For us old Hangzhou hats, the Drum Tower, just south of Hefang Street off of Zhonghe Road, was known for its late-night kaorou and fried dumpling stands. For anyone who lived on the south side of town or worse, Binjiang, knew this place as a mecca for post-party feasting. How things have changed over the years. Though all the old familiar restaurants are still there, a quick walk through the tunnel behind the Drum Tower reveals a an area that’s still ripe in renewal. New restaurants, shops, and snack stands abound.
It was while walking north on this historic pedestrian street that we found King Thai, the newest restaurant serving up not only Thai, but Malay, Indonesian, and Balinese cuisine. Flipping through the bilingual menu gave us an idea of the ambition of the owners. It was clear that Thai food was not the sole focus, but a generous offering of pan-Southeast Asian classics.
We decided to take them to task and order a little something from everywhere. We started out with fried, hard-boiled, eggs in sambal sauce (8RMB), sambal bunchies (28RMB), which consist of green beans and spicy prawns cooked in coconut milk and sambal sauce, and should be ordered if you are to patron this place. The Indonesian-style pork ribs are another one worth sinking your teeth into, and at 38RMB, you may want to order seconds. The Singapore Chili Prawns (46RMB) were banal at best, as was the Green Curry vegetable hot pot, but that at least gave us something to drown our bowls of rice in. The last dish to arrive was the Thai, Tom Yum Kong, which some of our party found quite palatable while others found too strong.
We washed everything down with 3 different varieties of their advertised V-Fresh health drink (13RMB/bottle), every one of which is infused with basil seeds, which, according to the available literature is good for what ails your GI tract, and that’s always a smooth move.
Parking is tough, so leave the car. There are lots of sites within walking distance, such as Chenghuang Pavilion, so for a Southeast Asian meal that won’t break the bank, give King Thai a try.
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