bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Lauren Crothers

Shop G23 Festival Walk, Kowloon Tong

Tel: 3105 5055

Open: noon-late

Cuisine: Royal Thai

Ambience: Oh, the perils of creating an intimate dining concept in a busy mall. The interior is sexy and plush, but we wished there was more of a sensation of being 'inside' as opposed to in a restaurant in a shopping mall.  The restaurant wasn't too busy on the night  we dined, however.

Price: HK$230 per person for three courses  without wine.

Pros: There's something  satisfying about getting value for money. The food is reasonably priced  and  the quality of each dish was impeccable. The service was efficient, and our waiter even recommended some dishes, one of which proved to be a favourite with us.

Cons: The wine list   was limited, whether you were drinking by the glass or bottle.

Recommended dishes: The deep-fried prawns (HK$62) were juicy and tender. The prawns were shelled and came with shreds of crispy filo and chilli paste dipping sauce. The surf clams (HK$58) with Thai basil, chilli and kaffir lime were succulent and absorbed the well balanced flavours of the sauce.  The massaman nua beef curry (HK$98) was as comforting as it was rich - chunks of tender beef, potato and onion in a thick creamy sauce. It was one of the finest curries we've tasted in Hong Kong.

And then came the  wok-fried baby lobster  with shallots, chilli paste, bell peppers, mushrooms  and basil leaves (HK$158, above), which was exquisitely presented and cut up into manageable chunks. The lobster was delicious with the  wonderful sauce.

For dessert, the lime and lemongrass sorbet (HK$15 per scoop) was a refreshing palate cleanser and the sticky red rice (HK$15) was sweet and light.

What else? The restaurant is part of the Aqua Group, which also runs upmarket establishments such as Hutong,  Aqua Tokyo,  Aqua Roma  and WasabiSabi.



Ayuthaiya