Don’t throw all your eggs in one guidebook. We planned on hitting up what sounded like the perfect spot to appease our Thai craving, but found it had closed since Time Out Hong Kong had been published. And so, with nose in book, we wandered around the streets of Wan Chai in search of a suitable replacement, and unfortunately found ourselves on what has to be the grossest tourist strip in the city. I’ll never understand why people come halfway across the globe, only to frequent those areas most similar to where they came from.
My stomach already turning from hunger, we felt a little violated as we walked down Lockhart Road and were faced with strip club after bar after restaurant catering to the tourist. There’s about as much culture here as there is along I-75 in Ohio. We walked into Chili Club, but after seeing no locals and all tourists, turned right back around. Finally, with hunger taking its toll, we settled on Lotus Thai across the street.
Lotus looked reasonable enough. It was deserted compared to its counterparts along Lockhart, and took a minimal approach to décor—plain yellow tablecloths, fake lotus flowers on each table, and Indochina colonial figures scattered about on the walls. In business since 1990, Lotus could improve its lighting with some candles and dimmer ceiling bulbs. Maybe it was because we were one of only three or four tables, but our waitress hovered over us like a vulture watching a lost hiker in the desert.
The menus look like hardcover cookbooks, with colorful photos sprinkled throughout to add pizzazz to the dishes. For an appetizer, we ordered mee krob (HK$55), three flavors with crispy vermicelli. I went with the kaeng mussa-mun (HK$62), Thai curry and peanuts, as my main dish, while my companion chose the spicy chicken and basil with fried noodles. We also each ordered a beer, though red or white Cuvee St. Piere wine is also available.
That’s when things started moving downhill. With our appetizer nowhere in sight, the spicy chicken and basil came out, but it wasn’t spicy. In fact, it was rather bland. Then my curry arrived, an aromatic pot of steaming vegetables and tofu, but no rice. Apparently, this cost extra. After being assured our appetizer was on its way, we both finished our main dishes. My curry was excellent; her noodles and basil were lackluster.
By now, we’d written off the appetizer, but lo and behold, with our appetite more than appeased, a heaping plate of crispy vermicelli was laid on the table. Very tasty noodles, but we were already stuffed from the entrées.
We paid the bill, left a good tip by Hong Kong standards, but there was just a really weird vibe the last 10 minutes we were in Lotus. We were ready to go, and in her haste, my companion accidentally spilled her water. Oh no! The end of the world! She repeatedly apologized, but our hovering waitress was not pleased. Whatever.