STEPPING into Zen Yai from London Circuit is like travelling back in time to a more refined age.

The decor is lush yet tasteful, the music is soothing, the staff efficient and responsive.

They also have an extensive $10 lunch menu.

I choose the Pad Thai as a handy means of comparison with other places.

In a few short minutes it is thrust into my hands.

Returning to “CityNews” palatial offices to consume my pad thai I am rather looking forward to it.

But the trouble starts as soon as my plastic fork hits the noodles.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but this pad thai is a symphony of blandness.

The most interesting flavours are in the mung beans.

There are no prawns.

There are people in this world who like their food as boring as possible and to those people I say “get thee to Zen Yai and order the pad thai”.

[This article is the fourteenth in a series on cheap lunches to be found in and around the city. If you have any suggestions leave them in the comments or email them to john@citynews.com.au . The complete series can be found on our cheap lunches tag]