I so love these places, they're usually run by the coolest people and have the best food that's also really affordable. And many of them hire busboys who are just my type: surly, lanky chainsmokers with long hair that gets in their sexy eyes.
For Christmas Day dinner, I took a few friends to the Nam Long Shan Road Cooked Food Market over in Ap Lei Chau. You can take the number 75 bus that originates from the Exchange Square bus depot. It stops right beside the market.
The Nam Long Shan Road Cooked Food Market is a bit different from the other markets because I don't actually think there is a wet market portion. There are already restaurants on the ground floor, as well as on the second floor.
This market is famous for its Thai restaurants. I've eaten at the one on the ground floor, to your left when you enter, and it's damn good, but my heart belongs to Pattaya on the second floor. Look at how packed it is on Christmas Day evening!
The staff are so sweet, I love them to bits. Look, they made me a special drink that's no longer on the menu because they know I won't drink anything else! This is grass jelly with coconut milk. Er...they probably won't make it for you if they have no clue who you are. You gotta put in the time, ya feel?
We also got two free young coconuts because we ordered the mega crab curry.
You're going to have to excuse these pictures because I got so excited that I forgot to take pictures of a couple of items, or else I belatedly photographed the food.
For appetizers, we got spring rolls. I put a spoon there so you can compare the size. This place has really good-sized portions.
A basket comes with nine pieces!
A wonderful pomelo salad with shrimp, cashews and little dried shrimp. I know this is called hebe in Filipino, but I have no idea what its English name is. You can choose either mild or spicy dressing. We pussied out and got mild.
Pork neck with tamarind sauce. One of my friends was stunned at how delicious this was.
The mega crab curry with bread! I made my friends stick out their fists to show how big the curry dish is. The dude on the left is a dude. I strongly recommend this dish, but make sure that you let the staff know right away because it will take a while to make it. Order this as soon as you sit down and you can leisurely peruse the menu for your other choices afterwards.
We also got buttered paratha, and I swear that Pattaya has the best ones ever. I forgot to take a picture because we all snatched the paratha right away.
I was quite proud of us for doing a pretty good job at polishing the food off.
Look at the carnage! That plate holds all the crab shells from me. We rested for a bit and ended up eating anything that was left. No leftovers!
Ah, looking at these pictures makes me want to go back! On the way to the bus stop, we saw this painted on the side of some fancy condo.
