Restaurant review: Samsen in Wan Chai – well worth the wait

“This had better be worth it,” I thought as I joined the short queue that had started to form in front of Samsen shortly after 6pm. The restaurant doesn’t take bookings, and my friends and I wanted to be in the first intake of diners when they opened the doors at 6.30pm.

Samsen has been receiving a lot of hype for its Thai street food by ex-Chachawan chef, Adam Cliff, in low-key surroundings. There’s an open kitchen, the walls are concrete, tables are small and the low stools are hard and backless, which doesn’t encourage lingering over the meal.

Food comes quickly, so if you’re trying a lot (as we did – eight dishes plus two desserts for three of us), order in batches, or all the food will come at once.

We hadn’t planned on ordering the green mango salad with tiger prawns and crispy shallots (HK$108) but saw it being served to a nearby table. It was fantastic, with sweet fresh prawns, crunchy, tangy shredded mango, good-quality dried shrimp, and a great mix of textures and sweet, sour, salty and spicy flavours.

Fried marinated pork collar with tomato and chilli dip (HK$68) was a good dish to go with drinks. The nuggets of pork were moist and crisp and the thick dipping sauce was balanced.

A pair of deep-fried eggs (HK$68) with soft, oozing, bright orange yolks came with a sweet-sour chilli and tamarind jam, and fried shallots and garlic, to provide crunch. Wok-fried Thai watercress (morning glory) with yellow beans, chilli and garlic (HK$58) was a delicious accompaniment to stir-fried wagyu beef with wild ginger, garlic, chilli and red basil (HK$128), which had tender meat and an aromatic, spicy sauce.