Le Siam is a good place to treat your mother: she would love its extravagant décor, cheesy soundtrack and gracious service, while you would appreciate its pocket-friendly prices. But, if you are bringing a date, we recommend you go elsewhere. Le Siam took over the old spot of the defunct Anna’s Café, and painted the charming white house vivid yellow. Under the MK group umbrella, it shares the space with MK Gold. The casual bistro mood of the outside is replaced with stuffy Chinese-restaurant ambiance inside: heavy curtains and blinds block the sun, chandeliers hang from the ceiling, chairs are upholstered with burgundy fabric, flower paintings in chunky frames are scattered about along the conventional damask wallpaper. The only thing that hints at the Thai food it serves is the staff, which is clad in traditional Thai costume. The service is professional and cordial and the servers bow before serving the food or refilling your water. While waiting for the food, you can hum along to cheesy instrumentals of 90s inter hits or get beauty tips from a waiter wearing blood-red lipstick and blue eye-shadow. Since office workers in the neighborhood make up most of the diners, Le Siam offers a long list of quick one-dish menus for their lunch break, but it’s better to order side dishes to share. If you like MK’s roast duck, you’ll enjoy the gaeng phed ped yang with its juicy sliced duck. (You can also have MK’s fluffy custard buns and dumplings for both lunch and dinner). The food here, from khao tang naa tang (crispy rice crackers with nutty dip) to deep-fried shrimp cakes, is quite good but overly sweet. Even the chili sauce accompanying the deep-fried grouper was loaded with sweetness. Avoid the cold and bland khao pad nam prik long reua (fried rice with shrimp paste served with sweet pork, salted egg and fresh veggies)—you’re better off going for the cheaper khao gaeng at Saladaeng Market across the street. The kitchen does a good job with beef, though. The fried salted beef came in fat tender slices, while the beef chunks in the massaman were fork-tender and absorbed the flavors of rich curry. We especially like the rice here. It is served in a pyramid-shape topped with brown rice and luuk deuay (pearl barley). The dessert menu lists ice cream and bua loey nam khing (sesame dumplings in ginger soup)—just like you can find in any MK outlet. Smart service and affordable prices are enough to make Le Siam a popular spot to hold a company dinner or reunion. Now it’s time to expand beyond the MK-based menu.