Tum Tum

A great little place opened up recently near my office. It is serving northern style or Isaan food. As I love Isaan food, it was on my agenda right away to try the restaurant. I forced my department to have lunch together. The restaurant is on the second floor of a newly built building. The decor is a bit funky due to that they have live bands playing on weekends. The tables and stools are typical of Isaan restaurants. They want to be very easy going and relaxed.


The first dish was moo yang (marinated grilled pork). An easy but very tasty dish.


The second dish was seafood tom yum soup. It was a lovely and well balanced tom yum; spicy & sour.


The third dish was som tum Thai (green papaya salad). This is the one without the fementing crab. I always stay away from that one. But this som tum was fresh and refreshing. Spicy, sour, sweet, salty & tangy. Full of textures and flavours.


The fourth dish was grilled pork neck. This is a much more tender and juicer part of the pig. I am sure this is deadly for my cholesterol, my arteries and my heart. But it is so yummy.


The fifth dish was som tum sapparot (som tum with fruit). One of my collegues is a vegetarian so we ordered a som tum with fruit instead of the usual, dried shrimp and fish sauce. Very interesting dish since I am used to som tum Thai. Of course, this som tum is much sweeter do to the fruits. It is refreshing and tasty but I still prefer the original.


The sixth dish was another vegetarian dish, mushroom salad. A good dish, though boring compared to the other salads.


The seventh dish was deep fried chicken wings. Yes, I have a weakness for fried foods. The Thais really know how to deep fry things. The chicken wings were so crispy but not oily. How do they do that? So good.


The eighth dish was bamboo shoot salad. A very nice dish. I do not find this dish often. For people who love the flavour of bamboo, this is the dish for you. The bamboo was so fresh.


The ninth dish was Ma-Ma noodle salad. A popular dish because of the Ma-Ma noodles. The Ma-Ma adds an extra texture to the salad. A typical salad with the usual flavours of spicy, sour, sweet and tangy. The salad also had minced pork, mushrooms and onions.


With Isaan food, you can never eat the main courses without the famous sticky rice. The rice always comes in a dried banana basket/ box to keep the rice moist. I love taking some rice, forming it into a ball and dip it into many of the sauces from the main courses. Oh, so good!


I know, we do eat a lot. But the food is good and incredibly cheap. I am really happy that this place is next to my office. I just have to worry about my waist line.

Nuam Complex, 2nd floor, 8/1 Sukhumvit soi 33, 02-261-7848