A note on the words: gapao rice is the Japanese name for the Thai dish of meat stir-fried with holy basil and chili, served over rice, usually with a fried egg on top. Pakuchi is the Japanese word for cilantro. Khao man gai is poached chicken with rice cooked in the chicken fat. Kakuni is Japanese pork belly simmered slowly in soy sauce and sugar until dark and sweet, mentioned here only as a comparison for the seasoning. Oyakodon is chicken and egg simmered together over rice.
BIANCHI mini me on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
So, Hangover Meshi. This time to “BIANCHI mini me” in Roppongi, which has a strong reputation for excellent Thai food! It is along the street in front of Roppongi Hills, walking toward the Tokyo branch shrine of Izumo Taisha. The oyakodon place is still there, but my impression was that the shops upstairs change fairly often — and then I heard that the Thai food here is good, so this time I went for lunch.
All glass, and very stylish.
Bia’s khao man gai: 1,600 yen
Wagyu green curry: 1,800 yen
Tokyo X gapao rice: 1,600 yen
So there it is, but I had heard that the gapao here is delicious.
Once you hear that, there is nothing for it but the gapao! So gapao it was.
And while asking for a smaller portion of rice, I added a pakuchi salad for 500 yen more. And an extra fried egg for 200 yen more.
To drink I asked for jasmine tea (300 yen more).
After a while the gapao rice arrived!
Oh ho! That looks good!
First off, the pakuchi salad is generous!
They call it a pakuchi salad, and the contents are 100 percent pakuchi! Nothing better than that. Delicious.
And then the gapao rice!
Chunky pieces of meat, and the double fried egg (200 yen more) — it does look good, ha.
One mouthful in and: incredibly good!!!!
Actually, the flavor is a little different from the gapao I know. How to put it — is the seasoning closer to kakuni, maybe? The fine savor of good Tokyo X is concentrated in it, playing beautifully against the rich basil. The depth and aroma that spread with every bite are simply superb. Well now, so there are gapao rices like this too. A new kind of gapao! I wonder how it is seasoned.
The fried egg is very soft and runny. The gapao itself has a fairly strong flavor.
So eating it together with the rice and the egg lands just right. Which is why I highly recommend the double fried egg!
Well, it lived up to its reputation! A very good gapao rice. I would like to come here in the evening for drinks. Do they do that? From what I can see on their site, it seems not… There must be all sorts of Thai restaurants in Roppongi, but this was good enough to rank fairly high among them. Come for the new kind of gapao alone, which you will not taste anywhere else! Recommended!!!
BIANCHI mini me (Thai / Roppongi Station, Nogizaka Station, Azabu-juban Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.8
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
