Year of Eating Differently (102): Siam Central, Charlotte Street

Ran over here, checked the menu, ran back to work, spent half an hour in a meeting discussing statistical significance and how to isolate the effect of other changes when altering a single variable, said something else people agreed with, walked back up stairs and hoorah - there was my lunch waiting for me, brought back by that fine corpus of people that make up my co-workers. A penang curry and some rice - good kick of heat to it, went down a treat. Then back to meetings for the rest of the day.

Year of Eating Differently (86): Tai Buffet, Old Compton Street

Well, it was quick. Also, it was cheap (3.50 for takeaway from the all-you-can-eat buffet). Possibly it was in defiance of some sort of trade description, insofar as I'm sure I could eat more if I'd popped back to the buffet a few times this afternoon. But, selection of foodstuffs was much better than Sa Thai; spring rolls were okay-ish, ginger tofu was a tiny bit bland, but all the sham meat (tofu masquerading as curried lamb, as chicken, etc) is always a treat for a vegetarian like me, life otherwise devoid of fun.
On the other hand, no real ambience, apart from somebody who kept yelling something sounding suspiciously like 'gwailo'; now come on, I know I'm pretty pasty-faced, but is there any need for that? Or is it just turn-of-the-century paranoia?

Year of Eating Differently (51): Glo, Paternoster Square

Many years ago, even before Mr Cushtie was a gleam in Mr Cushtie Snr's eye, or indeed shortly before Mr Cushtie Snr and Mrs Cushtie were Mr and Mrs, Mr Cushtie Snr proposed to the future Mrs Cushtie in Paternoster Square. So there's some kind of significance to this location, even if it may seem a bit of a cheat to nip out of Soho for lunch. However, I was back at my desk within the standard hour, so I think this can count.
No such emotional significance to Glo, however. It's just ok, poking its head above mediocre for just long enough to not earn censure. For some reason, I've recently lost my tolerance for places where you pay in one place and then collect your food elsewhere - I think the problem may be that these City boys are less capable of queuing than the meedja whores of Soho, and so I kept getting elbowed in the back or side, and thus had to struggle not to indulge my inner rage.
Here's lunch
Plus, the City boys are happy to pay over the odds - I got curry and rice for seven pounds something, and when you order 'fresh lemonade' you would expect it to come in a glass, not in a plastic bottle. Am I being overly snobbish here? The curry itself overpromised and underdelivered - not at all spicy, and although it began by tasting quite fruity, pretty soon that flavour deserted it. And there was either too much rice or not enough curry, but either way halfway through the meal I was left with half a bowl of dry rice. Hmmph.
On the other hand, it's well lit, pretty fast and, perhaps because it's individual stools rather than benches, doesn't quite feel like the whole Wagamama-lets-go-back-to-school experience. Although speaking of which, a visit to Lexington Street may be on the cards soon...

Year of Eating Differently (42): Nusa Dua, Dean Street

6.95 for a two course set meal - you can't go wrong with that

Year of Eating Differently (33): Soho Thai, St Anne's Place

Was going to go to a different Thai restaurant, but it was closed this lunchtime. Anyhow, Soho Thai's not bad; had the Pad Khing Tao, which was something with vegetables and ginger, and less MSG than I've come to expect. Place was really very noisy for a Friday lunchtime, and the decor suggests, well, that they haven't finished decorating yet. It's also quite expensive (£30 for lunch for two, but that's what Mastercard is for, right?)
Oh, and just to feed the stereotype, I'm hungry again already, and it's only been 15 minutes since I stopped eating...

Year of Eating Differently (27): Sa Thai, Greek Street

Another noodle bar. Went in and asked for a green curry to take away. Got given a foil tray and sent to fend for myself in the lunchtime buffet. No curry. Quite depressed. But by then I'd handed over the cash, and my earlier protestation that I wanted a curry seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, so I've filled up on noodles and came back to eat it. More curry later in the week, I think.
Noodles are revolting - far too much soy sauce. Tofu's not bad though, probably because it has too much soy sauce. Would be a draw, therefore, except the vegetables taste foul and have the texture of runner beans. So let's call that 2-1 down.

Year of Eating Differently (19): Papaya, St Anne's Court

Red curry, three pounds fifty. Bit hot for me, but I'll live... A little corner of Asia, tucked away round the corner from Make Mine.