Thursday, February 19, 2009

somtam nua


Somtam Nua : ส้มตำนัว
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If you visited Thailand and didn’t get a chance to try our Somtam (Thai Raw Papaya Salad) then you are not really visiting here.

In my very own opinion, I seriously think that every 2nd Thai woman in Thailand like to eat Somtam – oh well, I think all of Thai women loves Somtam. If a Thai girl told you that she hated Somtam – my guess, she lied. (Strang enough, some girls pretend to dislike it.)

The main reason of my firm believe is because if you look at our corners and streets in Bangkok. You will find at least, 2-10 of Somtam vendors in one street, there are everywhere; good ones, hygienic ones, dirty ones, popular ones. Surprisingly, all of them seems to sell (make money) no matter there are more than 100 venders being close together in one street. Somtam is probably the most popular and most eaten salad dish in Thailand.

Somtam is originally from E-saan (You can find it in Laos too.) When the Labours from E-saan relocated to all over of Thailand to find job, they bring their food. Therefore, Somtam and some more popular E-saan dishes find their place in almost of every corner of Thailand

I personally love Somtam to bits. I don’t know since when it becomes one of my favourite. (When I was young I didn't even know it.) One of the best places to visit is "Somtam Noir" ( I like to call it "SomtamNoir" rather than "SomtamNua".) The place cooked mean dishes of Somtam (with Salted Crab, Thai Style, Junkle Style, and Mixed Style.) and not only Somtam is good but the rest of menu is also wroth trying. I am a fan of their fried Chicken Wings.
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This particulary Branch that I visited very often is located in Siam Square Soi 5. (Strange, this area is popular by teenagers – this means Thai teenagers love Somtam?? That’s a good news. It’s always better when they like Somtam too, not just only the Junk Food : Burger & Pizza. Somtam is healthier for them.)
The place is always fully packed and every time I went there, I had to wait at least 10-15 mins in order to get a seat. It’s packed since opening time till closing time. If you ever notice, after 13.00pm, their Staff always look tired & exhausted as there are always too busy, the staff are probably too worn out. (There are actually lots of staff there.)
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100% popular, which is one of the reasons why I like going; I need to know/learn how the popular restaurants cope with the crowd and how they manage to be busy. Being Popular needs many factors; good food, clean, well-organized, trendy, classic, etc,) If one understands the key thing then one can be very successful in food business. I want to be a successful person who runs a busy & packed restaurant.

Nua (นัว) in Essan means well-blended/mixed/balance. I think its a right name as the kitchen can keep the level of Consistency no matter the chaos. There 2 branches, another one is in “Ramindra” Road.
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Somtam Nua
392/14 Siam Square Soi 5
Bangkok. 10110
T. 02 251-4880
Service Time: 11.15am-21.00pm.

2 comments:

southernoise said...

thanks for the recommendation. I love somtom and the ones available here in Singapore just cannot be compared to the ones you have in Bangkok.

Phuket Hotels Thailand said...

I love Somtom too much...I can eat everyday with sticky rice,If you don't.. come to try at Baan Rim Pa Restaurant in phuket(so delicious),i believe that you will love it like me :)