Outside in the heat
Curried Prawns: better than it looks

Restaurant Review!

Shek O Chinese and Thai Seafood Restaurant l Shek O l Hong Kong

I must admit that I’ve never been a huge fan of Thai food. People always go on about Pad Thai or some other much beloved Thai dish but I often find the food seasoned in an over handed manner. More often than not, the food is cloyingly sweet and lacking in all subtlety. Even when the Thai food is enjoyable, I must say that I never crave it. It just comes across as big flavors that seem to be trying to mask something.

I’ve always chalked it up to Vancouver just not having any good Thai restaurants. Our distance from the indigenous ingredients of Thailand is also a factor as freshness makes all the difference in any dish. I’ve had Thai food in cities such as San Francisco, Boston and Seattle and though they are definitely better, (especially San Francisco) I can’t say that they’ve ever won over my heart.

Which is why I’m suspicious of the Thai restaurant with the longest name possible, Shek O Chinese and Thai Seafood Restaurant. I actually find the Thai food honestly enjoyable at this beachside eatery. It might be that this open air environment is more in keeping with the Thai climate and surroundings. Hong Kong is notorious for not having particularly authentic food but I just don’t get that sense here. It just doesn’t have that Chinese sensibility that a lot of other places do. The deep fried prawn cakes with lemongrass have an unbelievable brightness to it. You can taste the difference that the lemon grass and lime leaves make with each bite. The curried prawns have an intense coconut and curry flavor that balances each other perfectly. The hot and sour seafood soup never overpowered the squid and mussels in the broth. This is one of the few places where I can taste the constituents of each dish.

Logically speaking, Thailand has some of the best fruits and spices this planet has to offer. Surrounded on three sides by ocean, seafood should be plentiful and myriad. Why not let those flavors take center stage? It just makes sense that the deep fried chicken wrapped in banana leaves should have nothing more than the light floral notes of the banana leaf clinging to it. It just makes sense that I should go to Shek O and eat myself sick on the pretext of measuring a playground we are bidding to replace.

I might try to head over to Thailand and sample things first hand but in the meantime, I will continue to crave Shek O Chinese and Thai Seafood Restaurant.