Pre-pandemic, whenever I’d visit Hong Kong, if I found myself at the IFC Mall in Central, one regular dining pit stop would be Bangkok’s Greyhound Cafe. A restaurant that featured Thai cuisine, but with a young, hip vibe. It perfectly reflected its provenance of a fashion brand expanding into the food industry.
Well, Greyhound Cafe has finally arrived on our shores, thanks to the Viva Food Group. While there are plans to partner with SM Supermalls and have three to four Greyhound Cafes by the end of the year, the very first one is now open at SM Aura.
Guided by the Executive Chef that trained the staff here, I finally got the chance to try their food at leisure and pick out the dishes that most intrigued me. As I conferred with the chef, my only wish was to sample the genuine Thai dishes on the menu. I am all good with their fusion dishes and little recipe twists, but even if not purist traditional, I know that each time I’ll visit Greyhound, it’ll be for their Thai food. I wanted to sample the ones they take most pride in.
The Complicated Noodles is flat noodle sheets, crisp lettuce leaves, minced pork, and a green chili sauce. It’s takes a little work to indulge in this dish, but well worth the effort. You take a lettuce leaf, lay the noodle sheet in the center, then place a generous amount of minced pork on the sheet, and top it off with your heart’s desire amount of chili sauce. You carefully fold the leaf and take bites of the dish, appreciating the layers of flavors that come with each bite. Truly special, but can be on the messy side.
The Muay Thai Chicken is tumeric-basted 24-hour Roast Chicken, served with Sticky Rice, Sumtum Salad, and a choice of Jaew and/or Sweet Chili sauce. The story behind this dish is wonderfully unique. What Greyhound did was take the favorites of Muay Thai (Thai boxing) fans from the stalls and vendors outside the stadiums, and combine them all in one platter.
Old favorites like Tom Yum soup and Pad Thai noodles are excellently done here, but no real surprise there. I’d recommend the Tons of Crab Rice dish, and I heard great things about their Spicy Salmon Sashimi.
As for dessert, I had their Chum Cham Parfait—a refreshing concoction of kiwi, strawberry, orange and fried banana with a lemon sherbet, and mixed berries sauce. It was that good, and I loved it. I’ve similarly got a tip on their Salted Chocolate cake.
Before I close, can I just make mention of their Iced Tea Greyhound style? It’s brewed ice tea, served with ice cubes also made of the brewed iced tea. So there’s no ice melting and diluting the taste of the tea. I found this ingenious, and am ready to make this my regular drink whenever I visit. Believe me, there’s such an extensive menu, it’s a safe bet I’ll be back to sample even more of their Thai dishes.