on what you order and how much you order (and we ordered A LOT per person… averaging more than 2 dishes each)!!

Oh, and remember to ask for the green chilli sauce! It’s really really good and goes with practically everything especially the grilled foods!! They actually understood what I was talking about when I asked for this and called it green chilli sauce!

Thai Prawn Cakes – Crunchy, juicy, tasty. Very good when dipped in the sweet and sour sauce provided with a dash of the green chilli sauce.
Grilled Cockle Clams – The cockle clams are fresh and I saw a lot of Thai people order it. Actually there are two types of cockle clams at this restaurant. One that is fully cooked, and one that is quite raw. The one in the photo is the fully cooked one, done by grilling. BUT the one I recommend is the one that is very lightly grilled such that they are warm, but at the same time still quite raw. I attribute my mistake this time due to just being able to point at photos when ordering and pointing to the wrong photo. The raw-er cockles are juicier and taste excellent when dipped in the green chilli sauce. I guess I can understand the apprehension of eating raw shellfish at a place like this, but I can only mention my experiences, which is that I’ve not had a problem yet, and I’ve had ordered the raw ones on at least 4 different occasions.
Shark Fin Soup – I love shark’s fin, but I don’t eat it often. Having said that, it was made nicely here and went well with the raw bean sprout, coriander and vinegar.
Grilled Mussels with Lemongrass and Basil – The grilled mussels are quite good and flavoured nicely with the lemongrass and basil. Add a touch of the green chilli and you’re all set.
Grilled Prawns – I thought that this was the best dish in the restaurant. The prawns were huge, especially the head!! It was so good that the first time I ordered it, I only ordered one per person, but then moments after, we had to reorder another one. Ever since then, I now order a minimum of two per person! Its that good! Once you’ve split the head from the tail, you can try sucking the good stuff out of the head, but really its so big, that I recommend taking apart the head instead. There is actually still a lot of meat inside, and the head is very tasty. Once done, you can peel the tail and dip the good sized tail meat into the green chilli sauce. So big, so juicy, so good!
Steamed White Snapper in Spicy Garlic Lime Juice Soup – The fish was large with lots of meat and little bones. The fish meat was slippery and tender and the broth it lay in was good enough to be a soup by itself. The Thai flavours of garlic, lime and chilli were easily brought out.
Stir-fried Crab with Yellow Curry Powder – There was a lot of crab meat in the dish and it was extremely succulent.Also seemed like there was a decent amount of crab butter. The yellow curry was also especially good! It was mild in spice but very rich. Eating the curry by itself is possible, but imagine mixing it with white rice!!! Yuummmm, I crave for it again just writing about it.
Stir-fried Morning Glory – Spicy! If you can’t take spice, remember to make sure and tell the staff to make this dish less spicy. The vegetables were perfectly cooked and tasted excellent. I can only question why other places can’t cook Morning Glory this well especially in Hong Kong!
Tom Kha Gai – Unfortunately I do not have a photo of this since I was too busy eating (bad excuse… but still, I apologise!). I will quote my friend though, when he said that it was the best Tom Kha Gai he’s ever tried. For me, I can’t definitively say whether it was the best because I just don’t eat it often enough to remember, but it was very good.
Oyster Omelet – Once again I have to apologise for not having a photo of this dish. Actually this was the only dish that I thought was better elsewhere. In particular, the oyster omelet at T & K Seafood was especially good.

I have only good things to say about Noi Seafood. Each time I have revisited Bangkok, I take my friends and go to this restaurant and each time, I have left happy, totally satisfied and have been told by my friends that it was a great recommendation. So GO GO GO if you’re in the area! You won’t be disappointed. Eat where the Thai people eat when in Thailand!! This is the place!

Recommended:

• Grilled Prawns
• Steamed White Snapper in Spicy Garlic Lime Juice Soup
• Stir Fried Crab Meat with Yellow Curry Powder
• Shark Fin Soup
• Grilled Cockle Clams (the very lightly grilled version… i.e. still raw)
• Thai Prawn Cakes

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Noi Seafood
Located within the Huai Kwang nightmarket on Thanon Pracharat Bamphen (on the left when walking away from Huai Kwang MRT, about 5 minutes in)

While randomly looking for a place to eat Thai food in the Silom area of Bangkok, we came across this outdoor covered restaurant on one of the side streets. The restaurant actually did have an indoor section, but it seated only maybe 12 people, whereas the bulk of the tables were outside. I have eaten here several times now, and overall, I do prefer sitting outside for the nice atmosphere and lack of al fresco dining in Hong Kong.

