SIAM ORCHID

I'm a foreigner residing in Bangkok and when I've been away from Thailand for a while I start to crave decent Thai food. Tokyo has a fair number to Thai restaurants these days but the quality can be pretty variable. I've been visiting Siam Orchid in Tokyo station quite regularly over the past few mo...nths and have been very impressed with the quality and flavour of the food. There are some dishes you would never find in Thailand like Thai Gyoza (?) and pak chee (coriander) highballs but the main dishes - things like pad thai, and kaprao (holy basil) and oyster sauce stir fries are right on the mark - pretty well the same flavours as one can find in Thailand, albeit with less chilli for the Japanese palate. Only downside is its a restaurant in Tokyo Station - the major train station in the city, so its rather small and the seating is limited - if possible try to come at off peak hours, though they also do take away. One unique quirk is that the restaurant lists itself as a Halal restaurant so there aren't any pork dishes, however they do serve alcohol - which appears to be a must to succeed with the local after-work crowd. When I'm craving my fix of good Thai food, this is now my go-to place.

Visited February 2018

Was looking for something different so decided to try this Thai place in the underground mall at the Daimaru next to Tokyo Station. They had a few different sets to choose from and we seem to have gotten the worst ones. Not sure if this is typical of Thai food in Japan, but the servings were quite... small and the food wasn't that fresh and flavourful. Service was to the point but a little slow. Pricy for the food and serving, better value can be found elsewhere. Wouldn't recommend this unless you are really out of options.

Visited November 2016