Thai, Vietnamese and other Hong Kong restaurants for strong, heavy tastes: hotel manager’s food picks

Winnie Woo loves Asian cuisines with strong flavours including Sichuan, Shanghainese, Thai and Vietnamese

She goes to Chachawan for papaya salad, Morton’s for onion soup, and Mad for Garlic for heavy, aromatic garnishes

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Published: 3:00pm, 15 Jul 2019Updated: 3:00pm, 15 Jul 2019

Winnie Woo is the general manager of L’hotel Island South in Aberdeen, in Hong Kong’s Southern district

I am the kind of person who loves heavy or strong tastes. I specifically like Asian cuisine such as Sichuan, Shanghainese, Thai and Vietnamese.

Some of the places I enjoy include New Shanghai (1/F, HKCEC, 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2582 7332). They do traditional Shanghainese in a modern setting, which is good for both casual and business dining. I especially like the honey ham with steamed bun and the braised duck stuffed with glutinous rice.

An Nam (4/F, Lee Garden One, 33 Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay, tel: 2787 3922) delivers an authentic and awesome dining experience. The staff are attentive and professional in their recommendations of menu choices. The decoration of the restaurant is nicely themed to Vietnam, providing customers with a great atmosphere. I like the An Nam roasted chicken, which is always perfect. The chicken meat is juicy while the skin is nicely roasted, always right.

An Nam roasted chicken at An Nam in Causeway Bay. Photo: Edward Wong

Green papaya salad at Chachawan. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

I like to introduce overseas friends to Chachawan (206 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, tel: 2549 0020), a Thai restaurant. It serves the best papaya salad in town and their tom yum soup cannot be missed. It’s also close to the SoHo area, so I will usually go barhopping with friends after dinner there.