Chinese Restaurants in Hua Hin: Where I Actually Go
I lived in China for two years, first in Beijing, then in Guangzhou. Guangzhou is Cantonese country, the home of dim sum. I spent about a month in Hong Kong in 2004 just before moving to Thailand, went back in January 2025, and I have been back to China many times. So I have some idea what this food should taste like.
In Hua Hin, plenty of places say “Chinese” on the sign. Some are. Some are Thai food with a red lantern at the door. These are the five I’ve tried. My favourite first, the average one last.
My favourite: Sha Sha Mala
If you want real mala, this is the one. I mean the numbing taste of Sichuan pepper, the kind that makes your lips buzz. A lot of places only give you chili. For the price, the quality is good.
Lots of Burmese people work there.
How it works, according to reviewers: you pick your ingredients yourself from the fridges (meat, meatballs, vegetables, mushrooms), they weigh it, then cook it in the soup you choose or dry-fried. One Wongnai reviewer warns that soup and dry versions are not priced the same, and that tofu skin is charged per piece, not by weight. Ask before you fill your basket if you’re on a budget.
Not everyone online is 100% positive. The same Wongnai reviewer liked the service and the clean room but found some of the meat “not very fresh.” A Trip.com reviewer mentions the open-air seating facing a lawn. People on Wongnai say you park on the roadside in front.
Google users mostly put it at 200 to 400 baht per person.
- Address: 46 Naebkehardt Rd, Hua Hin (as listed online)
- Hours listed online: 11:00 to 22:00 daily. Check before you go.
- Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=Sha+Sha+Mala+46+Naebkehardt+Rd+Hua+Hin
95 Chinese Hot Pot: the conveyor belt
The name is easy to remember: number 95. It’s a buffet, and small trays pass right in front of you on a belt. You grab what you want.
My photo of the belt shows jade noodles, mussels and dolly fish.
There are two ways to pay, and the signs in my photos show both.
Pay per plate. The colour of the stick or tray is the price: purple stick 5 baht, green 10, blue 20, orange tray 20, white tray 30 (pork), red 40, black 50 (beef). The soup is 49 baht for one flavour, 59 for a pot split in two. You keep your sticks and trays, and staff count them at the end.
Or the buffet at 295 baht. Three soups are included (clear, black, pork bone), and a mala soup is 25 baht more, in three spice levels. Three dipping sauces are included too. The full sauce bar is 20 baht on the flyer (marked down from 30). The flyer also says that if you check in on Facebook or Google Maps, or tag a friend, you get a premium soup or the sauce bar free.
If you eat light, plates are probably cheaper. If you are hungry, take the buffet.
My tip: take two broths. One spicy, one not. That way you can tell the flavours apart instead of everything tasting of chili.
The choice is the surprise here. The vegetable selection is impressive. The meat too: chicken feet, lamb, different parts of pork and beef, fish, and more.
It’s open every day from 11:00 to 02:00, so it also works late at night.
What others say: huahin.town lists around 10 soup bases in total. One Google reviewer says the waiters don’t speak much English but everything is translated, and still rated the atmosphere 2 out of 5. Another Google review says “cash only” (a listing site says cards are accepted, so bring some cash anyway). One more complains the dim sum counter was already closed at around 8 p.m.
- Address: 10 Naebkehardt Rd, Soi 51, Hua Hin
- Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=95+Chinese+Hot+Pot+10+Naebkehardt+Rd+Soi+51+Hua+Hin
Dim sum: I tried two (not the Hilton)
There is also a dim sum restaurant on top of the Hilton. I saw it, but I didn’t eat there, so I can’t tell you. I went to these two.
Pao Pao Dim Sum: good, beautiful, expensive
This place is beautiful, and the food is good. My photos from the table: ha kao, shrimp balls with broccoli, a pork ball with preserved egg, and a blue teapot.
The problem is the price. Most baskets on the menu are 49 baht, ha kao is 59, the juicy pork bun 89. It doesn’t sound like much per basket. But dim sum means many baskets, and for two people the bill climbs fast.
Reviewers mostly love it (around 4.7 on Google). huahin.town pushes the bak kut teh and the xiao long bao, and mentions a VIP room for groups. Parking is in front, or at The Sea Cret hotel, according to the same site. Opening hours online don’t agree with each other (10:00 to 20:30 on one site, 09:30 to 21:00 with Wednesday closed on another), so check the Facebook page before you drive over.
- Address: Phetkasem Rd, at Soi 75/2, in front of Market Village
- Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=Paopao+DimSum+Hua+Hin+Phetkasem+Rd+Soi+75%2F2
Jin Dimsum: the cheap one in the gas station (my choice)
I prefer this one. It’s cheaper, and it’s perfect for lunch or brunch.
