Som Tum

image from Nong Sow in Phuket Town

Travel blogs and guide books are filled with so many things to see, do and buy when you visit Thailand that it is only sensible to list them all down before you arrive and wise to shortlist your priorities so that you go home having experienced everything you considered a must - be it watching a Thai boxing match, riding an elephant or eating the original version of your favourite Thai food!

(Tim - there is an app that can help you do this as well!)

(Ed – turn off your iPad Tim)

One spectacular dish that is actually more Thai and more popular than "Phad Thai" that you really MUST try is "Som Tum" – now I would have to add that Som Tum is not for everybody, especially the delicate.

This Northeastern Thai dish, which has been lovingly adopted by the rest of the Kingdom, is literally a saliva-inducing mix of spicy, sweet and sour flavours. Som Tum dish is made by pounding sour lime, chilli, salt, fish sauce and sugar together in a stone mortar. Shredded green papaya is added to this wonderful mixture and tossed.

Dried shrimp and peanuts are then sprinkled liberally over the top or mixed in - delicious!

Though street carts are the best for this dish, as a tourist it is more prudent to sample Som Tum at a proper restaurant.