Ahan Thai 阿閒泰 K11 Art Mall (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★☆☆☆

We have a run of important meetings this week so theoretically speaking, we should be going straight back to work following our morning session. But no, I needed a break from my routine so I decided to hop over K11 Art Mall close to where we were having our meeting this morning.



Ahan Thai (阿閒泰) is a modern Thai restaurant that serves up fusion dishes with western and pan-Asian influence. I was all geared up for some spicy dishes this afternoon but since I would be speaking a lot this week, I thought I should take better care of my voice. I guess that means no SPICY food. 

I wasn't feeling adventurous so a simple carbonara would serve me just fine today. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect from my carbonara pasta. Would there be a Thai twist in this?

Disappointingly, no. The pasta looked (and tasted) exactly like one from an Italian restaurant. It was tossed in a creamy carbonara sauce with pancetta and mushrooms. The only Thai twist was perhaps the decorative crisps made with what I thought was lemongrass on top. These were so sharp! I had to avoid them cutting my lips on a number of occasions.

I've ordered a glass of foamy Thai milk tea to go with my carbonara. This was disappointing. What I like most about Thai milk tea was its rich caramelized notes but they were missing in action.

I thought the food here was alright (drinks not) but there was something that was bothering me throughout this whole dining experience. The tiny little space that the two of us occupied for lunch was simply pathetic. In fact, there wasn't even enough room for me to take a photo of the milk tea (almost). I know space is such a premium in Hong Kong but restaurant owners should be more considerate when they were drawing up their floor plans.

Food Rating: 4.9/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 219, 2/F, K11 Art Mall, 18 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 3996-9226

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 10:00pm (Mon - Fri), 12:00pm - 10:00pm (Sat - Sun)