The new contemporary Thai restaurant, Sawadee Chef, has made its debut at Olympian City Phase 2. Designed by Chef Ronald Shao, Sawadee Chef specialises in traditional Thai cuisine coupled with the fineness of Chinese cooking and the spicy elements of Sichuan.
Sawadee Chef is a new restaurant designed by Chef Ronald Shao, a renowned Chinese chef with 40 years of experience in Sichuan, Guangdong, Beijing and Shanghai cuisines. The Chef and his team aim to shake up the Hong Kong dining scene by taking Thai cuisine to a new level, resulting in a refreshing gourmet experience for diners.
Executive Chef Ronald Shao leads the team in sourcing quality ingredients to create a variety of eclectic and unique signature dishes. These include Spicy Minced Pork Belly with Perilla Leaf.
The dish (above) showcases the stir-fry technique of Cantonese stir-fried shredded pigeon with the traditional Thai minced pork with lettuce wrap dish, with hand-cut Japanese Kurobuta pork and perilla leaves replacing the minced pork and lettuce. Sliced Fish in Thai Spicy & Sour Soup combines the famous local dish of the Hmong people in Guizhou with Thai tom yum soup for an intriguing interplay of tastes and textures.
Also on the menu is Claypot Rice with Assorted Fish & Mushroom, which is inspired by the Thai tradition of cooking rice with river fish; the dish contains Hong Kong gastronomes’ favourite fishes, such as the Bombay duck, sand borer and thread fin. Another must-try dish is the stir-fried Thai Morning Glory. The dish is prepared with freshly imported Thai morning glory and cooked in Hong Kong’s authentic sizzling pot style, giving the dish more flavour and intensity than traditional Thai stir-fried vegetables.
Thai barbecue is another speciality of Sawadee Chef. Unlike ordinary Thai restaurants, Sawadee Chef has a Thai barbecue bar and has invited an experienced Japanese yakitori chef to develop a Thai barbecue menu that brings into play the highest level of knife work. The seasoning and grilling skills of the Japanese yakitori chef help to create a series of incredible Thai barbecue dishes that will delight guests. Dishes on the menu include Whole Squid (market price), and Eggplants create a complex bite that delights the palate.
Sawadee Chef seats 120 people with a high ceiling that gives space and comfort. The entire restaurant is decorated in plain wood, with wooden tables and chairs with rattan wood seats. The pillars are fitted with metal framed lights for a minimalist and stylish touch while conveying a classic Thai appeal.
The 10-seat open barbecue bar is the highlight of the main dining area, where diners can visibly enjoy the preparation of the skewer, with a transparent glass cooler on the bar to showcase the freshest ingredients of the day. The restaurant also has two VIP rooms, providing a private dining environment with a high degree of exclusivity.
LUBUDS®’s restaurant business started with the establishment of its first Japanese restaurant in 2006 and has since expanded to include a variety of Japanese, Sichuan, European, Japanese and Western restaurants in different parts of Hong Kong, including Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay, Central, Sha Tin, Kowloon Tong, Yuen Long and West Kowloon Cultural District. The Group has a thriving business in Hong Kong and Macau with over 1000 staff and 38 restaurants and will continue to consolidate its leading position in the catering industry in the future.
About Chef Ronald Shao
Born in Sichuan province and originally from Zhejiang province, Chef Shao grew up with a diversity of Chinese epicurean cultures and developed his culinary skills in Hong Kong. He then worked in five-star hotels in New Delhi, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Macau, gaining a wide range of experience, which established Chef Shao’s flexible and innovative culinary philosophy and craftsmanship that led to the birth of the brand new Thai restaurant Sawadee Chef, serving extraordinary Thai cuisine to Hong Kong diners.
Having taught at the Chinese Culinary Institute for six years, Chef Shao hopes to surprise diners with his artistry and skill. In 2021, Chef Shao was the Executive Chef of MIÁN, a Chinese restaurant at The Murray, paying tribute to the eight major Chinese provincial cuisines, highlighting the regional culinary traditions while incorporating creativity and imagination to concoct expertly crafted new dishes.
In 2022, he is taking the next step by introducing a new concept Thai restaurant, Sawadee Chef, which is a continuation of his personal style of cooking that takes the best of the best and converging expertises.
Sawadee Chef – Where and how?
Address: G/F, Shop G21-G23, G25-G27, Olympian City 2, 18 Hoi Ting Road, Tai Kok Tsui
Reservation: 2881 8803
Instagram: Sawadeechef
Facebook: SawadeeChef
Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday, 12:00noon – 10:00 pm (last order at 9:30 pm).
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