船皇 (大埔超級城) (Closed)

Item: Tiew Ruea Tor Charm (Tai Po Mega Mall)
Rating: 4
Author: eatwai

Tiew Ruea Tor Charm (Tai Po Mega Mall)

133 Reviews

Taste

Decor

Service

Hygiene

Value

1832

Tai Po

$51-100

Thai Noodles/Rice Noodles

eatwai

Level4

188

Read full review

This authentic Thai restaurant captured my eyes and stomach already when I saw they sold boat noodles, something I rarely see done good in Hong Kong. The restaurant was not very busy when we went, Sunday around 14:00.

I ordered their Lunch combo set $78 which came with a choice of boat noodle, a choice of snack and a choice of drink between yuzu honey tea, coffee and soft drinks, you can also +$8 for any of their other drinks including Thai specials.

雞絲+雞翼河粉船麵 $78 ($48 on its own) (can be (撈麵) stirred noodles as well)

The 雞絲 is a bit dry on its own but when eaten with the soup and noodles, it was perfect. There was also a lot of it in so I got some in every bite, there was also some bigger pieces that was so tender and chewy.

There was 2 big pieces for the 雞翼 (chicken wings) and both were so tender and I was able to pull the bone out perfectly and eat the soft flesh only. The marinade was not quite strong so I recommend eating with the soup or just simply enjoy the texture and softness of the meat, the skin however was well marinated and very flavorful.

The 河粉 was the traditional really thick 河粉 you would find in Thailand when eating boat noodles which is very rare to find in Hong Kong. The noodles were tender and soft but still al dente enough for a satisfying bite. I had to separate the noodles in the beginning as it was a big clump but the hot soup helped a lot and I was able to eat it one noodle at a time until the smaller clumps appeared at the end.

The soup itself was perfect. It reminded me of eating 20 bowls of boat noodles in Thailand last year which made me really happy. The volume is not like a ramen bowl but just enough to help flavor the noodles and meat but not too much that your noodles are drowning in them.

The boat noodles also come with a crispy puffed pork skin which I really enjoyed as it was really crispy, it lacked flavor as expected but if you dip it in the soup as you would for 炸魚皮 (fried fish skin) then it’s magical.

牛舌串燒 (beef tongue skewer), 牛柳粒串燒 (beef tenderloin skewer) $18/1 skewer $48/3 skewer.

We tried this as they were both labeled with a ‘Chef recommended’ sticker but both skewers were extremely tough and dry, the beef tongue was chewable since it’s as thin but very tough. The beef tenderloin was absolutely deprived of any moisture and super hard to eat because it was quite thick. The sauce for both was good but could not enjoy at all because of the texture, it was also clearly not freshly grilled because the exterior was stale and not hot when put in my mouth. The portion is 1 big and 1 small piece per skewer.

We ordered 2 Lunch combo sets which means we could choose 2 snacks from spring rolls, prawn rolls and single bone chicken wings. We chose the prawn rolls and single joke chicken wings.

泰式炸蝦卷 (prawn rolls)
There was 2 pieces of prawn so we each got to try one instead of 3 if you order from the snacks section. But 1 was definitely enough for me, the exterior of the prawn roll is not crispy at all. It was obvious that it had waited a long time in the kitchen as it was not hot and very very stale. The prawn inside was tiny and invisible, but what threw me off was the white mush surrounding the prawn underneath the exterior. It tasted like egg but I really cannot be sure.

泰妹單骨雞翼 (single bone chicken wings)
There was 4 pieces of this single boned chicken wing which means 2 full chicken wings, as opposed to the snack’s section of 5 pieces. The outside was also not crispy and hot at all as I imagined, clear to have waited for long time. However, the meat inside was quite tender and flavorful, perhaps not as flavorful as Greyhounds’ but you can still taste the Thai seasoning and such. This is also a Chef recommendation dish…🥲.

We also ordered the 秘醬通菜 (Morning glory with house special sauce) $14 as we fell in love with this in Thailand and have not stopped ordering from restaurants since 😆. Considering the price I would say it’s definitely of value but not that memorable. The ratio between stem and leaf was 5:2 respectively and the stems were not uniformed sizes at all, with big pieces being a big tough and smaller ones cooked perfectly. The house sauce they used was quite good and flavorful but not enough for all the vegetables and the sauce did not really ‘stick’ to the morning glory.

The service here is quite good considering they don’t have service charge but staff will still clean up after you. You do have to order at the cashier and then pick up yourself when the buzzer rings like a fast food restaurant. The space between table varies a lot as some have a big space to walk through but others you have to turn and try to squeeze through 😂.

Overall, I recommend coming here only for the boat noodles as they truly are amazing and authentic but I do not recommend getting their snacks or skewers unless you can assure that it is freshly made. I don’t know if the restaurant wants to send all the food at once so they keep the snacks waiting for the boat noodles but the time management they have is definitely improvable.