Eat Mee, Lah: Laksas are the new tapas
Tropical Southeast Asian cities might be popular vacation spots for Hongkongers, but these days you don’t need to travel far for an authentic taste of the region.
As with every other dining trend in Hong Kong, when things come, they come in tsunami-style tidal waves—and if you look at the hottest recent openings, it won’t take you long to realize that satay skewers, laksa and mango sticky rice are restaurateurs’ new favorite themes.
The first signs of a Southeast Asian revival could be traced back to Shiok! (Kitchen 11, 11/F, Hysan Place, 500 Hennessy Rd., Causeway Bay, 2117-3916) which last summer started to fill the halls of Hysan Place with the aroma of Singaporean chai tow kway (fried turnip cake) and Hainan chicken rice. More fast food-style shops also started popping up, including Malaysian chain Syed Bukhara (Shop 15-16, G/F, Chungking Mansions, 36-44 Nathan Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui, 5635-2723), and Sing/Malay specialist Madam Chow (Shop D, G/F, Pao Woo Mansion, 177-179 Wan Chai Rd., Wan Chai, 6779-3619).
Late last year, Café Malacca (Traders Hotel, 508 Queen’s Rd. West, Shek Tong Tsui, 2213-6634) paved the way for trendy Indo-Chinese diners, with an entire floor dedicated to nasi goreng, mee siam and char kway teow. At CM, foods from all over Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia are served buffet-style or a la carte. Following hot on its heels was new arrival Fatty Crab (11 Old Bailey St., Central, 2521-2033), fresh off the boat from NYC and oozing hipster from its pores. FC’s chefs give their own creative interpretation of chili crab, and have even invented a few dishes along the way, including a pork belly and watermelon signature dish that you’ve never had in KL or BKK.
A little over a month ago, noodle noshery Noodle LAH! (Shop A6-2 UG/F, Far East Finance Centre, 16 Harcourt Rd., Admiralty, 2529-0622) sprang up to fill the neverending demand for pad Thai, laksa, pho and all sorts of slurp-worthy strands. Meanwhile, Peter Cuong Franklin’s Chôm Chôm (58 Peel St. Central, 2810-0850) has relocated from Wellington Street and rebranded itself from a private noodle bar into a posh Vietnamese street snacks diner, in collaboration with restaurant group Black Sheep Restaurants. (Read our interview with Franklin.)
The latest to make a splash is Isaan-style Thai bistro-slash-resto Chachawan (G/F, 206 Hollywood Rd., Sheung Wan, 2549-0020). The spices are sassy and the music is pumping at this modestly sized venue on happening Hollywood Road. Grilled seafood, tear-inducing broths and sauces, and killer desserts with just a bit of edge—such as the warm coconut rice dumplings served in salted coconut cream—have had salivating foodies queuing outside ever since opening their doors just a few weeks ago.
Take that, tapas.