The romantic and refined setting, combined with the delicious and innovative Thai cuisine, make Tai Kwun’s Thai restaurant Aaharn an excellent choice for a foodie date night.
Aaharn is the creation of Chef David Thompson, winner of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Lifetime Achievement Award and White Guide’s Global Gastronomy Award and a recognized world authority on Thai food. Head Chef Dtoy combines his knowledge of authentic Thai cuisine with 14 years of experience at high calibre restaurants around the world to deliver Thompson’s vision of elevated cuisine that stays true to its Thai roots.
We recently went along to try Aaharn and began by having a drink at The Armoury, a lively bar underneath the restaurant with drinkers spilling out onto a terrace overlooking the parade ground at Tai Kwun. It’s a great spot to unwind with after work drinks or to continue your evening after enjoying dinner upstairs at Aaharn.
The interiors at Aaharn are stylish and elegant, with some striking artwork on display, each table has plenty of space giving diners a sense of privacy and intimacy and there’s also a terrace for al fresco dining. During our dinner tasting we were impressed by the speedy service and knowledgeable staff on hand to answer questions about the food and to make recommendations both for food and drink (Aaharn offers a fantastic wine list).
The dinner menu at Aaharn is continually evolving to feature new dishes inspired by Thompson’s explorations of Thai cuisine and features some familiar favourites given interesting twists, such as the rich Mussaman curry of duck with sweet potato and shallots or the red curry of pork with green peppercorns and holy basil. For the more adventurous there are intriguing options such as chicken with green melon in shiitake mushroom broth and the deliciously crunchy deep fried perch with tamarind and chilli. Mains at Aaharn are in the $200-$400 range and are served family-sharing style.
We particularly loved the steamed red curry of scallops with thai basil, the betel leaves with pork, prawn and galangal and the grilled mussels, southern style. These dishes feature as canapés on the set dinner tasting menu with wine pairing, which would be perfect for a special occasion. We also found that vegetarians are easily accommodated at Aaharn with some tempting choices such as the grilled silken eggplant salad with mint and long leaf coriander and the aromatic curry of corn, potato, cherry tomato and cucumber relish.
If you enjoy culinary exploration in an elegant setting, then Aaharn should definitely be on your date night to-do list!
Reservations
Aaharn is open for lunch and dinner at 02 Armoury Building, Tai Kwun Centre, 10 Hollywood Rd, Central
hi@aaharn.hk / 2703 9111
Find more new restaurants to try in our roundup of Hong Kong’s latest food & drink news here.
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