Som Tam, delicious in a sado masochistic kind of a way. In Vietnam you almost always add chilli at the table, spicing things up to your own taste, not so in Thailand. Tiny spice bombs are pounded into papaya salad, making the experience of eating this dish excruciatingly painful for the uninitiated or for those who fail to ask for ‘foreigner spicy’. After a few lip-tingling, mouth-burning, nose-running papaya salads I became mostly acclimatised, luckily just in time for our visit to Hai – Som Tam Convent, the home of a Som Tam that is more than just head-explodingly spicy.
This laminate table eatery is buzzing at lunchtime with office workers grabbing a quick feed, the staff are friendly, the vibe is inviting and some people even linger under the fluorescent lights. Serving food from the northeast Isan region of Thailand meaning that the sticky rice is plentiful and (those blasted) chillies feature heavily.
We order a side of juicy chicken grilled to perfection with plentiful sticky crisp skin, sticky rice and som tam accompanied by a plate of herbs, raw beans and a wedge of cabbage. The menu features a whole list of different additions available to be pounded with your papaya salad, but fermented crabs didn’t appeal for some reason, so I chose ‘Som Tam with Peanuts’.
The chicken is delicious here, but the Som Tam is the best I’ve eaten in Bangkok. The chilli is levelled out by sweet sour tomato and the fish sauce light dressing, while fishy dried shrimp add crunch and flavour. The peanuts are crisp and smoky from being blackened on the grill in an attack of attention to detail not often seen. Sop the juices up with some sticky rice, beware the odd un-smosched chilli and savour balanced flavour and riot of textures.
A variety of larb is also available as well as other grilled meats, but my advice would be som tam all the way. If you aren’t into the pleasure is pain hotness level, then try giving ‘mai phet’ (not spicy) or ‘phet nit nawy’ (a little bit spicy) a go. Or just acclimatise, for som tam this good a little pain is worth it.
Hai – Somtam Convent
2/4-5 Convent Rd. Silom Rd
02 631 0216
Sun – Fri 10:00am – 8:30pm, Sat 10:00am – 5:00pm
3 Comments
Zomg som tum/tam is my favourite Thai dish ever. The hotter the better!
Reemski´s last blog ..Harissa fish with fattoush from Valli Little’s 5 Nights a Week
Sounds fantastic, Lili! Great reportage also
Oh my. I believe I want this som tum now! Lovely photos.