Samsen: Hong Kong’s Unassailable Thai Restaurant doesn't have customers as much as it has Devotees

It isn't fine dining, but Samsen sure is great. Deputy Editor P.Ramakrishnan was only too happy to hit this popular eatery once again, having done his R&D for this feature for years.

Without exaggeration or hyperbola, over the past three and a half years, I've had a meal at Samsen, a whopping 546 times. And I have the receipts to prove it! Literally. It's on my app. 

It is the consistency; not of the broth that swims in the boat noodle soup, but the quality of food and service at Samsen that has me returning to its alter like the faithful devottee I am.  In a city that devours trends and quickly lets it fade (this year its Dubai pistachio, remember when it was salted caramel before that? Rainbow cupcakes prior? No? Well, proves my point),  Samsen is the only franchise I'm happy has three hotspots dotted on the island. Not because it chases acclaim or reinvents the wheel, but because it simply gets Thai street food right—uncomplicated, consistent, and perfect every single time. Whether at the original hole-in-the-wall on Stone Nullah Lane in Wan Chai, the Sheung Wan outpost on Jervois Street, or the newer Central branch, this is the eatery that reminds you why queues form and why Hong Kongers will brave subtropical steam for a bowl of noodles.

Walk past the rattan blinds and distressed wood into a space that feels lifted from a Bangkok shophouse: bare concrete, vintage graphics, open kitchens humming with mostly Asian cooks braving the steam (their enviable pores!) and spices. No tablecloths, no pretense. Just wooden chairs that creak under the weight of anticipation and tables turned over with efficient urgency. The menu celebrates Bangkok-style noodles and street classics with bold, layered flavors—sweet, sour, salty, spicy—executed with the precision of someone who clearly respects the source material. Chef Adam Cliff’s pedigree (ex-Chachawan, trained under Thai-cuisine masters) shows, yet the soul belongs to the streets.

Order the signature boat noodles and understand the obsession. Dark, rich broth simmered for hours, packed with herbs, spices, and that elusive depth you chase across border towns. Slurpable rice noodles, tender beef or pork, a hit of chili, pickled mustard greens, and those crispy bits for texture. It arrives piping hot, fragrant, restorative. Pair it with som tum—green papaya salad pounded to order, bright with lime and fish sauce—or the personal favourite, chick flat noodle, with green vegetables, baby corn, where sweetness meets crunch and heat in perfect equilibrium. Curries, stir-fries, grilled skewers (including Wagyu options at the expanded spots), fresh roti: everything lands with the same straightforward excellence. Portions satisfy without excess. Prices remain reasonable—dishes hover in the HK$100–200 range—making it accessible rather than aspirational. Which is perhaps why the glossy publications do not feature this fine eatery with the frequency or urgency it deserves. But fun fact, its not only surviving with the media hand job, it's thriving in spite of it. 

What elevates Samsen beyond mere competence is its reliability. In a dining scene prone to inconsistency, every single one of my 546 visits has delivered. The food is served fast because the kitchen moves with purpose: satisfy the maximum number of hungry souls in the shortest time. This isn’t arrogance; it’s respect for the customer and the serpentine queue snaking outside. You wait—often 30 to 45 minutes in Hong Kong’s notorious heat and humidity—perched on the pavement or shifting impatiently. The dear ladies at front desk potter by with silver tumblers with coconut water (again, on brand!), but really, guests aren't here for polite impasse, but hardwood seat. You squeeze onto those hard chairs, sweat still beading, and the first spoonful makes every inconvenience evaporate. 

Locals and expats alike endure it because the payoff is genuine. No PR firm floods inboxes with seasonal plugs. No influencer carousel required. The proof is empirical: those lines that tumble across the street, day after day, night after night. 

Michelin grants it a Bib Gourmand—an honorable mention for value and quality—which it has held for years. Fair enough for what it is. But the broader guide’s framework reveals its limits. Street-food excellence, the beating heart of Asian cuisines, rarely fits neatly into star-chasing rituals built on Eurocentric tasting menus, hushed dining rooms, and sommelier choreography. A panel steeped in those normative standards cannot fully arbitrate the chaotic genius of a Bangkok noodle stall translated to Hong Kong’s alleys. We don’t need their full blessing. Samsen earns its stripes on the street, where it matters: repeat customers, word-of-mouth, and that impatient line of believers.

This is dining democracy at its finest. No reservations for most tables, no stuffiness, just honest Thai cooking that transports without passport stamps and visa tribunals (I have an Indian passport - traveling is never easy). 

