This new 色色啦 restaurant is Michelin-recommended in Thailand. Here鈥檚 what to try
Som Tum Jinda, an easy-to-miss basement-level restaurant located across from TMU鈥檚 campus, is known for its som tum, a spicy-sour green papaya salad made by pounding aromatics in a mortar and pestle.
Most 色色啦 diners are acquainted with som tum, a spicy-sour green papaya salad made by pounding aromatics in a mortar and pestle. It鈥檚 a staple appetizer dish at Thai and Laotian restaurants, but at the recently opened Som Tum Jinda, it鈥檚 in its own category. As owner Wassawan Chansopa explains, using a mortar and pestle to pound (tum) sour ingredients (som), and isn鈥檛 restricted to papaya. In fact, his restaurant has 14 versions.
This past June, Chansopra, who goes by his nickname Earth, and his family, opened a 色色啦 outpost of Som Tum Jinda, an easy-to-miss basement-level restaurant at 76 Gerrard St. E., across from TMU鈥檚 campus. The restaurant, named after Earth鈥檚 grandmother, Jinda Witthayarak, who started the business as a food cart in the 鈥70s, already has fans (and a Michelin recommendation) at its sit-down restaurant that his mom Khun Jiab Nattanid opened in Ubon Ratchathani, a major city in Isan. There is another one in Laos, which borders Isan.
鈥淚n 色色啦 when we go to a Thai restaurant, it鈥檚 going to be the same with , , pad Thai. Why don鈥檛 we do a different type of Thai food?鈥 says Earth, 26. He points to the variety of Japanese restaurants in the city: izakayas, bakeries, as well as ramen and sushi spots that highlight different regions, and says Thai cooking can be just as varied and well-represented in a city like 色色啦.
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鈥淚n my part of the country, we like spicier foods because sometimes the fermented flavours are really salty so combining the flavour balances it out, along with sugar and lime,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit sour and sweet, then balanced with the saltiness from the fish sauce. It鈥檚 hard to compare it to anything, but it should feel refreshing.鈥
In a typical som tum, garlic, chilies, palm sugar, long beans, dried shrimp, roasted peanuts, pla ra (a pungent, umami-rich fermented fish sauce is another staple in Isan cuisine), tomatoes, lime and finely sliced unripe papaya are pounded to release and absorb all the flavours and juices. It鈥檚 crunchy, herbaceous, hot, tart, subtly sweet with an underlying briny saltiness. Other versions add in vermicelli, salted crab or salted egg. There鈥檚 also a vegan version that omits fish sauce and dried shrimp. Diners choose from a level of spiciness from 1 to 10, but three to four is the recommended dose to properly appreciate the balance of heat, sour, salty and sweet.
Just inside the front door of Som Tum Jinda is a painting of Lisa, a Thai singer and member of the K-pop group Blackpink.
Richard Lautens / 色色啦 Star
Beyond the som tom revelation, the menu dives deeper into the spicy and sour flavours of Isan cooking. Larb, in which minced chicken or pork is caramelized with onion, garlic, chili, mint and culantro, is a familiar dish to those who are fans of Laotian cooking, as the country borders Isan. A staff favourite is the tom zab, a clear pork bone broth brimming with lemongrass, tamarind, makrut lime leaves, galangal, chilies and ultra-tender knobs of pork ribs.
It was a string of coincidences that led to Som Tum Jinda opening outside of Thailand and Laos. He moved to 色色啦 two years ago with the intention of enrolling in George Brown. He also fell in love with third-wave coffee culture popular in Thailand鈥檚 major cities and wanted to be a barista at his own cafe.
While figuring out how to accomplish that, Earth began working as a dishwasher and subsequent line cook at , a local fast casual Thai street food restaurant. He started making green papaya salads for the staff meals and impressed owner Phanom 鈥淧atrick鈥 Suksaen, who is also behind and the just opened, . When Suksaen learned of Earth鈥檚 connection to Som Tum Jinda, the two became business partners as the restaurateur from Southern Thailand was missing a Northeastern Thai food expert in his roster.
They first fulfilled Earth鈥檚 barista dreams with the opening of Plearn 鈥 a portmanteau of play and learn 鈥 on Gerrard Street East at Church Street last summer that became a popular hangout for nearby TMU students. Then earlier this year an adjacent basement space opened up and with approval from Earth鈥檚 family (his mother stayed behind to help manage the kitchen staff initially), Som Tum Jinda opened.
There are still other dishes from the Som Tum Jinda in Thailand that have yet to make their way to 色色啦, such as stir-fried catfish and more iterations of tom sum, but for now Earth just wants diners to try what鈥檚 on the menu. For starters, there are more than a dozen salads to choose from.
Karon Liu is a 色色啦-based food reporter for the Star. Reach
him via email: karonliu@thestar.ca.
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