A weekend in Bangkok - shopping, spa, food, and booze - is the best remedy to a long week in the office. Hong Kongers love the Thai capital, and there are a few restaurants that all regular visitors are familiar with. One of them is Greyhound Cafe at Emporium Shopping Centre. The contemporary, quirky eatery has been around for over a decade and it opened its first overseas shop at ifc mall 2 weeks ago.

The restaurant occupies the space where, first Starbucks and then Pizza Express, used to be. You would be forgiven for thinking that everything, from interior design, decoration to music and uniform of the staff, is a carbon copy of the Bangkok original because that really is the case. The only difference is that the view from this branch is our beloved harbour.

During the day, natural light floods the compact, semi-open dining room and in the evening, it is softly lit by the overhead light bulbs. As with the wall decoration in the original shop, fashionable wire installations grace the light grey back walls, and the giant blackboards on the side list out the signature dishes. Along with the installations, the graffiti on the walls were worked on by artists from Thailand. All these whimsical elements add a touch of breeze and eccentricity to the space.

To ensure that the Greyhound Cafe in Hong Kong remains the originality as Thailand, the chefs have been flown over from Bangkok and are acting as quality controllers. The menu consists of a nice array of traditional Thai fare with a creative twist and some Asian favourites. There are also Western dishes such as steak salad, burger and pastas, all with a Thai influence in terms of the ingredients or flavouring.

The Greyhound Famous Fried Chicken Wings ($68) is really the most, well, famous dish indeed. The chicken wings are halved lengthwise and marinated in fish sauce before being deep-fried. They are easy and fun to eat but to me they are a little too salty and a bit dry.

Of the salads and appetizers, I enjoyed the Fillet Steak Salad ($148), Pita Pizza in Italian Sausage ($108) andSalmon Carpaccio in Spicy Hot Sauce ($108) the most. The salad is a simple lettuce salad topped with seared striploin cubes. The beef is done medium rare and dripping with juicy, complemented by the special dressing which tastes like a very concentrated gravy. Not very Thai but delicious nonetheless.

The Pita Pizza in Italian Sausage is classic comfort food. More like a quesadilla than a pizza, it should be eaten immediately to fully enjoy the spicy Italian sausage enveloped in the melted Mozzarella.

The presentation of the Salmon Carpaccio is delightful - thin slices of salmon with a sliver of garlic on top and a dollop of green "secret" Thai hot sauce in between, topped with mint and dill. While I think it is a sensory overload on the nose because of the mint and dill, the fattiness of the salmon pairs perfectly with the audaciously zesty spicy sauce that will leave you panting for a glass of Iced Lemon Tea, Greyhound Style ($38). The ice cubes are made with lemon tea so that the drink does not get watered down at all.

Onto the main courses, both the burger bun and the burger patty in the the Spicy Muay Thai Burger ($128) are moist but not too loose. Be sure to include the Thai condiment that's sweet and salty at the same time. The fries are crispy, as expected, and with a kick.

There are ten pasta dishes on the menu. Some are traditional Italian pasta and others incorporate Thai ingredients. The Spaghetti with Dried Salty Fish ($118) is prepared with basil leaves, fresh chilis and Thai sauce. One wonders if the combination of the distinct Thai flavour and the Italian spaghetti is a reinterpretation of a Thai dish or an Italian one. It really doesn't matter when it tastes good.

To finish off the meal, take your time in studying the dessert menu. There are over 20 desserts in a separate menu, complete with an illustrated photo of each dish. The mango sticky rice is a classic Thai dessert, and the spin-off version at Greyhound is the Mango + Sticky Rice Parfait. Served in a glass, a layer of chopped mango sits on a large spoonful of sticky rice. On top is a scoop of coconut iced sherbet, flown in directly from Thailand. Expecting something similar to coconut icecream, I was pleasantly surprised to find the sherbet very light and refreshing, with bits of coconut flesh buried in what is basically iced coconut juice.

For a Western dessert, I recommend the Mixed Berries Crepe Cake ($68). It is a multi-layer crepe and fresh cream cake with mixed berries tucked between the layers. It is deceptively light, albeit the large amount of cream, and not too sweet at all.

Since its opening, I have been to Greyhound Cafe a few times, at different times of the day. It is packed during lunch and dinner time, and busy any time in between. The mix-and-match concept - applicable to both the cuisine and ambiance - is appealing to many people. At the moment Bangkok is probably not the destination of choice for a holiday but Greyhound Cafe might bring you there for seconds.