Actually, I was a dumbass this whole evening. I went to Kowloon City and then wandered around a bit in Yau Ma Tei with some friends from out of town, and I completely forgot to photograph Yau Ma Tei. We even went into a Taiwanese dessert-type place that was open till about three in the morning or something. Ah, my bad, my bad.
Anyway, let's talk about Kowloon City and Thai food. Kowloon City is where Little Thailand (and also, many of my fellow Hokkien) is located. I lived in Kowloon City when I first moved to Hong Kong, so I have quite fond memories of it, even though it's now being gentrified quite rapidly.
People who like those Initial D-type cars for drifting and stuff will also like this area because there are still many of the garages that fix up these cars here, although most seem to be more concentrated just outside Kowloon City in Ma Tau Wai. The old Kai Tak airport is in Kowloon City, and since it's been converted into an entertainment zone with go karting and a bowling alley among other things, it seems like a lot more youths have been hanging around, as well.
There are a lot of really excellent Thai restaurants in the area, but I'll go through them one by one. As a rule of thumb, though, I would suggest avoiding the flashier-looking restaurants with the huge neon signs like Cambo. Their food is acceptable but not nearly as authentic or delectable as the smaller, family-run businesses.
I took my friends to Chai Run Thai Food on 33 Nam Kok Road, intersection Nga Tsin Wai Road. I've been going there for years, so we got seated quite quickly on the sidewalk, which I quite like at night during cold weather. There aren't too many cars passing by to choke you with engine fumes, the air is fresh, and you can smugly tuck into your food while people pass by, drooling in envy. Incidentally, it's quite fun to people watch in Kowloon City, lots of really fascinating-looking folks, from the grizzled uncles and aunties to the young teens hanging out with their friends to little kids and pets wearing hilarious animal outfits.
The staff at Chai Run are super cool. They are mostly Thai aunties, and when I first started frequenting this restaurant, I still messed around with the...how shall we say...less law-abiding young men of Hong Kong, and they used to tsk me whenever I showed up with one of those delectable young bucks. They're also convinced that I have a hearty appetite (which actually is kind of true, I guess) and always act shocked when I order less than ten entrees.
Anyway, reminiscing aside, this is what we had.
Raw shrimp with fried shrimp heads. I wouldn't eat raw seafood in many restaurants, but the ones at Chai Run are so amazingly fresh. The shrimp is so tender, with such a delicate flavour. It's not at all slimy or greasy, just simply lovely, like eating raw oysters.
The sauce might be a bit spicy for some, but if you're a regular Thai food eater, it's no big deal.
Pineapple fried rice with chicken.
Fried chicken wings. Unlike other restaurants, they don't fry their chicken wings in batter.
I had...what do you call 三色冰 in English? Tricolour iced coconut milk drink? Anyway, it's made from coconut milk and with a mixture of jellies and beans (hence the three colours).
Shrimp patties.
A specialty of Chai Run's, roast chicken. So succulent!
Crab curry, another specialty. The sauce is divine.
Butter roti. I really suggest ordering this if you get a curry dish. Use the roti to dip into the curry sauce, and my God! I would give up any one of those young delinquents who used to squire me around (except perhaps for one or two who have certain special talents), to eat this roti every day.
You most likely won't spend too much money eating in Kowloon City. For all of the above food, plus drinks and extra rice -- we also got a free dessert because the staff thought I hadn't ordered enough -- we spent about HKD500.
It's a good thing we took a long walk after.