Central’s branch offers cocktails and a bit more space than it original Wan Chai iteration (as I call it, the mothership), yet retains the core energy. Sheung Wan feels generous and vibrant. Wan Chai remains the scrappy original, closest to the source. All deliver the same promise: come hungry, leave happy, plan to return soon. 

Samsen’s refusal to complicate itself is its superpower. It doesn’t chase trends; it perfects a tradition. That is why it is, quite simply, the best eatery in town. No asterisk, no caveat. Just exceptional Thai food, served hot, every time. Go. Wait. Eat. Repeat. You’ll understand. Or as they say back home, You get my meaning?

Halfway Coffee House Sheung Wan: Instagram-Worthy Cafe with Damn Good Coffee

Step into this artistic, vintage-style coffee haven in Sheung Wan for specialty brews, young enthusiastic vibes, and dog-friendly outdoor seating.

Halfway Coffee House in Sheung Wan stands out as one of Hong Kong’s most telegenic and Instagram-worthy coffee spots. Tucked along Upper Lascar Row (Cat Street) at 26 Upper Lascar Row—or nearby on Tung Street—this artistic gem blends vintage Hong Kong nostalgia with modern café culture, drawing a steady stream of locals, creatives, and visitors. For three and a half years, this hot cup station took a portion of my annual income. Closer to deadline about half of it, so I know it only too damn well.

The space feels like a living museum. Owner Tommy Chui has curated an eclectic collection of mismatched furniture, distressed walls, dangling plants, and—most iconically—vintage Chinese porcelain cups and saucers from the 1950s to 1990s. This is key. This is why perahps more people take pictures here than a cuppa joe - except they are worse for wear for it. The cups often feature delicate floral patterns, rice-grain textures, or playful designs sourced from markets in Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po. Even takeaway cups mimic the porcelain aesthetic. Paired with the surrounding antique stalls, it creates a perfectly curated, photogenic backdrop that screams “East meets West” and “past meets present.” Two expressions I've heard so often, I want to scream - but, befitting here. Guests frequently snap flat lays of their drinks against the charming, lived-in interior. Its super annoying when you're waiting to get a table to watch others do it, only made worse when you find yourself doing the same.

It has become a beloved neighborhood hangout precisely because of this artistic soul. The small, cozy indoor area has a distinct vibe, a relaxed, community-oriented air—think quiet mornings with laptop users or friends chatting over brunch. Young, enthusiastic staff add warmth; they’re knowledgeable, friendly, and quick to recommend drinks or share stories behind the crockery. It’s the kind of place where you linger, soaking in the calm amid Sheung Wan’s hilly streets and tourist-trip vendors that litter that particular lane.

The coffee itself is damn good. Halfway serves specialty brews with beans often from Indonesia, Ethiopia, Colombia, and Brazil, delivering rich, balanced profiles. Classics like flat whites, Americanos, macchiatos, and lattes shine, with silky milk texture and precise pours. Standouts include creative options like Honey Longan Latte or Rose Latte, where floral or fruity notes complement the espresso without overpowering it. Food pairings—sourdough with scrambled eggs and avocado, or simple tarts—keep things satisfying without stealing focus from the main event.

Dog lovers rejoice: Halfway is pet-friendly, but pups must sit outside. Outdoor stools and chairs along the alley let furry friends join the fun, often sparking interactions with passersby and other dogs. It’s a welcoming touch that enhances the laid-back neighborhood feel.

Open daily from around 8am to 6pm, Halfway Coffee has that perfect shot, lets you grab a genuine moment of pause, it delivers every time. Trust me, before I moved office, I was a regular. There are cheaper coffee spots next door - in fact, the arteries of Sheung Wan are studded by coffee spots, but this one gets my vote. And note.

Words and images: P.Ramakrishnan

In conversation with Waris Ahluwalia: The Best Dressed Turban Explorer

In town to launch his new non-alcoholic drink—correction: “sparkling elixir”—Love Conquers All, Waris Ahluwalia, the famed Indian-American actor-designer-retailer-model, needs little introduction; the aesthete clothes horse’s steady stream of colourful imagery and spot-on outfits floods the stable of the mind long before he does.

BTS: Rang up photographer Natalie Dunn for this shoot - I knew someone as consciously stylish as Waris needed someone effortlessly elegant as Nat - and the pics turned out so well. In fact, there were about two dozen shots we could have run in any way, shape or form. Alas, the limitations of space. 

