Thai Siam

Reeling from the effects of an expensive holiday to the US, but hoping for a savory and delicious lunch, Mr A and I made our way to Thai Siam on a recent overcast Saturday. Remembering our prior unsuccessful attempts to lunch there on a weekend, we timed our visit between their lunch hours of 12-2:30 and were rewarded for our planning. Thai Siam offers an incredibly budget friendly lunch menu: £7.90 for two courses and £8.90 for three courses. (Their full menu is also available.)

We were greeted by the lovely, friendly waitstaff and seated with a complimentary basket of prawn crackers which we happily munched while perusing the menu. Some set lunch menus offer a limited choice, or the selections offered pale in comparison to their regular menu but Thai Siam's lunch menu dazzles with choice. The only discernible difference I was able to find were smaller main course sizes, but this was actually a welcome change for me; I was able to eat every luscious drop of my main course after scarfing down my starter.

We chose the Som Tum Thai and Tord Mun Plah to start. The Som Tum Thai was the standout of the two- a crispy and fragrant salad made from thinly sliced vegetables- cabbage, carrot and green beans were detected- all mixed up like a slaw and served in a fantastic sauce of diced chilies, fish sauce, lime juice, minced peanuts. It was spicy, crunchy and a seemingly healthy choice so I was delighted. Mr A's Tord Mun Plah- or cod fishcakes had a delicious lemongrass and ginger flavouring but I wasn't thrilled with the spongy texture of the fishcake.

Pad Kee Moh Gai (stir fried spicy noodles, veg and chicken) and Pad Ga-Prao Tao-Hoo (spicy red curry- I opted for pork but chicken or beef can also be added as protein) were our main courses. The spicy red curry was the phenominal- the curry sauce was redolent with spices and tempered with naughty coconut milk- I scooped every last drop out of the dish over my jasmine rice. The spicy noodles were also delicious but may have made more of an impression if the noodles were left long instead of chopped into bite sized portions. Mr A was at first wondering where the noodles were! Both dishes had ample fresh veggies and meat in them.

Feeling pleasantly full but not stuffed, we declined dessert and happily paid our bill which came to just under £20 with our large bottle of sparkling water. The calibre of food and service was easily worth more. We will be back for lunch again!

Thai Siam
1191 Argyle Street
Glasgow G3 8TQ