Hong Kong - Cambo Thai 金寶泰國菜館

Kowloon City is one of those places which is today known for its collection of good quality eateries at prices that are hard to beat - a fact close to the hearts of the locals but best kept secret from visitors, especially so now that the international airport has moved from Kai Tak to Chek Lap Kok in 1998.

Kowloon City retains its old flavour - with the historical walled city in the neighbourhood, a collection of old-style eateries, and is a great place to explore if you are a foodie. But hurry since I see quite a few sites and magazines have already started to tout these areas as "places of interest" for the HK visitor!

The myriad of Thai supplies shops in the area also means that this is the place to go to if you want some authentic Thai. On this occasion, we pop into Cambo Thai. Don't expect exquisite fine dining but open your mind to some different but tasty and I would believe highly authentic Thai goodies.

Prawns seem to take centrestage here and there is even a caricature of the "boss man" lying on the famous plate of Prawn sashimi, garnished generously with garlic, chillies, on a bed of cabbage and carrot salad, drizzled with fish sauce and lime. Great appetiser!!!

Still on the prawn theme, their take on the usual Thai shrimp cake is fabulous. Here, they mould them into balls (they are not little though) so they can hold a decadent shrimp roe based gravy right in the middle. There are warning signs in the restaurant to bite into them delicately for fear of squirting. Lovely burst of flavours as it is accompanied by a sweetened plum sauce and a must-try for the prawn fanatic.

The Crab yellow curry was very tasty although not spectacular by Thai standards but worth a try if you like an eggy gravy.

Another winner was the rice noodle soup with different parts of the beef, including brisket (which was very tender), tripe (nice crunch but not chewy) and beef balls (bouncy and beefy - tasted homemade). The stock is sweet from the beef, and the generous amount of bean sprouts and spring onions kept it fragrant and light.

It gets busy at peak hours but there are 2 entrances, one of which leads to Cambo Vietnamese. So there is ample seating. Don't worry, they are owned by the same boss. You can tuck into some Viet favourites since they do those as well. I just might get round to trying those soon.

G/F, 15 Nga Tsin Long Road,

Kowloon City,

Hong Kong
Tel: +852-2716 7318