The spark was lit on drinking sparkling non-alcoholic beverages a while ago - its the rage now. There's a generational shift as people are consuming alcohol with such rarity that its become a cultural shift in global consumption. Fascinating to watch from a generation where getting blind drunk at 21 was the norm....   

Waris with photographer Natalie Dunn in Hong Kong. 

 

Asian Jewellery Designer: Wallace Chan: Sculpting Eternity in Gem and Porcelain

Few artists have coaxed such poetry from the unyielding resistance of stone, titanium and porcelain as Chan. Born in Fuzhou in 1956 and apprenticed at 16 in the backstreets of Hong Kong’s jewellery quarter, the self-taught master has spent more than five decades transforming an ancient craft into a distinctly contemporary art form.

Today he is recognised as one of Asia’s most important jewellery artists and sculptors. The first Chinese contemporary jewellery artist to enter the British Museum’s permanent collection, Chan is celebrated for technical breakthroughs that include the Wallace Cut — his 1987 illusionary multi-dimensional carving technique — pioneering uses of titanium in wearable art, and his own Wallace Chan Porcelain, a material five times stronger than steel yet capable of ethereal translucency. 
His works reside in the Shanghai Museum, the V&A, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. When Christie’s London presented The Wheel of Time in 2023, the largest exhibition of his oeuvre in Europe to date, it drew visitors of all ages and backgrounds to pieces that feel less like ornaments and more like captured moments of philosophical inquiry.
With his long beard and quiet intensity, Chan speaks softly but thinks in epochs. In conversation, he reveals an artist unbound by category, trend or even the traditional expectations of jewellery itself.
How would you describe your jewellery aesthetic? Does it fall more under the category of art and sculpture than accessory?“I strive to create artworks that will outlive me. When it comes to art creation, jewellery is a form of expression. I embrace all art forms and choose not to be confined to any formats. I feel that true artistic freedom means transcending boundaries, even the boundaries of art forms.”
Is there a muse, man or woman, behind the design and who you make the jewellery for?“I create for history.”
What has the experience of the exhibition in London been like? Do you see a difference in how Westerners approach your work and how an Asian audience or buyer might?“I create my works in a way that they are universal, and they communicate to people regardless of their backgrounds. At my exhibition, there were children as young as the age of 3, and there were people in their 80s. It brings me joy to know that my works delight others. We made the exhibition free entry, open to all because we believe that everyone should have an opportunity to enjoy the pieces. I have collectors from different countries in Asia and the West and I am very grateful that they generously loaned their pieces to make this exhibition possible.”
The state of jewellery in 2023; how would you describe it? In your experience, over the years, how has jewellery changed? What was it before – what is it now?“Change is the only constant in life, it is also an essential element in my creative process. To create is to embrace change. Change doesn't happen year by year, but minute by minute.”
Do you see a trend in high-end jewellery that you like.. or that you dislike?“I do not keep up with trends. Trends come and go – they move too fast.”
There are a lot of imitators who’ve been inspired by your work and try to replicate it in their own way. What are your thoughts on it?“It is perhaps a part of the learning process to imitate what has been done before. But life is too short to live in the shadow of the past. At some point one must create one's own future. Every piece of mine is unique because I find it meaningless to replicate myself. Every creation should be a new challenge.”
What advice do you have (to our readers) about jewellery? Should they see it as investment? Something beautiful to own? A keepsake? A treasure?“Collect only what you love, always.”

Over the past twenty years, I have featured several Asian jewellery designers who have a signature style, unique motif and sources of inspiration that often route predictable sources, nature, the oceans, flora and fauna. 
Wallace Chan has an ethos, a philosophy, in his hands, a jewel is never merely a dear, decorative, dazzling designer artifact guised as an accessory. It becomes a vessel for ideas that outlast fashion, markets and even the artist himself — quiet proof that the most radical act in contemporary jewellery may simply be the pursuit of enduring meaning. For years we've written about quiet luxury, now we are shifting focus to quiet legacy.  

Well, its Caturday

Caught! Attacking the plants... 
For no rhyme nor reason

 

While most of this blog is my portfolio, streams of consciousness, memes and a bizarre timelines of things I've regretted saying, writing, photograph-ing, the constant posts of cats are... deliberate. On my analytics, I can see how the posts on my gorgoues Tuxedo cat spike up views and even I kneed at the altar of clickbait.

BTW Susan Jung, ex colleague at South China Morning Post, and an absolute legend, calls 'em, Cow pat cats...

We prefer Tuxedo.

