[Hong Kong] Chachawan
Chachawan | OpenRice
Address: 206 Hollywood Road – 荷里活道206號地舖 (Sheung Wan 上環)
Date visited: 2015.02 for dinner
Total bill: HKD$661 for two people (no service charge)
Will return: Yes
Another short but sweet trip to Hong Kong with just two full meals on the schedule, we chose Chachawan after a sudden Thai craving. Delicious Thai food I will definitely come back to again next time in Hong Kong.
As with many Hong Kong restaurants, Chachawan does not take reservations; instead, you go and put your name on the list and queue up. We went just before 7:00pm and lucked out with an open table but shortly after 7:00pm, a line formed quickly outside of the restaurant. A worthwhile wait in my opinion considering how hard good Thai food is to come by.
Please note that there is a fake Chachawan in Shanghai (whose name has changed since its opening to StreeTHAI) that is absolutely unaffiliated with the original Chachawan in Hong Kong. For more details, see article here.
Mojito Royal (HKD$100) with crushed champagne grapes, thai lime, mint, pinot blanc, bacardi blanco, rhubarb liquor, and singha soda and Papaya Sling (HKD$95) with papaya, chili, thai lime, michter’s rye and a dash of aperol. If you like papaya, this one is for you.
Som dtum moo grop (HKD$108) pounded green papaya salad, cherry tomatoes, chili, dried shrimp, crispy pork with sweet and sour tamarind dressing
Recommend: yes
The server warned us this would be spicy and we were like psh. We were wrong and it was seriously spicy but that did not stop us from eating it. Delicious.
Gai yung (HKD$158) chicken thigh marinated for 24 hours in garlic, pepper, coriander, grilled till crispy, served with jhim jeaw
Recommend: yes
Succulent chicken under slightly smokey and sweet crispy skin.
Pak poong fai mai dang (HKD$68) stir fried morning glory with thai garlic, chili, yellow beans
Recommend: yes
A fine dish but morning glory is just what it is — a necessary vegetable order when eating Thai food.
Khao pad (HKD$132) wok fried rice of crab meat, egg, spring onions
Recommend: yes
I love friend rice anywhere, anytime. As deceivingly simple as fried rice may seem, not everyone makes a good one, but this one passed with flying colors. Some defining characteristics of my perfect fried rice are: hard rice, eggy, lots of spring onions, heaps of crab meat, and tastes like it was made with a wok that has been making fried rice all day long.
We were so stuffed by the end of the meal that as much as we wanted the mango sticky rice (HKD$75), we just could not bring ourselves to order any more food. The restaurant ended up giving us green mango with salt (complimentary), which was a light and refreshing way to finish our very satisfactory meal.
