Siam is the type of restaurant located in a strip shopping center that gives every indication people come for the food rather than the surroundings. Not having spent a fortune on a high overhead building, the restaurant offers good food at reasonable prices.

The menu is typical of many Thai restaurants--it is so long it is hard to navigate, much less pick out an order. Fortunately the staff is ready to answer questions and help with a selection if you desire.

After asking numerous questions about different dishes, I ordered the Pad Kra Pao, a basil dish with mixed vegetables and brown sauce. I was impressed with the huge amount and variety of vegetables that were included, but even more impressed with the quality. Even if the sauce had not been included, this would have been a good meal. The sauce, though, was one of the most delicious I have experienced in a Thai restaurant. I have found that basil dishes are some of my favorites, and the one served here was blended so well with other ingredients that the basil was just one of many flavors I was able to enjoy.

The food here was some of the best tasting Thai cuisine I have ever eaten. The only down side was that it was not spicy enough for my taste (in fact, I thought it had quite a bit less spice than it should have had). They brought a bowl of fish sauce with Thai chiles that made the food more than spicy enough, so overall I had a very good meal. I just do not know if the chiles normally cooked in this dish would have given it a different (and better) flavor.

The hot tea was excellent, as was the service, and just about everything about the restaurant. There were quite a few menu items that looked like I would want to try them if I ever make it back to Siam.

The two locations of Siam are at the east end of Boise (the one I tried), and the west end in Meridian. When driving through on the Interstate it would be well worthwhile to try one of these restaurants.