Delicious Budget Thai Eats in Yuen Long

Whetting the appetite with pomelo and prawn salad

When I was in Hong Kong, a foodie friend was keen to take me to a dai pai dong in Sham Shui Po called Oi Man Sang. Customers have to queue for a table, but many believe it's worth it, as the place is known for cooking fresh seafood. We were all looking forward to it -- until we found out it would be closed on Qing Ming, or grave-sweeping day, one of the few holidays the staff get off.

Braised beef in a tart soupy sauce

So, we had the second-best thing -- a Thai restaurant in Yuen Long, about a 20-minute walk from Yoho Mall II in the New Territories. 

My friend drove us there along with his cousin and her husband, along with another chef acquaintance to Thailand East. When we got there it's a large compound, with people eating outside and inside, and parking at the back.

We were shown to a indoor area and upstairs where practically all the tables were filled. While the place served Thai dishes like green papaya salad and skewers, they also had claypot rice -- very Cantonese, and soy sauce chicken.

To start the pomelo and shrimp salad was delicious, large chunks of the citrus fruit together with plump shrimp, cherry tomatoes and peanuts, with a light soy dressing that was seasoned with fried garlic chips. Soon came the pork and beef skewers dipped in a thick peanut sauce.

Claypot rice with Chinese sausages was spot on

In a large stainless steel bowl was a giant beef bone, seasoned with garlic and coriander. The bits of beef fell off the bone easily and the slightly tart soup was delicious. I could have eaten the soup on its own and be fully satiated.

Next came two piping hot claypot rice, and they had the crispy rice at the bottom. The first had Chinese sausages, including one with offal and pork belly, the other with small pork ribs. Both were delicious and just depended on which flavour your were more partial to. How a Thai restaurant prepared spot on claypot rice I don't know, but practically every table had at least one.

A pre-ordered baked soy chicken arrived sitting up on a mini stake with a bowl at the bottom to catch the drippings. It seemed disconcerting at first to see a headless chicken sort of standing upright, but we took pictures anyway. After the photo session it was whisked back to the kitchen for the chef to expertly chop into pieces.

Roasted chicken was tender, hardly dry

For vegetables, water spinach with a touch of chillis was just right, along with more fried rice with pork belly and scrambled eggs on top. 

By this point we were pretty full, but wait there's dessert! We had the standard black sticky rice with mango and coconut milk, and a plate of taro-flavoured jellies with small cups of coconut milk jelly. 

Together with good conversation mostly about food, and talking about what we ate, it was a very enjoyable evening at a restaurant on the side of the road. For five people the bill came to around HK$1,300 including drinks, about HK$260 per person. Practically Shenzhen prices! No wonder the place was packed!

Black sticky rice with mango and coconut milk

Thailand East

G/F, 1 Tung Shing Lei

Yuen Long

9790 6118