RESTAURANTS
Hidden away down one of Roppongi's dark back alleys is the Woo Building, and tucked into the second floor of it is Bangkok, the best little Thai food house in town. A few years ago you'd feast among punch-permed gangsters and Thai hostesses. These days, word of the place seems to have gotten out to the general citizenry. It's about time. Don't go to Bangkok for the decor. I'd call it a converted coffee shop except it hasn't been converted. It still looks like a coffee shop, with a few Thai paintings on the wall and what sounds like Thai music on the stereo. No matter. Every dollar they save on decor should go straight into the chef's pocket. The food is tremendous. A round of Singha beers gives you time to look over the big picture menu. Once you order, be ready to eat. The dishes appear magically fast, as if your waiter took your order straight to a genie in the kitchen who conjured it up on the spot. Start with the Tom Kha Kai (1900 yen), a chicken and coconut milk soup, the best I've ever tasted. It comes in a double decker clay pot, the flame in the lower one keeping the broth - more orange than white from the spices - simmering, and the tender pieces of chicken piping hot. Move on to the minced beef larb (1600 yen), served on a bed of cabbage and shot through with lemongrass, mint and onion. Follow that with the green curried shrimp in a rich coconut milk broth (1600 yen). The menu doesn't designate the spicy dishes, but most of them run hot, and you'll want a noodle dish as a breather. Try the Pad Thai (1100 yen). Squeeze a wedge of lemon over the cooling, seasoned noodles, mix in the shrimp and ground peanuts and give your mouth a cool but tangy respite from the hot riot of spices that have come before. If you're still hungry, or have gone with a crowd, the menu is loaded with more winners. I'm partial to the meat courses, but if you're saddled with any herbivores there's plenty of veggie fare to keep them happy, too. In five visits over five years the only dud I found was the eggplant salad. My idea of a Thai dessert is another bottle of Singha, but if you've any room left in your stomach when they clear the empty plates, the cool tapioca and kabocha pudding, which comes gratis before the check, is the perfect closer. To each their own. A feast for three, with plenty of beer, will set you back 11,000 yen, and send you back out into the alley stuffed, happy, and ready for anything the Roppongi night has to offer. Menu in Japanese and English. Open Monday to Saturday 5:30pm-12am. Closed on national holidays. Metoro Plaza 2, B1, 2-14-8 Kabuki-cho, Shinjuku-ku. Tel: 5285-0038. Reservations in Japanese from 12pm, in English from 5pm. Frank Baldwin III |
