Mouthing Off | Stop trying to elevate my food. It doesn’t need it

Kowloon City is back in vogue. With Hong Kong’s new Kai Tak arena within walking distance – OK, it is a long walk – and last year’s popular film Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In romanticising the area’s legendary former slum, you might say the old district is new again.

I live near Kowloon City, and what I go there for is Thai food. There is a cluster of authentic Thai restaurants and shops, operated by a vibrant community that has made the neighbourhood its own.

This is why I am never all that enthusiastic when my Central-dwelling friends on Hong Kong Island suggest getting Thai in their neighbourhood. Sometimes I will make an alternative proposal for them to come over to my neck of the woods. Usually, there will be some hesitancy and excuses, like, “Oh, I’m not sure how to take the MTR there.”

Alas, it is hard to convince certain Hongkongers to trek over to deep, dark Kowloon. Worse, when they Google search the places I suggest, the restaurants look like dives. The pictures have bad lighting, minimal decor and no-frills food presentation.