View this post on Instagram
Thai Pai Dong is one of the latest restaurants to join the Ferry Point area in Jordan. Within a month of opening, this eatery has already become widely popular and regularly has crowds waiting outside its doors before they open for service. Though small in size, this restaurant is decked out in retro decor like vintage posters, train tickets, and an eye-catching LED sign on its façade. With so many Instagrammable spots throughout the venue, Thai Pai Dong breathes new life into this sleepy residential area. Even though I visited on a weeknight before dinner service began, there was already a queue outside the restaurant and I waited for 40 minutes before entering.
Lots of Thai Pai Dong’s customers (myself included) willingly queue up to try the restaurant’s Wagyu beef boat noodles ($98). If that dish sounds familiar to you, it’s because Thai Pai Dong’s head chef used to work in the Wan Chai location of Samsen, another popular Thai eatery in Hong Kong that’s become famous for this noodle dish. Thai Pai Dong’s version sees the noodles served in a rich broth made with beef blood and various aromatics, giving it a deep colour and loads of flavour. Each bowl of boat noodles comes with delectable toppings like Australian Wagyu beef slices, beef balls, water spinach, and pork cracklings. Customers can choose between fresh rice noodles or egg noodles as a base; I opted for the first type, which was a good call as the noodles got coated in the rich broth and became more flavourful with each bite. As for the toppings, the Wagyu beef slices were tender with a meaty flavour, and I thought the amount of toppings was just right. From the noodles’ presentation to the dish’s overall taste, Thai Pai Dong’s version is certainly reminiscent of its Samsen counterpart.
Another popular dish at this Thai restaurant is spicy Wagyu beef flat noodles ($98) or pad kee mao, which translates to ‘drunken noodles’. It was allegedly created after a Thai chef whipped up these noodles while inebriated, which then gave rise to its name. Customers can choose either Wagyu beef or tiger prawns as their main protein, which gets tossed together with other ingredients like baby corn, kai lan (Chinese kale), and red chilli peppers. Even though the noodle dish was slightly oily, it came out piping hot and had plenty of ‘wok hei’, which are the hallmarks of a moreish dai pai dong-style dish.
I liked how the crab meat omelette ($168) was generously filled with flaky chunks of crustacean, and how it all got wrapped in a thin, fragrant layer of egg batter. The grilled skewers served at Thai Pai Dong were also up to par – the satay chicken and pork skewers ($98 for three each) were cooked to order and had an aromatic charred flavour, tasting even better when paired with the restaurant’s homemade satay sauce. Finally, I wrapped up with their homemade Thai pandan ice cream ($58). The dessert was smooth and silky, but I felt it lacked pandan flavour.
So, how similar is Thai Pai Dong to Samsen’s Wan Chai location? I’d say they’re 90 percent alike, from their interior to their dishes (even down to the long wait outside the restaurant while being bitten by mosquitoes), but what makes Thai Pai Dong stand out is its cheaper price point. It’s also worth mentioning that Thai Pai Dong’s lunch sets are $10 cheaper than their dinner prices, and some drinks such as Thai milk tea only cost $8 – talk about an absolute steal! - translated by Cherry Chan
Here’s what our star ratings mean:
★: Not recommended
★★: A disappointing experience
★★★: A good experience
★★★★: A very good to great experience
★★★★★: An outstanding experience
Restaurant and bar reviews and recommendations: How we do it
Read more Hong Kong venue reviews