One of the most popular joints for Asian food in eastern Europe is the Oriental Restaurant at the Sheraton Hotel, right in heart of the Polish capital, Warsaw.

It's been hailed as the best restaurant around for tom yum kung, sushi, raw fish, pad thai and other Asian goodies. Fresh seafood, including dozens of headless Thai tiger prawns, is on display at the restaurant's entrance.

Thai food arrived in Poland rather late, some 10 years ago, and still, if you fancy ordering some strange foods, you need to know your way around the language.

"One plate of Salatka z zielonej papai z mielongymi orzechami, please." That's som tam, and it's a steep 49 zloty - about Bt500. But for well-to-do Poles, it's worth it.

So is the pad thai, known there as makaron smazony w stylu tajskim podawany z krewetkami oreszhami, or "Thai-style fried noodles with shrimps and peanuts".

Whatever you call it, Poles seem to enjoy Thai cuisine. Since their country joined the European Union three years ago, foreign foods have flooded into Warsaw, helped along by relaxed trade and travel rules.

Oriental Restaurant chef Sanad Changpuen says Poles who come in for Thai food love raw payaya, which he orders from Thailand through a Vietnamese wholesaler. "We have fresh food and fruit flown in from Thailand," he says.

An eight-year resident of Warsaw, Sonad has seen Thai cuisine become a phenomenon in Poland.

"Polish people like really hot food. They want their Thai dishes as spicy as we like it at home," he says over his signature dish, spicy stir-fried seafood with hot chillies. I taste it, and it's damned hot.

Of course, Thai cuisine has its rival in Vietnamese fare. During the Cold War, thousands of students from North Vietnam were sent here for technical training and higher education. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, hundreds decided to stay and become naturalised citizens.

Many have become entrepreneurs, utilising the opportunities that came with the EU's expansion. They've contributed to the cultural richness of Poland. You can spot the grocery shops and pho restaurants they've opened in the most obscure neighbourhoods.

As in many European cities, Vietnamese and Indian middlemen largely control the importing of Thai foodstuffs, as they've done since the late 1950s, before Thai cooking became known internationally.

Almost all the so-called "oriental food" used to come from India. Vietnamese got in on the game thanks to airline flights between Saigon and Europe.

There are five Thai restaurants in Warsaw now, and one of them even boasts a spa, which is increasingly becoming a must-have feature for Thai eateries across Europe.

Customers can have a light noodle soup before their massage or, conversely, a herbal massage to relax the muscles and loosen the digestive system ahead of a big plate of grilled meats with peanut sauce on the side.

Cookman Redux

The Nation