Tom Yum Goong – In many places in Thailand, I have found the level of spicyness for Tom Yum to be insufficient. I suspect that the chef is trying accomodate for the tourists who aren’t necessarily accustomed to spicy food. Me who loves spicy food however, has been disappointed with those places as Tom Yum is supposed to be spicy! Luckily, at Dee’s, the soup was made spicy and quite tasty. The shrimp however was overcooked probably due to the soup continually being heated at the table.
Thai Beef Salad – Very refreshing with the standard Thai flavours of lime, shallots, chlli, cucumber, garlic, nuts and coriander. The dish overall was spicier than expected but the combination of its chilled salad mixed with warm beef, the sourness and excitement of the lime and the kick of the chilli was excellent and wakes you up.
Grilled Mussels – Originally wanted grilled cockles but they ran out. In any case, the grilled mussels with lemongrass and basil were juicy and went well with the chilli sauce that was provided.
Pad See Ew – This Pad See Ew came with chicken. It was a bit more oily than I would have preferred but taste wise, it was nice.
Crabmeat Fried Rice – I will never forget the crabmeat fried rice I had in a local restaurant in Pattaya. In that particular restaurant, the amount of crabmeat was just ridiculous as there was more crab than egg or anything else for that matter. Unfortunately I do not know the name, just that it was on Pattaya Sai Song on the left hand side and a walkable distance coming from the Dusit Thani Pattaya Resort. I also do not know if its still around. Anyway, since that wonderful meal, I have been on the lookout for a comparable crabmeat fried rice. Although the one at Dee’s did not have nearly as much crabmeat, it was still nice with the lime and chilli fish sauce and went eaten with cucumber, it perked up.
Thai Green Curry with Chicken – The green curry itself was a bit watery, but this seems to be the case with much of the green curry I’ve tried in Thailand. It was good to have with rice and there was a generous amount of chicken given. Still would have preferred to have a thicker sauce though.

Overall, the meal was very very decently priced and easily worth another try. In addition, the ability to just chill and eat outdoors appeals to me alot!

Recommended:

• Grilled Mussels
• Thai Beef Salad
• Crabmeat Fried Rice

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Dee’s Silom
19, Silom Soi 6, Bangkok, Thailand 10500 (near Silom MRT/Saladaeng BTS)
+66 02 634 2200

Actually, we were trying to find another place called Cafe 9 also related with Jim Thompson that was recommended to us by the concierge, but as we were weaving our way through the streets of Silom, we saw another Jim Thompson and just assumed that it was the cafe that we were looking for. It was only after we had sat down and ordered 10 minutes in, that we asked someone, and realised that we were in the wrong Jim Thompson. In the end, it all worked out for the better because there was actually alot more choices available at the Saladaeng Cafe than at Cafe 9 and the environment also seemed a lot better.

Soft Shell Crab Salad with Herbs – A refreshing salad due to the mix of sweet, sour and spicy. The soft shell crab has a slight crunch and was very tasty. The salad also has the classic Thai combination of lime, green mango, cashews/nuts and shallots among other things.
Creamy Panang Curry (crushed peanuts . coconut cream . tofu . mushroom) – I gotta say that overall, this was an unexpected weird yet interesting dish. I can only describe it as a tofu waffle with a mushroom like patty inside? The curry sauce though was very nice and there was a slight spice to it.
Khao Phad Gra Prow Goong – A mix of fragrant Jasmine rice with stir-fried prawns, garlic, bird’s eye chilies, holy basil and served with fried egg. The sauce was very tasty and the prawns were a good size as well as being juicy. The egg on anything is good, but my one gripe would be that the egg was not runny enough as it was slightly overcooked. The fried basil though was a nice touch for extra flavours.

Recommended:

• Khao Phad Gra Prow Goong
• Soft Shell Crab Salad with Herbs

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Saladaeng Cafe
120/1 Saladaeng Soi 1, Silom Road, Bangkok, Thailand, 10500 (near Saladaeng BTS & Silom MRT)
+66 02 266 9167

There are actually two Hunan Garden’s in Hong Kong. One in Central (Exchange Square) and the other in Causeway Bay (Times Square). The one in Central is decorated in a more Chinese fashion, but perhaps a bit dated. The one in Causeway Bay is newer and looks like a modern high end restaurant. Hunan Garden is normally quite expensive, but if you go to the one in Times Square for lunch from Monday to Saturday, you can get 50% off the a la carte menu (excluding certain items and dim sum). But overall, this deal is still great as there are many tasty dishes that you can still order while applying the 50% discount.

The appetisers of tofu/cucumber and chilli were good and I would recommend eating them together if you aren’t fussy about spiciness.

