Som Tum Jinda – 76 Gerrard St E, Toronto, ON M5G 2A7
Country: Thailand     
Must-try dish: Kor Moo Yang
Seating: Indoor seating with a back patio in the warmer months.  
Dinner guests: Pornstar Sam 
The high: An excellent place to taste the culinary delights of North-East Thailand. 
The low: It could be easy to walk past and miss it as it’s located in a basement

Be sure not to walk past this cozy restaurant in the lower level of a building on Gerard Street. Upon entering, you’ll be graced with bursts of colourful decor and the scent of delicious food cooking in the open kitchen. No matter the time or the day of the week, Som Tom Jinda is full of diners, and you’ll know why once you sit down for your first dish. 

The restaurant specializes in North-Eastern Thai cuisine, which is vastly different from the Pad Thai and Green Curry dishes you typically see on a menu in Canada. These dishes are more meat-forward with pork, beef, and chicken dominating the protein options. The plates are also small, meaning that you can taste more items on the menu. 

In keeping with the traditional dishes, we started with the Tum Thai. It’s a spicy papaya salad packed with fresh and savoury ingredients: beans, tomatoes, dried shrimp, chilies, garlic, and peanuts. You can of course dictate what level of spice best suits you, but  keep in mind that red thai chilies tend to have a kick. This is the perfect dish to start the meal with since it acts as a palate cleanser throughout the dishes. 

Pork dishes are especially common in this region of the country. The Kor Moo Yang is a grilled pork jowl plate served in thin slices with a tangy sauce for dipping. Although everything we ordered was terrific, this one was the crowd favourite. The meat is tender and flavourful on its own, not needing any herbs or spices for enhancement. 

The next pork plate was the Sai Krok, which are circular pieces of sausage with raw cabbage on the side. The above two dishes are unique to North-Eastern Thai cuisine – Som Tum Jinda is likely one of the only places to try this in the city. 

More common Thai dishes representing the entire country’s cuisine are also available. The Chicken Panang Curry came with jasmine rice, and was everything and more that you expect from a Thai curry. The texture was like velvet, the meat was like butter, and the spices tickled the taste buds. Coconut milk helps to balance the flavours and the richness in a Thai curry, you can never go wrong with it. 

A noodle dish is required in any Thai meal. We opted for the Beef Pad See Eww because the soy sauce base compliments the meat and broccoli. The rice noodles are flat yet thick, and allow themselves to easily be marinated with the sauce. 

A final dish that the server boasted as her favourite, the Kai Kra Tiem, a grilled chicken dish soaked in garlic over rice. It’s a great dish to share but has less exciting flavours than some of the other dishes that we ordered. Despite being tasty, it’s on the safer side of the menu. The fried egg that tops the chicken is a nice addition that changes the flavour if eaten alongside the meat. 

Something sweet was in the cards at the end of the meal. The Khao Noew Mamuag is a sweetened rice base with coconut milk  topped with pieces of mango. It’s exactly as delicious as it sounds, and is shareable for the table as an entire plate might keep you up all night. 

The introduction to Northern Thai cuisine was successful. This restaurant made the Michelin Guide in Thailand, and recently opened an outpost in Toronto. Despite this, it’s a comfortable and friendly atmosphere that serves authentic food from North-Eastern Thailand, a region that borders Laos. This restaurant stands out from many others in Toronto for the food, the vibe, and the service. This won’t be our last time here!  

Eat with you soon, 
Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)