Yes, it’s in a gas station. Jin Dimsum (จิ๋นติ่มซำ) is at the Bangchak station on Phetkasem Road, near Soi 47, in The Chlorophyll, the small mall Bangchak built next to the pumps.
Right beside it is Chom Cafe, and that one is worth the stop on its own. It has a unique garden inside, with moss, plants and even a waterfall. Very impressive for a cafe. So you can do dim sum for brunch at Jin, then walk next door for a coffee in the garden.
- Chom Cafe and Restaurant: 11 The Chlorophyll, 76 Hua Hin Soi 47. Open daily 11:00 to 22:00 (as listed on its website).
- Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=Chom+Cafe+and+Restaurant+Hua+Hin+The+Chlorophyll
What reviewers mention: you pick your dim sum at the counter. A 2024 Wongnai review says baskets were 35 to 45 baht, and a January 2026 one says water is 20 baht a bottle and ice 2 baht a glass. Most fillings are pork mixed with shrimp. Thai reviewers call it southern-style dim sum because of the red dipping sauce. The dish people keep naming is the bak kut teh. Parking is easy since you’re in a gas station.
It isn’t all praise. One Wongnai reviewer found the taste ordinary, thought the dim sum tasted frozen, and said prices were higher than expected. A Google reviewer wrote that staff “were not very service-minded” and the food was “so-so.”
It opens early (07:30 to 18:30 on most listings, though Wongnai shows 08:00 to 16:00), so it’s a breakfast and lunch place, not dinner.
- Address: Bangchak station, 76 Phet Kasem Rd, Hua Hin
- Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps?ftid=0x30fdabee47b29be1:0x31ca1d4c9be0efcc
Chef Cantonese Tea Restaurant (厨粤茶餐厅) on Chomsin Road: real Chinese, but average
This one is the real thing. Chinese owners, and often Chinese customers. The name says Cantonese tea restaurant, and the menu follows: roast duck, soy sauce chicken, char siu, steamed chicken with ginger, chicken feet, shrimp dumplings, salty egg yolk buns.
From my menu photo, roast duck, roast pork and roast pork ribs are 280 baht a plate, and chicken 200. A plate of roast meat on rice is 130 to 160 baht. So it’s not expensive.
Inside, it’s simple. Red tablecloths under clear plastic, wall fans, a cartoon mural that says welcome in Chinese. Nobody comes here for the decor.
My photos from the table: smashed cucumber with chili and garlic, and a fried dish with dried chilies, onions and peanuts.
But for me the food was average. Not bad. Average.
Reviewers are kinder than me (about 4.3 on Google), but their complaints are useful:
- Several say the food is salty.
- One wished they served free tea or water instead of only selling drinks.
- There’s homemade chili oil on the table, which a few people were happy to find in Thailand.
- The Sichuan dishes are “spicy as hell,” according to one Google review.
- One reviewer gave the decor 1 out of 5 and said it’s typical of Chinese restaurants that only care about the food. Fair.
- Dishes can come out slowly, and parking is hard at rush hour.
- One reviewer noticed guests bringing their dog and their own whisky, and “no Western tourists.”
- A solo diner points out that the menu has plenty of single-serving dishes (mapo tofu rice, for example).
Hours: the sign on the door in my photo says 9:00 to 24:00. Listings online say 09:30 to 21:00, so call if you go late.
- Address: 21/9 Chomsin Rd, Hua Hin
- Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps?ftid=0x30fdab47271435bd:0x1981c4f6aa0bce4
FAQ
What is the best mala in Hua Hin?
For me, Sha Sha Mala on Naebkehardt Road. Real numbing mala, good quality for the price.
Is there conveyor belt hot pot in Hua Hin?
Yes. 95 Chinese Hot Pot, Naebkehardt Rd Soi 51. Pay per plate by colour (5 to 50 baht, soup 49 or 59) or take the 295 baht buffet. Open 11:00 to 02:00.
Where can I eat dim sum in Hua Hin?
Jin Dimsum in the Bangchak gas station near Soi 47 if you want cheap and early (Chom Cafe with its waterfall garden is right beside it). Pao Pao Dim Sum on Phetkasem Soi 75/2 if you want a nicer room and don’t mind paying more.
Is there authentic Chinese food in Hua Hin?
Yes. Chef Cantonese Tea Restaurant at 21/9 Chomsin Road is run by Chinese owners with Chinese customers. I found it average, but it’s real.
Do these places open late?
95 Chinese Hot Pot is the late one, open until 02:00. The others list closing times around 21:00 or 22:00, and Jin Dimsum closes much earlier.
