"Let's go for Thai!"

My best friend and I went to the Golden Siam Thai Restaurant, which is located in the basement of the Citygate Outlets shopping mall, in Tung Chung.

It was past 2 pm, and we were completely famished. So, it took us only moments to scan the menu's fairly large selection and order:

• Yellow chicken curry for HK$68
• Spicy green papaya salad for HK$58
• Baby cabbage with salted fish for HK$48
• Thai fragrant steamed rice for HK$20 (2 bowls)
• Hot black tea for HK$4 (2 glasses)
• The service charge was a standard 10%

The waitress took our orders politely and the food was delivered promptly.

Yellow chicken curry is spicy, savoury, fragrant and creamy. I have eaten the dish at this restaurant several times before, so I was expecting it to be as gratifying. But it was not to be. It had noticeably less salt, chili and spices. There were no hints at all of the coriander, galangal, lemongrass and fish sauce. It seemed as if the chef had resorted to using your average supermarket curry powder. I missed the tender, sauteed onions that I was accustomed to. In the end, the well-cooked poultry and the melt-in-your-mouth potatoes just could not repair the damage done. Still, it didn't stop me from finishing all the food on my plate.

The spicy green papaya salad more than made up for the disappointment. Topped with roasted peanuts and minute dried shrimp, it was deliciously colourful, crunchy, and perfectly limey, salty, hot and sweet. Not to be missed!

The baby cabbage had a naturally sweet tone, so combined with its crunchy bite, the light soya sauce, and the right balance of salted fish, it made for a satisfying dish.

Service was reasonably attentive... our tea glasses were refilled before they were half empty.

Thanks to the spicy green papaya salad, I am not giving up on Golden Siam Thai Restaurant yet.