Thai Time: Pak Pak Opens in Daimler Tower
Amy Li of Susu fame is bringing more Southeast Asian cuisine to Beijing, and we couldn’t be happier.
Pak Pak, situated in the Daimler Tower right next to Annie’s, offers classic Thai cuisine served up in a bright, glass-walled space overlooking the outside courtyard below. There is ample seating for the business lunch and after-work dinner crowd. Bamboo-sided tables and booths are complemented with honey-hued wood paneling and fishbowl-lights suspended from the ceiling. A small, bar-style seating area towards the back affords diners a full view of the kitchen, where they can watch chefs simmer lemongrass and fold coconut milk into curry.
For starters, we tried the yam tuaplu, a shrimp dragon bean salad (RMB 58). The crispy-green dragon beans are tossed with toasted coconut flakes and flecks of chili in a coconut sauce. The result? An appetizer that is sweet, spicy and crunchy and left us wanting more.
The Thai milk tea (RMB 20) is piquant and thankfully prioritizes the tea flavor over sugar, while the fresh coconut drink (RMB 30) is in fact just that: fresh. Literally a raw, young coconut with a straw stuck in a hole at the top, it is refreshing, and the perfect shot for your Instagram.
The pad Thai goong (traditional stir-fried noodles with prawns, RMB 58) is standard, topped with two tender chunks of shrimp and a careful line of chili powder to the side. The gaeng phanaeng (Panang curry with beef, RMB 58) is delightfully hearty and simple.
What's more, the dishes are all big enough to share, and with this many tempting options, it’d be a shame not to.
Pak Pak offers tasty, straightforward Thai fare for a decent price – we couldn’t ask for more.
Pak Pak Thai Kitchen 喜悦泰餐
Mon-Sat 11.30am-2.30pm, 5.30-9.30pm. 2/F Daimler Tower, 8 Wangjing Jie, Chaoyang District (8476 0166)
朝阳区望京街8号利星行广场奔驰展厅裙楼2楼
Photos: Lova
