Bangkok is becoming a yearly quick trip for us. Last year, we managed to hit Or Tor Kor Market, Let Them Eat Cake, Som Tum Nua and more but Soul Food Mahanakorn eluded us. First it was fully booked out and on another night, it was closed for a private function.
This time around, determined not to give it a miss again, I made an email reservation a week in advance. When we arrived, I could see why reservations were hard to score on a weekend night at this small cosy establishment.
Some friends I know have restaurants they return to time and again be it in Singapore or other nearby cities they visit. So do I and Som Tam Nua in Bangkok’s very central Siam Square Soi 5 is one of the restaurants on my repeat visit list. I discovered this Isaan food gem together with my sisters early last year when they flew into Bangkok to visit me during an extended work trip.
For the uninitiated, Isaan is the northeastern region of Thailand and its food is largely influenced by the nearby Laos. Sticky rice accompanies every meal and dishes are usually spicy and pungent (in a good way!).
We came by on a Sunday, 15 minutes before Som Tam Nua’s opening time at 11am and there was already a queue starting to form. By 11.10am, the restaurant was almost full. Staff speak little to no English but no fear, sit yourselves, ask for the English menu, look out for all the items marked with a star and do the universal pointing language when you order.
If you’re a fan of fried chicken wings, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE order them here. These are really the bomb and there’s a fairly long waiting time for it as well so just go ahead and order the larger portion. No regrets, I promise.
The other outstanding dishes we always order are the fried fish, spicy minced pork salad (laab moo), tom yum soup, sticky rice and of course Som Tum! I’m salivating just thinking about the dishes. My sister also swears by the iced coffee which reminds us of just the way our first nanny made it for herself when she was with us two decades ago. We know only because she always snuck us some of it.
These fried chicken wings are honestly one of the best I’ve had! Must-must-order.
Another must-order. Fried fish doused in a fish sauce laced tangy lime dressing, topped with loads of raw onions, spring onions, mint leaves and chilli.
Laab Moo – a spicy minced pork salad. I can’t recall what it was called on the menu, but I just told the wait staff “laab-moo” and they got it.
Isaan sticky rice that come in little straw canisters.
Tom Yum soup with some fish slices and straw mushrooms. The Hubbs insisted on ordering a second helping.
Som Tum – a green papaya salad! A salad of rice vermicelli, shrimp, tomatoes, long beans, slices of green papaya and a sprinkling of toasted nuts.
Our nostalgic iced coffee 🙂
Som Tam Nua
392-14 Siam Square Soi 5 (Just keep walking along Soi 5; it’s a relatively short lane so you won’t miss it)
Open daily from 11am to 9pm
Tonight, I’m dreaming of the best mango sticky rice on earth. This ubiquitous Thai dessert is taken to a whole new level at Sukhumvit Soi 38. One generous whole fresh mango paired with a fistful of glutinous rice drowned in luscious thick sweet and salty coconut milk. What makes this extra special is a sprinkling of crunchy bits much alike rice krispies. I’m sorry I can’t quite figure out what it is, but I assure you the combination of a sweet silky slice of mango, sticky rice, salty coconut cream and the crunch from those yellow bits is magical and heavenly.
Get off Thong Lo BTS and head for the exit that leads to the even numbered streets. The street is close to the BTS and you will spot street food stalls right at the start of the street. Head down the street, this dessert stall is amongst the first few stalls on the right housed in a little enclave. Order, grab a seat in the enclave (which is oddly right next to a carpark) and salivate while you wait. It’s amazing how much happiness 60 baht can buy you on Sukhumvit Soi 38.
We also ordered this plate of oyster omelette which didn’t disappoint while waiting for dessert to arrive. A generous amount of oysters with scrambled eggs on a bed of al dente beansprouts. Lighter than the usual kind we are used to in Singapore and I’m guessing a slightly healthier version too. Order it from the lady opposite the mango sticky rice stall.
I love Bangkok. I love the people who always have a smile on their face, the joint crackin’ massages, sweating it out in jatujak market and discovering quirky creative pieces and of course, what I like most is the cuisine. Thai dishes are an explosion of spicy, sweet and tangy flavours. Hearty but never heavy; nuanced and never bland. Everyone’s possibly got restaurants and hawkers they make a habit of returning every single time they visit and I think we have found them this trip. I will get down to writing about those places we ate at but since my fellow countrymen are currently cafe crazy (and I mean both at visiting them and setting them up) I thought I would first share this gem at Sukhumvit called Let Them Eat Cake.
Bangkok, alike Singapore, is possibly experiencing a surge of new cafe set ups. There were many places that came up during a quick google but I decided I could only make time (and space on the waistline) for this one. Let Them Eat Cake, which looks like a toned down version of Singapore’s Antoinette, is on the relatively quiet Sukhumvit Soi 20. We came by on a Sunday afternoon and all the 30-35 seats indoors were taken, so we were promptly shown seats in the outdoor area. Service staff kindly obliged to sit us indoors once a party was done. The outdoor seats were actually really nice but we chose air-conditioned comfort over the heat. The menu is a succinct selection of teas, coffees, chocolate drinks and wine. As for desserts, a selection of about ten are right at the front counter.
We ordered the Thai Tea Tart, a La Rose, a latte and a cold chocolate drink to start. The Thai Tea Tart (135 baht) was the only fusion dessert on the menu.
Chai yen flavours in the tart came through in the mousse. Every component was chai yen flavoured – from the ganache, to the glaze, to even the two mini blocks of Thai Tea jelly that sat pretty on the tart. If you look carefully, there’s also a genoise biscuit (pre -soaked in Thai tea syrup) that’s embedded within the mousse. Fans of the popular Thai beverage should definitely pick this.
The second dessert we tried was called the La Rose (135 baht). Rose bavarois cream is set atop an almond dacquoise biscuit in the shape of a rose no less. Hidden in the middle is a ball of jellified raspbery coulis which tasted like an raspberry sorbet. La Rose was definitely a winner. We really liked the subtle gentle rose cream coupled with a refreshing hit of raspberry.
My sister, Y, was so impressed with the desserts that she egged us to order a third dessert to share. We’re all fans of passionfruit and it only made sense that the third would be the La Passion. This was pretty similar to the La Rose – passionfruit mousse on a layer of almond dacquoise with a strip of jellified raspberry coulis within, topped with some crispy bits of raspberry. Absolutely no complaints with this one too.
I know most people rush through Bangkok trying to shop and eat as much as they can especially so when it’s a short weekend getaway. If you do actually have some time to spare, or would prefer to take it slow for a change, Let Them Eat Cake would be a great patisserie to slot into your plans. They also open till midnight on Friday and Saturday but I’m guessing you would need to make a prior reservation.
Let Them Eat Cake
G floor Mille-Malle, Sukhumvit Soi 20, Bangkok
(If you’re taking a cab and coming in from Sukhumvit road, keep telling the driver to go straight until you see Mille-Malle building on your right side)
+66 2 663 4667
Mon-Thurs, Sun: 10am-11pm
Fri-Sat: 10am-12midnight
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