Do you remember that papaya salad restaurant in Bangkok, Som Tam Nua, which I’ve been raving about ever since my first visit back in 2011? I used to call it one of the hidden gems in Bangkok as it was tucked away down a tiny alley on Siam Square, but it turns out it’s not so hidden anymore.
When I was in Bangkok last time, I saw that they had removed most of the maze-like street market/shopping mall, which used to surround Som Tam Nua, so now the restaurant is out in the open.
AC and I went there for lunch and the restaurant was just as busy, as I remembered it to be. I think the prices had gone up a bit since my last visit, but the food was still excellent and well worth the money. We had BBQ, fried chicken, a mango salad, a papaya salad and sticky rice, which was more than enough food for two hungry tourists.
Of course all that spicy food made us thirsty, so we ordered lemonade from super-cute café Yingdeaw Homemade, which is just next door to Som Tam Nua.
I always order Thai food just as spicy as the locals do, from the philosophy that you need the spicy flavor to balance the other sweet, salty and sour flavors present in most of the dishes, but sometimes, it gets a bit too much and I can’t finish my food because my mouth is on fire. Instead I end up drinking 2 liters of coke and telling myself how stupid I am, not just to ask for a less spicy version. How about you? Can you eat spicy, as in Thai-spicy, food?
Som Tum Der – A nice som tam restaurant in Silom
om Tam Nua, 392/14 Siam Square Soi 5, Rama I Rd, Bangkok
