Som Tam Jay So

Som Tam Jay So is located down a quiet side street in Bangkok's Silom business district. Locals flock here for som tam, a well-known Isaan dish that's an addictive combination of sugar, fruit, garlic, fish sauce, and an overabundance of chilis. To balance out the spice, order some tender marinated chicken, grilled onsite, or go for a variation on the classic papaya salad.

Though it may look like a shopworn grocer from the street—complete with a dingy plastic water cooler, open boxes of cut coconuts for sale, and a fading, sagging awning that has clearly seen better days—Som Tom Jay So, in the Silom area, is a dependable place that honors the Isan palate, says Lucci. Pull up a plastic red stool to one of the folding metal tables and order one of the aforementioned sour, sweet, salty, and spicy regional favorites or an Isan dish less known to Western diners, like gaeng om gai, a brothy dill chicken curry that’ll likely upend what you think you know about Thai curries. It’s a tried-and-true Bangkok restaurant where Lucci can refresh his concepts and palate for Isan cuisine and come up with ideas, like that laab papaya salad recipe of his.

There are plenty of Isaan restaurants in Bangkok, and many of them are very good, but some seem to lack that real pungently powerful Isaan flavor that you get in Isaan. Som Tam Jay So (ร้านส้มตำเจ๊โส), located in Silom, is a restaurant in Bangkok where you’ll find the real deal, and I think it’s one of the best Isaan restaurants in Bangkok. Their grilled chicken wings (pik gai yang ปีกไก่ย่าง) are good, the beef laab (laab neua ลาบเนื้อ) is sour and spicy, and the jungle green papaya salad (tam pa ตำป่า) is everything you want in green papaya salad — and it will light your mouth on fire from the chilies and fermented fish sauce.

The ‘Queen of Som Tam’ has earned her culinary crown at this Silom Issan salad and grill shop with super fiery som tams made out front and good vibes within. It’s always full at lunch, a hugely popular spot for office workers, so go there at 11am or 2pm to avoid the rush. This is real deal Lao leaning som tam with fermented fish sauce and other delicious accoutrements of the region like paddy crab and apple snails.

Issan food may have come from Northeastern Thailand and Laos, but it’s been a favourite across the country for decades. Som Tam Jay So is the place to visit if you want to explore different varieties of som tam papaya salad like the fermented fish sauce or cucumber versions. Then there is the grilled meats like the golden gai yang chicken with or kor moo yang pork neck both served with spicy nam jim jaew sauce.

Bangkok experienced a population boom in the 1980s and ‘90s as tens of thousands of rural northeasterners flocked to the city to work as laborers. Over the subsequent decades, stalls and restaurants specializing in that region’s unabashedly spicy, often grilled dishes have become integral to the Bangkok repertoire. Jay So, a chaotic shack at the edge of Bangkok’s financial district, is typical of the genre.

If you like spicy food, then you’re probably going to enjoy som tam. A popular dish in Isan cuisine, it refers to a spicy papaya salad made with shredded green papaya mixed with a range of other ingredients like fish sauce, chili pepper, palm sugar, dried shrimp, and brined rice paddy crabs. Spicy, sour, savory, and sweet, it’s one of the best and most interesting dishes you can have in Thai cuisine.

Isaan is a region in northeastern Thailand known for its love of spice and fermented ingredients. The cuisine is characterised by sourness, chilli and heavy-handed use of herbs, lime, dried shrimp, fermented fish sauce and sticky rice. Som tam (spicy green papaya salad) and larb (minced pork with lime juice, fish sauce and herbs) hail from Isaan and are especially good at Som Tam Jay So.

Som Tam Jay So is known for serving the best and most authentic Isaan (Northeastern Thailand) style of Som Tam (Papaya Salad)!. You get to choose over 30 styles of Som Tam to your suit preference, however, they mostlly come with the same base ingredients such as green papaya, lime, peanuts, cherry tomatoes, fish sauce and chillies. A must-try for Som Tam lovers!

Green Papaya Salad or Som Tam is another classic Thai dish from the Isan region of the country’s North East. Som Tam Jay So is one of the city’s most authentic and popular Isan restaurants and is well-known among the locals. The version here is prepared with fresh crab, chilies, fermented fish sauce, snails, peanuts, and tomatoes.

Why Visit: This casual eatery is famous for its Isaan (northeastern Thai) dishes, particularly som tam (papaya salad). The vibrant flavors and spicy kick are perfect for adventurous eaters. Signature Dish: The classic som tam Thai or som tam pu pla ra (fermented fish and crab papaya salad) for those who like bold flavors.

Som Tam Jay So has been pumping out spicy Issan cuisine to hungry office workers for more than a decade. To avoid jostling for a table, try and visit outside the lunchtime rush. If you do get a table, you’ll be tasting some of the most authentic Issan cuisine on this list of Bangkok’s top 50 street food stalls.

Som Tam Jay So is an iconic local eatery that does not win the prize for the most hygienic place. What they might win a price for is their som tam (papaya salad) along with their grilled meats. It’s as authentic as it possibly can as if you’re eating somewhere in the middle of the Isaan.

Learning how to make Thai classics like Som Tam Thai (papaya salad) and Gaeng Keow Wan Gai recipe (Thai Green Curry) with their friendly and fun staff will not only be the highlight of your vacation but will leave you with the skills to impress your friends when you return back home.

They specialize in Isan cuisine, a Lao-influenced dish from Thailand’s northeastern region. According to Mark, it’s one of the most genuine Isan eateries in Bangkok, hence it’s really popular. We arrived about noon, and the restaurant was filled with office people out for lunch.

Jay So is the equivalent of Jay Fai when it comes to Som Tam. She is just one chef doing Som Tam on her own, and it is the best you will ever find in Bangkok. The chicken wings here are slowly grilled on charcoal, and it will be the best chicken wing of your life.

The Aunty at this small Isaan street food stall has been serving amazing green papaya salad for over 30 years. The cart is located at the top of the alley just off Ratchadmnoen Road, outside government offices and Royal Thai Survey School.

So things like Som Tam (Thai green papaya salad), grilled meats like beef or chicken, Larb (Laotian meat salad), curries, and hot soups like Tom Saap (spicy and sour soup).

Baan Ice, Kua Kling Pak Sod, Baan Isaan Mueng Yos, Sri Trat, Saengchai Phochana, Ros Niyom, Zaab Eli, Som tam jay so, Savoey, Baan Kuay Tiew Ruathong

It has very crispy skin on the outside and is very juicy on the inside. It only costs 17 Baht (USD $0.50) per stick – so eat up!