The whole team here at EOITwJ has done a LOT of scouting missions around the greater Monzennakacho area (the ‘metro area’ we like to call it). Outside the main regions, there isn’t usually much to see, and things don’t come and go the way they do on the Monnaka back streets either. So when we saw a Thai restaurant a few months ago, we were pretty excited.
The only reason we missed it before is because Pui is little, nondescript, and closed most of the time. If I remember the door correctly, it’s open only for dinner (6-9) on weeknights. Not conducive to maximizing trade, but maybe they have other jobs? It’s also in a weird location – across the street from Ito Yokado, on the big street with the highway that leads only down to the more industrial areas like Shin Kiba (I think it’s actually Mitsume Dori, but south of Eitai it’s pretty dead). Thursday we were getting our bikes fixed (now that it’s Spring and we’re bike commuters, we found some weaknesses in the construction of our ちゃりんこ) and since it was going to take a while we needed to eat dinner and thought of Pui, which was miraculously open. Can I stop with the royal plural already?
I’m guessing that the waitress is Khun Pui. She speaks a very melodious and gramatically-correct Japanese (or so I think, since she’s much better than me), and I didn’t try to bust out any Thai on her. She probably speaks better English than me too. The cook is…indeterminate, but a young Thai guy.
The menu is kinda big, and hard-ish for me to read since they have no English. The katakana is of course kinda incomprehensible since it’s, well, Thai, and that leaves us trying to decipher the descriptions of the items. But suffice to say it’s a big menu for a place that seats less than 20.
Unfortunately, some of your favorites will not appear on the menu – most notably this includes som tam…I guess it’s really that hard to get papaya in Tokyo. They do have carrot somtam, but it doesn’t feel the same to me. I got a pork larb, which was fresh and fragrant, including some odd herbs that I wouldn’t have expected (something dill-like?) and also more sugar than I find usual. It was plenty good though; just that I wonder if there’s a sourcing problem and they’re getting creative with what they can get. Other than that, I got through a satueed woon sen with mushrooms and eggs and stuff. Not bad, not bad.
This is perfect for a quick dinner if you happen to live in Kiba (errrr…), or if you really need some Thai food, like the half-Thai mixed couple occupying the other table when I was there.
Bang a gong, we are on!
03-5606-6119