ANOTHER restaurant casualty to report in these difficult times. Siam Smiles, the no-frills Thai cafe/supermarket on Chinatown’s George Street, has tweeted: “IMPORTANT NOTICE. All customers, sadly rent increase, high rates too much for Chef May. @SiamSmilesCafe, shop repossess. May heartbroken, but try find new home for Siam Smiles, start over.”
As a farewell to one of the city’s more idiosyncratic dining options we’ll quote one national critic who loved the place. Marina O’Loughlin, then at The Guardian, wrote: “These are tastes to lose yourself in, so compelling they create an almost fugue-like state. Once I start dipping into kuia tiew tom yam – wriggly glass noodles in a broth thick with chilli, peanut and a riot of aromatic greenery – I can't stop, even though the thrilling heat is causing my heart to beat worryingly fast. Each table is laden with condiments: white pepper in lovely decorative tins, a Tupperware carton of tamarind, chilli vinegar, crushed peanuts, sugar, fish sauce, sriracha… But we don't touch them.”
ToM will miss the orange plastic chairs in the cafe side and the great prices on the shelves for holy basil, coconut milk and fish sauce.