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2012-12-06
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Today I was craving some Southeast Asian food, which is a problem if you work in San Po Kong and don't want to take a ride to Kowloon City... However in my lonely walks around this hood I have found a few spots offering this type of food so, why not, I decided to test one of them.Since I am gwailo and I was feeling lazy (didn't feel like fighting my way through Chinese written menus with the help of my imagination and Google translate), I decided for the most gwailo-friendly of them, which is th
Since I am gwailo and I was feeling lazy (didn't feel like fighting my way through Chinese written menus with the help of my imagination and Google translate), I decided for the most gwailo-friendly of them, which is the one in Mikiki mall (seriously who chose that name?), right under The Latitude. The name is Red Thai.
Let's face it, I am not a fan of mall restaurants offering non-chinese food, but when I was working in Kwun Tong I really enjoyed "The King and I" in APM (definetely worth it, great lunch menu and awesome value), so I thought, who knows, maybe this one surprises me too...Short answer, NO, it did not. If that's about everything you need to know, you can stop reading here. If you feel like exploring why, let's elaborate a bit more on the review...
First of all, I checked the Lunch menu, which you can see in the following picture.
There are quite a few options and with the set you get coffee or tea and for extra cash you can add a small starter or upgrade your drink. Ok, so far pretty normal (some side soup option would've been nice though). However, first problem is, according to this menu, in Souteast Asia (Menu includes Thai, Malaysian, some Indo inspired dishes) people don't eat veggies. Not a single veggie to be seen neither on the main dishes or the side ones!!! Ok... thankfully I am not vegetarian but some of my favourite thai dishes are veggies! So I go to the regular menu in search for what I really craved... and I found it (or so I thought) Kale with salted pork!
So, although I would prefer to save money and not order anything but the set menu I end up ordering also the Kale dish on top of a Malay Flank Curry with Roti (coffee for drink).In about 3 minutes I have my Curry little bowl (yups, I kind of expected something more substantial), in 3 more minutes I get the veggies, in 1 more minute I get the coffee and in 2 more minutes I finally get the roti... so I can start :-)
MALAY FLANK CURRY - 3/10
I don't pretend to be mean, but the curry was more like a coconuty soup (I know, I was asking for a side soup on the menu but this is not a solution for that hahaha). As a result the flavour was flat and also not spicy at all (which some people might appreciate). The meat was ok cooked, and I did like that it came with a few pieces of tendons, which I personally love. On an extra note, I found a small piece of bone hidden in my meat (which I did not expect considering the cut of meat used) and I am not fond of that kind of surprises because I am the gulping type (I hate working through bones). Summing up: You can get similar stuff in MX/Cafe de Coral/Fairwood for half the price.KALE WITH PORK - 4/10
I was expecting my loved Baby Kale with salted pork dish (Top 3 favourite Thai dishes), so I was extremely disappointed when I saw full grown Kale there... To be fair, the name of the dish did not include "Baby" on it, and the picture, if I had paid attention, was clear enough... However I just wanted it so much to be Baby Kale that I did not pay enough attention. The seasoning itself was not bad, the main issue here is the full grown Kale does not absorb it anywhere so much as the Baby one, plus it has a much more pungent taste. The pork was so so... not too much fat (which I guess it's good?) but dry on the lean side and not crispy skin at all. So in general, it was a let down, even more since I was expecting a different thing.ROTI - 4/10
So so laaaa! It looked a bit fakish, and it tasted a bit bland. I am not a fan of the square shape either. In any case, extra points for adding an alternative to rice.DESERT - Coconut Pudding - 7/10
The best thing of the meal was the only one I did not order (it was not even mentioned on the Set lunch). Not too sweet and it did taste like Coconut. I guess I give it extra points just by comparison with the rest hahahaCOFFEE - 0/10
The coffee needs special mention here, OMG, what was that??? Seriously they should not be allowed to call that coffee, I guess tea must be the way to go here...VALUE FOR MONEY - 2/10
Total bill: 135HKD (Which is waaaay too much for lunch). Of course, if I had stick to the Set lunch it would be less, but even in that case, 58HKD+10% for that little bit of curry, the roti and that thing they call coffee is not a great value for money - considering the value offered. Moreover if you are a hungry gwailo/gwaipo/ or local, you will find it difficult to feel full just with the set menu.
GWAILO FRIENDLY RATING: 9/10
Menu available in English - Waiters understand and speak English - Relatively easy to find
CONCLUSION: 3/10
If you work/live in San Po Kong and are craving Southeast Asian food, don't be lazy and get the bus to Kowloon city!!! Sure, it's not that convenient and you might have to use your hands to explain what you want to eat but your stomach will thank you afterwards :-)
Ok, let's be fair, I still have 2 more Southeast asian spots to try around here... let's give this area a shot at redemption... will keep you guys updated.
In the meantime I will keep testing other type of restaurants in the area. Will start a blog soon to keep track of all this.
GOT HUNGRY? GO EAT
The Hungry Gwailo
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