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Good news! At last there is some decent Thai cooking in the City. Fresh from this reporter’s last Thai missive from the island of Panyi in The Andaman Sea, I am pleased to report on the opening of a new Siamese Surprise in the heart of EC3. This restaurant, which has some sisters elsewhere in London, is excellent. It has nice high ceilings and a terrific bar downstairs, which I predict will become very busy. 

The whole decoration is really attractive, with Burmese monks and South East Asian woodcarvings on the walls. Most importantly, all the waiters appear to be Thai. The food is great, with all the normal things you would expect, but done really well. 

The ubiquitous Green Chicken Curry was actually one of the best I have ever had. Look out also for the Thai Crab Cakes and Chicken in Spinach Leaves, which are marinated and then individually wrapped in spinach leaves and deep fried, served with a sweet chilli sauce. 

The soups are good with the Steam Boat being the most amusing: mixed seafood, lemon grass, lime leaves, basil leaves and fresh chillies, served in a traditional charcoal steamboat. 

Don’t forget the salads! Westerners seem not to understand that a Thai Salad is an integral part of the repast, rather than a substitute for a main course. Yam Nua (Rare Beef Salad) is great as is Larb, which is a Northern Style Salad of freshly mincedchicken, cooked with Thai Herbs, ground rice, chilli powder, fish sauce and lime juice. 

For the main courses, there are grilled dishes, pan fried dishes and curries, with a good one being the clay pot of roasted duck served in spiced coconut milk with lychee and pineapple. The are also lobsters, sea bass, a long vegetarian menu and of course sticky rice. 

Do try this place, it is really authentic, and by Western standards, good value as well.

London EC3

Tel 0207 680 1111

Charles Pelham, London, January 2002.

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