The Art of the Invisible: Why Scott Dunn Is in a Class of Its Own

Forty years in, the British luxury travel company is still setting the bar — and its newly opened Hong Kong office puts the city's ultra-high-net-worth travellers right at the centre of it.

By P. Ramakrishnan · May 2026

There is a particular kind of travel that most people never quite experience. Not the kind defined by first-class seats or five-star suites — though those are part of it — but the kind where absolutely nothing goes wrong, where every detail has been thought of before you knew you needed it, and where the trip you return from is quietly, almost imperceptibly, better than the trip you imagined when you booked it. That is what Scott Dunn does.

Founded in 1986 in the Swiss Alps by Andrew Dunn, the company started with a single, focused ambition: to make ski holidays genuinely exceptional. What began with a love of the mountains and an obsession with the finer points of service — warm chalets, private guides, meals that arrived without being asked for — has since grown into one of the world's most decorated luxury travel companies, operating across all seven continents and awarded Condé Nast Traveller's Top Travel Specialist in the World for thirteen consecutive years.

But the awards, impressive as they are, tell only half the story. What actually separates Scott Dunn from the rest of the market — from corporate travel agencies processing volumes, and even from other high-end operators who do much of what Scott Dunn does — comes down to something harder to quantify: a culture of care that runs through every layer of how the company operates. For this week's column, I wanted to find out the company's raison'd'etre. A deep dive.

What Makes the Difference: Not a travel agent. A relationship.

The distinction Scott Dunn makes — and earns, repeatedly — is the difference between delivering on your expectations and anticipating them. Most travel companies, even good ones, are in the business of logistics. They book well; they execute reliably. Scott Dunn does all of that, but its underlying model is something closer to a trusted personal adviser than a booking platform.

Every guest is paired with a dedicated Travel Specialist who is an expert in their specific destination. These are not generalists working from brochures — they are people who have been to the lodges, walked the trails, eaten at the restaurants, and built personal relationships with the local guides and hotel managers they recommend. The planning process begins not with a quote but with a discovery call: who is travelling, what they care about, what kind of pace they prefer, what they've done before and didn't love, and what they're secretly hoping for but haven't quite articulated yet.

"We do this through our four key pillars — unique to you, seamless service, carefully curated collections, and luxury in every sense. We believe your time away is precious and should be perfectly personalised to you."

That philosophy is not marketing copy. It translates into tangible decisions: the choice of a guide who happens to share your passion for Byzantine history; the lodge selected not just for its views but because the head tracker there has an uncanny record with leopard sightings; the restaurant reservation confirmed before you've landed. The company also maintains its own in-house Crisis Management Team — an unusual commitment that means if something goes wrong while you're travelling, there is a dedicated team whose entire job is to fix it, not a call centre routing you through a script typed in Calcutta [revealing something there from my own travels!].

Real Stories : When it mattered most: two moments that define the brand

Testimonials are easy to collect and easy to dismiss. But two specific instances, documented through verified customer reviews, speak to something real about how Scott Dunn operates under pressure.

The first involves a couple travelling to Nepal and Bhutan — a trip they had long anticipated. The night before their scheduled departure, war broke out in Iran, and their routed flights via Qatar were cancelled with no notice. For most travellers, this would mean hours of hold music, missed days, and a holiday beginning in stress rather than ease.

"The night before we were due to leave war broke out in Iran and our flight via Qatar was cancelled but Scott Dunn managed to move our flights with hardly any notice and we went via Istanbul. Fabulous service."
— Verified Trustpilot Review, Nepal & Bhutan trip

Scott Dunn rerouted them through Istanbul with, in the guest's own words, "hardly any notice." The holiday departed on time. The guest's account is matter-of-fact, which in its own way is the point — that a geopolitical crisis was resolved with the ease of a minor schedule adjustment. That is not luck. It is the result of having the right relationships with airlines and ground operators, and a team with the mandate and the instinct to act rather than wait.

The second example is quieter, but in some ways more revealing. A couple booked their honeymoon to Peru through Scott Dunn, working with the brand's resident Travel Specialist, to plan what would be a once-in-a-lifetime trip. The logistics — flights, transfers, lodges, the Inca Trail — were all handled impeccably. But Scott Dunn did something more.

