SUM TOM SALAD
FROM THAILAND,
WITH LOVE
Rare dishes from the land of pad Thai
BY DANTE ZUÑIGA-WEST
W
hen it comes to the economics of supply and demand, Thai food isn’t a
cuisine lacking in Eugene. But the folks over at Som Tum Thai Bistro are
bringing something new to the equation.
“A lot of Thai food here isn’t as bold,” says Som Tum owner Avieta Kaokept. “People
just want the usual things like pad Thai with peanut sauce and things like that.”
A Eugenean by way of
Bangkok, Kaokept is no newcomer
to world of Thai restaurants. Her
family has been feeding Eugene
their nation’s cuisine for years. In
fact, if you love Thai food, it’s
more than likely you’ve dined at
an establishment run by Avieta’s
kin. Her brother, who goes by B,
owns Ta Ra Rin, and her parents,
Vic and Bangon, operate Chao Pra
Ya. Each of these restaurants
offers tasty Thai delicacies, but
the magic coming out of the
kitchen at Som Tum is an exciting
addition to the family’s legacy.
“What she (Avieta) has done
here is make the stuff you’d find
in food carts over in Thailand,”
says waiter Michael Fitzgerald.
He notes that Som Tum offers the
traditional fare — everything
from your killer pad Thai to a
delicious bubble tea — but then
points out the rare gems for which
TOD MAN
this place is becoming known.
P HO T O S B Y T O DD C O O P E R
For the adventurous there’s the
oxtail soup, consisting of slow-cooked oxtail boiled in tomatoes, celery, fried scallions and
onions. Tempting appetizers include the tod man, fried fishcakes made from talapia, red
curry paste, green beans, kaffir and basil. These scrumptious patties are even more of a
treat when dipped in the accompanying sauce of onion, cucumber and sweet chili.
“I wanted to make the things people don’t usually know about when they go to eat Thai
food,” Kaokept says.
One of the most impressive looking and mouth-watering plates on the menu has the
restaurant’s name all over it, literally. The som tum is a salad that combines four different
flavors of lime, as well as fish sauce, Thai chili and palm sugar. Shredded green papaya,
cherry tomatoes, carrots, green beans and peanuts are all up in the mix as well — this is
the dream dish to push on your vegetarian friends.
It’s a stroke of chokdee (good luck) to have access to such great Thai food in Eugene,
and one of the more attractive aspects of Som Tum is prices that won’t break your
pocketbook. Short of hitting up the food carts of the country once known to Westerners as
Siam, this might be the closest one can get to a true immersion in hard-to-find Thai cuisine.
We suggest going all out, washing down your meal with a bottle of Singha — just to make
it official. ■
chow.eugeneweekly.com
the expanded bar at Marché is serving
classic cocktails
A casual menu of bistro favorites
local beers on tap
european atmosphere
award-winning wine list
and all sorts of other
deliciousness
like oysters and pizzette
and pommes frites and, and, and...
open until midnight, 7 days
SERVING breakfast, LUNCH, DINNER and late night, 7 DAYS
In THE Historic 5th StREET Public Market
w w w . m a r c h e r e s ta u r a n t. c o m
5 4 1 . 3 4 2 . 3 6 1 2
CHOW! Spring 2012 11