Feast Thailand spent some time with Khun Fang from Baan Thong Kham and asked her some questions.
“We started in December 2015 with Som Tam, Tom Saep and Laap initially,” she said. “As we have become more popular, the menu has increased to now encompass many, many Isaan dishes.”
“Other than my brother’s wife, the rest of us are not from Isaan, but the food of that region has been our passion for many years. We learned the flavours and now pass on what we know to our customers. We cook from the heart!”
“It’s Som Tam, of course” says Khun Fang. “To my mind, this has almost become Thailand’s national dish. We do it in all its forms; standard with papaya, but there are also so many variations like with fruit or corn instead of papaya, or the addition of raw crab.”
“We only buy the freshest ingredients for all our dishes, but Som Tam is the most important as there is no cooking”, she says. “All of the ingredients for a good Som Tam must be of the highest quality. It is also about the taste of the dressing. Our Som Tam has the authentic taste of Isaan, which is what our customers demand.”
“We have a great many local customers who come in regularly. We also receive many visitors from Hong Kong and Singapore. Thanks so much to your food tours, support amongst Western travellers, ‘farangs’, is also starting to grow.”
“Everything is cooked fresh here, so the only thing that requires some wait time is Som Tam. We only make one serving at a time not a big batch, so if we have multiple orders for Som Tam, then the waiting time increases. All other dishes are to the guests within 10 minutes”.
“Apart from our customers, the single most important thing is the freshest ingredients. If your ingredients are top quality, then what is produced can also be of the highest quality,” Khun Fang says.
“Being a single family unit really helps,” says Khun Fang. “We have all known each other for so long, that communication is simple and it helps us to work together.”
You can experience some of the best that Baan Thong Kham has to offer on Feast Thailand’s Foodies Food Tour, which operates daily.
Baan Thong Kham
10/43 Naebkhehard Road,
Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan 77110
Tel: 097-113 4371
Open: 10:30am – 9pm Everyday