"Scott Dunn went above and beyond, at every turn, to make sure that our honeymoon felt truly special to us. They communicated with every hotel we stayed at to leave a special note/treat. We could not be more grateful for the attention to small details."
— Verified Trustpilot Review, Peru honeymoon

Nobody asked them to do this. There was no checkbox on the booking form for "personal touches at every property." It was, instead, the behaviour of a team that had genuinely paid attention during the discovery call, understood what this trip meant to its guests, and took quiet action to make it feel that way throughout. This is the invisible work that no five-star hotel can replicate independently — it requires someone who knows your whole story, not just your room and champagne preferences.

Hong Kong & Asia Pacific : Scott Dunn Private comes to Hong Kong — and it matters for this city's travellers

For Hong Kong's ultra-high-net-worth community, the news most worth noting arrived late last year: Scott Dunn Private, the company's invitation-only tier for its highest-net-worth clients, quietly opened a new office in the city.

Scott Dunn Private operates on a different plane from even the company's standard luxury offering. It is, in the company's own description, akin to having a wealth manager for your travel — a dedicated Relationship Manager who builds a deep, longitudinal understanding of your lifestyle, your family, your interests, and your travel ambitions across the year, not just for one trip. Membership is fee-free, but the service is curated: it is designed for those whose trips routinely cross multiple continents, require complex logistics, demand total discretion, and involve travel that others might classify as simply impossible to arrange.

The division's head, Jules Maury — twice named among Robb Report's Masters of Luxury — has identified a particular shift in what drives UHNW travellers today. Six-figure bookings through Scott Dunn Private have risen 18 per cent year-on-year, but the motivation, he notes, has changed. Guests are less interested in accumulating destinations and increasingly focused on what the company calls purposeful travel: journeys designed to reconnect, to challenge, to contribute. A family expedition into New Zealand's high mountains. A private philanthropic project embedded within a safari. A cultural immersion that cannot be replicated by a scheduled tour group or a luxury agent who doesn't know the difference.

"The 1% are seeking life-changing journeys and we are the conduits."
— Jules Maury, Head of Scott Dunn Private

For Hong Kong specifically, this is a compelling proposition. The city's UHNW population is sophisticated, internationally mobile, and — crucially — time-poor. The greatest luxury here is not exclusivity for its own sake, but the absolute confidence that every hour of a trip is spent doing exactly what you intended to do, rather than resolving what went wrong. Scott Dunn's ACE portfolio — access, connection, and experiences — offers the kind of extraordinary moments that are effectively unavailable through independent research: private access to Augusta National's greens, pit lane access on F1 race day, Wimbledon Centre Court for a final, after-hours visits to the Pyramids. These are not experiences that can be bought on a website. They are the product of decades of carefully maintained relationships.

There is also a growing appetite among Hong Kong's UHNW families for experiences that include the next generation meaningfully — not just tolerating children on a trip but building itineraries that create genuine memory and engagement for young travellers alongside their parents. Scott Dunn pioneered family travel with its Explorers kids clubs back in 2000, and that institutional knowledge translates directly: multigenerational trips designed so that a grandparent's bucket list and a teenager's need for adventure and a parent's desire for stillness can coexist within the same journey, without compromise.

The Bottom Line : Why this should matter to you

Travel at the highest level is, ultimately, about time. The ultra-high-net-worth traveller has the resources to go anywhere. What they cannot buy back is the time spent on hold, the evening lost to a logistics problem, the moment of a trip that should have been extraordinary but was merely fine. Scott Dunn's value proposition is precisely the elimination of those losses — and the quiet amplification of what remains.

The Nepal couple who took off on time despite a geopolitical crisis. The honeymoon couple who discovered a personal note waiting for them at every property. These are not anecdotes about luck. They are the natural result of a company that has spent forty years building the systems, the relationships, and the culture that makes that level of service possible — and that is now, with its new Hong Kong office, bringing all of it directly to one of Asia's most demanding and discerning travel markets.

The best travel, the kind you actually remember, rarely announces itself loudly. It simply unfolds exactly as it should — which, when you stop to think about it, is the hardest thing in the world to arrange.

Scott Dunn Private has offices in London, New York, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Membership enquiries for the Asia-Pacific region can be directed through scottdunn.com.

Submitted to China Daily< Weekend Edition

Food photography with Samantha Sin

For the food column, restaurant review and dining features, I've worked with two truly great photographers. David Hartung in Macau. Samantha Sin in Hong Kong.

Sam earned her stripes at Crave magazine and is one of the most thoughtful, inventive food photographers in Asia. A joy to work with - just give her time and space and let her work her magic. Have had to work with clients who... like to put their two cents in and I usually usher them away. Their expertise of scrolling on social media versus her on hand experience.