Hunan Deep-fried Prawns in Chilli Sauce (湖南左宗棠蝦) – The prawns were smaller than I expected, but they were fresh and nice and juicy. The chilli sauce that surrounds it is reasonably spicy but I suggest using only a little in order not to overpower the natural prawn taste.
Stewed Tientsin Cabbage with Minced Ham (金華腿茸扒津膽) – The vegetables were nice and refreshing with the other dishes all being spicy. I thought that it was a little bland but this could simply be down to the other dishes being spicy.
Fried Chicken with Dried Chilli (小鄉里霸王辣子雞) – Despite the chicken looking dry, it is cooked really well and is extremely succulent and juicy. The chilli’s and peanuts complemented the chicken well, but for all the chilli the dish appears to have, I wouldn’t mind it being even more spicy (but that’s just some minor details).

Highly Recommended:

• Fried Chicken with Dried Chilli (小鄉里霸王辣子雞)
• Hunan Deep-fried Prawns in Chilli Sauce (湖南左宗棠蝦)

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Hunan Garden (洞庭樓)
Shop 1302, 13/F, 1 Matheson Street, Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
2506 9288

This place was recommended by a friend and so we decided to drop by and give it a try for another friend’s birthday. The place was pretty much full when we got there around 6:30pm and so there really wasn’t much choice and we were seated at the very back on the bar table facing the open kitchen. Actually, this was my preferred choice since I love watching chefs cook and in any case, in the end, this was to our benefit as we noticed and got to try the staff special (see below).

They offer two types of menus, the normal paper ones, and then the more technological advanced iPad version. All that is missing now is being able to order straight from the iPad, in which case you can then hire less people.

I was a little disappointed with their beer selection with Anchor Steam being the only choice. California is supposed to have quite a few really good micro-breweries and I would certainly love to try them in Hong Kong. The other thing is that I can get Anchor Steam at Inn Side Out and their related restaurants at a cheaper price so I would not order it here. On the other hand, their wine selection is pretty good and the pricing appears to be quite competitive for a restaurant especially if you order by the bottle.

Gilroy Garlic Fries – The fries were not too garlicky and rather than just being cooked outside the fries, I think that the garlic was actually infused into the potatoes. In any case, it tasted great and you are given a choice of whether to use ketchup or truffle aioli as a dip.
California Sliders with Angus Beef Burger and Bravo Farms Cheddar Cheese – The sliders were excellent. The beef was cooked medium and extremely juicy when you bite into them. The buns were hot toasted and crispy and slowly soaked up the juices from the beef and the caramelized onions. My one gripe is that for two sliders, it was pretty expensive considering the two sliders put together did not make a normal sized burger.
California Tacos with Baja Fish – This is Baja fish batter-fried, served on a soft corn tortilla topped with shredded cabbage, pico de gallo (aka salsa fresca) and cumin-enriched sour cream. This is not your standard taco as you can hardly use your hands to lift it up. The only way to eat it is to cut using your knife and fork watching as it slowly falls apart before piecing it back together again on your fork. Still, the fish was nicely cooked with its slight batter crunch and matched with the tortilla, cabbage, salsa and sour cream.
California Tacos with Carnitas and Salsa Roja – Essentially shredded pork shoulder served on a corn tortilla with house made salsa and Guaillo chilies. Unfortunately the pork shoulder seemed a bit dry and tough. The chilies added a bit of spice, but I don’t mind if there was more whereas the tortilla and house made salsa was nice. Again, its not really your standard tortilla and definitely required a knife and fork to eat.
The Staff Special (Grilled Pork with Fried Rice [off the menu]) – We had finished our meal and were just sitting around, sipping our second bottle of wine, when the staff took turns coming by the bar table to have their own dinner. The chef cooked up what was essentially grilled pork and fried rice but it smelt amazing. It was our friend’s birthday and after being deflected through a few different channels, the chef did finally cook up the special for us. The pork was tender and juicy with a nice char-grilled flavour. The fried rice was cooked with eggs and chives and a mystery sauce. Very simple, yet very tasty as well.

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I enjoyed myself at this restaurant. The food was great, but perhaps a bit expensive for the portion size. The wine on the other hand is a good deal and I would love to try a few others. The next time I eat here, I would continue to sit at the bar table despite not being able to face each other, as the tables in the main area does seem a bit small and cramped. The only thing that stops me from putting this restaurant in the highly recommended category is perhaps the price.

Highly Recommended:

• California Tacos with Baja Fish
• California Sliders with Angus Beef Burger and Bravo Farms Cheddar Cheese
• The Staff Special – Grilled Pork with Fried Rice (off the menu)

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California Vintage
G/F, 77 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong
2525 9808