Chef Nonaka spent six months travelling in Thailand ten years ago – and the trip changed his life. The self-taught chef is now committed to bringing authentic Thai cuisine to Tokyoites, and the food you’ll find here tastes much like what you’d find at any good Bangkok neighbourhood eatery. It’s a laidback, utilitarian kind of place, with tables lined up in long rows – making it ideal for group dining – and black and white photography of Thailand adorning the walls.
It’s a one-man show with Nonaka doing everything himself; the extensive menu, which covers salads, soups, curries and rice and noodle dishes, leaves you wondering how he manages, especially during busy periods. But he pulls it off with aplomb and there’s considerable flavour and flair evident in dishes such as the chicken coconut soup, with its perfectly balanced mix of galangal and lemongrass, as well as the spot-on khao man gai (a Thai take on the classic Hainanese chicken rice). The pad thai (stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, peanuts, dried shrimp, fresh coriander and prawns) is perfectly rendered and artfully presented. There’s Singha beer, of course, and tapioca in coconut milk for dessert. The set menus offer particularly good value if you’re in a larger group – ten dishes for ¥3,000 and 13 for ¥4,500. It’s the kind of place you’ll want to return to again and again.