Thai in Fusion
Soi 7 combines classic Thai cuisine with a modern Hong Kong ambience and a touch of Western cooking styles. With an Asian-influenced design and the aromatic scent of irresistible Thai food spices in the air as you walk in, Soi 7 will give great pleasure to all food lovers.
Soi 7, a modern Thai restaurant/bar recently opened at 57 Wyndham Street, above Hong Kong’s famous Lan Kwai Fong district. It is being met with tremendous success for its offering of different flavours in traditional Asian dishes. Soi 7 provides a truly unique dining experience combining classic Thai foods with modern taste and presentation.
The interior is simple with Thai influences, yet warm and cozy. Wood and brick walls are coated with Thai iconography, such as elephant decals, old-school movie posters and postage stamp placemats of neighbouring Asian locations, to cultivate a modern Asian feel. This two-storey restaurant has a vintage industrial style décor. The venue winks at history by featuring bulbs and bunker pendant lights. Walking into the venue, you are instantly met with a smooth playlist of music that beats with the tempo of its environment.
The menu is vibrant, created by Chef Arata Chankhong (or Khun Sen, as she is known), with a whole palate of different flavours ranging from sweet and sour to a variety of hot spices. Chef Sen will only use fresh produce and imports sent every day directly from the markets in Ayutthaya, Bangkok, to ensure authenticity in the dishes.
The Thai Dumpling made a good impression as an appetizer. It’s a flavourful chunk of wagyu beef with spicy Thai sauce. There’s crunchy sliced Banana Flower Salad with chicken that tastes very light. The Thai Buffalo Chicken Wings packed with a sweet-sour sauce are also recommended, or the Tuna Tartare Tacos with chili-lime tomato dressing in a crisp wonton skin.
The Laughing Bull is one of the popular dishes in Soi 7. It is an homage to the Thai favourite “Crying Tiger”. This Australian beef is grilled for 12 hours with sous-vide, creating a combination of flavours and leaving the meat so incredibly juicy. There are also the classic Krapow Burger with its red pepper brioche bun and a lightly spiced Chiang Mai-style sausage and lashings of Sriracha-aioli sauce. Another Thai classic dish, Pad Thai, is taken to another level, as what you get here is Pad Thai Lobster. An entire Boston lobster (the meat has been taken out of the shell) lays on top, covering the noodles beneath. This killer presentation is backed up with balanced textures and is full of taste. It’s cooked with all the traditional seasonings, like bean sprouts, garlic chives, dried shrimp, tofu and peanuts, but is made luxurious with the lobster. There’s also Steamed Sea Bass in a broth of chili, lime juice, garlic, coriander, coriander root and pickled garlic, or satay grilled with a miso-coconut marinade and a peanut sauce to make a well-presented Spring Chicken.
A few fresh and innovative drinks would be great companions. Soi 7 offers many cocktail creations, such as the Mango Chili Martini, for example, which starts smooth but subtly packs heat. In keeping with Thailand’s sweet and sour flavours, the Tamarind Martini is both candied and tart at the same time. The Betel Martini uses Grey Goose Vodka, Pernod, fresh lime juice and house sugar syrup with betel leaves; the Cinnamon Spiced Old Fashioned is made with Jim Beam Bourbon, infused cinnamon and star anise syrup, bitters and a cinnamon stick. Make sure to order Mango Cheesecake for dessert to complete the experience!
