There is a little Thailand in every country. Everyone loves a little bit of that culture, food and hospitality from the Land of A Thousand Smiles, so it was a delight for me to walk down the Thailand “town” in Hong Kong, located roughly along two main streets in Kowloon City.
We were starving and were desperate for some Thai food. Our first choice was closed until 6 p.m. – I won’t blame them; afterall, who in Hong Kong have dinner at 5-ish in the afternoon? – so we settled for the next tiny restaurant with the curious name of Pee Long Thai.
The eatery itself looked promising. A tiny shop with a handful of tables and wait staff speaking in perfect Thai and surprisingly good Cantonese. We settled down at a rickety table, full of anticipation for some Thai goodies.
But alas, we were in for a disappointment.
Thai Tom Yum Goong
No one in the right mind having Thai food would give this famous dish a miss. Pee Long Thai did this pretty decently. It wasn’t as spicy as it looks, probably because the taste was attuned to the local tongue, but both my friend and I agreed that the soup lacked that punch. Which is surprising, because there were two Thai women manning the (somewhat) open kitchen, and you would think they could do a punchier job.
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