Let me know what you think of Swagat. I was just there about 2 weeks ago. Btw, you can choose how spicy your food would be – mild/medium/or Indian full-on spicy. Cheers!

Thanks for your email.

At Som’s, I did ask for someone to address the disparity in the authenticity of the dishes and all they could do was shake their head and mention that they didn’t have it or cooked it that way. That doesn’t really address anything.

I asked for Tom Yam Goong Nam Sai and they didn’t know what it was (It’s Tom Yam but in a clear stock base without coconut milk). They also did not cook it with straw mushrooms and used button mushrooms. I also asked for Pak Boong Phai Dang and they firstly had no idea what I asked for, then when I mentioned that it was kangkong fried with garlic, they then said that they didn’t know how to cook it that way. They only steam the kangkong.

The red curry was loaded with sugar and very mild. I could not find a single piece of Thai basil in the curries nor in the soup and the flavour was missing.

Mango salad, if you’ve been to Thailand, does not come loaded with sweetish chilli sauce. It’s a clear salad with coriander and basil and is quite spicy.

The fact that the place is crowded only shows that the crowd doesn’t seem to know any better. Last evening, the entire crowd consisted of Filipinos. I’m not saying that Filipinos don’t know authentic Thai cuisine (or maybe I am) but perhaps the taste at Som’s has been modified to suit the locals. So if you intend to recommend places on your website you write as authentic and are not, you should be prepared from some critical feedback when visitors who go looking for a real authentic Thai restaurant, follow your recommendations and find that it is far from authentic. I have travelled all over Thailand for the past 10 years and feel that I would be remiss if I did not comment on this.

As for the Indian place Swagat, I will try it this evening. If Indians go there, then it should be authentic. If it is indeed good, I will write so as well.

Chi

I do understand that one can never please everyone. I think you may have had a different experience from most of the people I know including us. Som’s is owned by a Thai married to a Filipina, and while we are not paid (nor get a free meal) endorsing these places, I think we had a really good experience in all of these places we mentioned here including Som’s, and a lot of people will agree too – including the many diplomats that eat at its Makati branch. I think as diners, if we find something not acceptable with our dishes, we should call the attention of the cook/chef/owner so that it can be corrected. I agree with your call on the Pandan Chicken (that’s why I never order it whenever we are there) and I am not a big fan of Tom Yum Goong either (whether it is in Som’s or other Thai places).

Swagat meanwhile is and one of the most authentic places that offer Indian food, and they are owned, managed by Indians themselves (the cook is the owner). The large presence of Indians in the restaurant everytime we eat there attest that this is by far one of the most authentic places and a lot of other expats would agree with me. Indian owners + Indian cook + heaps of Indian patrons + a seal of approval from people who had been to India = I think that’s what make the resto different. Pay it a visit first before dismissing the place and if you don’t like it, well, sadly we can’t do anything about it, because even if you will be offered the most authentic dish in the world, it all boils down that taste is subjective.

Cheers!

Ryan

Yeah, I am not a big fan of Thai food myself but Som’s is definitely worth a try – very unpretentious which the way Thai food should be. Ah yeah the weird colored iced tea is the thai iced milk tea. LOL. yummy though- the green curry and their Bagoong Rice is awesome! Haven’t been back there in months, so yeah, I might do that well this weekend when my Dad comes to visit.

Cheers,

Ryan