Shamballa Somtam — Restaurant in Phaya Thai Subdistrict

Tucked along a small street, a friend brought me to this hidden gem which is well visited by tourists alike. Just a short walk from Ari Station, I would say it is worth it. While the staff may not be able to communicate fluently in English, they tried their best. I visited this restaurant on a weekday, so there is no queue at all. All the food ordered is served at the same time. The food is delicious, and I would recommend the crispy morning glory (served with some special sauce). We ordered vegetable tom yum (kinda sick having so much seafood in every meal) and the soup is not just rich in taste despite not having any seafood base, it is also loaded with a few types of mushrooms in place of the meat. The fried rice, pad thai and the somtum all goes well as expected. The food portion is just right with the price and during the billing, I was shocked by the overall bill which is...

The place is ok - average at best . The food was good, but I wasn't crazy about the music they played - like some kind of annoying elevator muzak. I had two things which Si later made a comment about. The soup was something called Tom Sap Si Krong - pork rib in a hot and spicy broth. Really not much meat on the ribs but it was ok. Same thing with the Yum Mamma Talay which was a spicy seafood and instant noodle dish. Good despite obviously using frozen seafood. Didn't know it was going to be instant noodles when I ordered it too. Overall, a good place for lunch. It was clean and the food edible so above average I guess but as you can read, I wasn't impressed. Si kind of screwed up my head with that remark about ordering 2 dishes. He rightly implied I need to lose...

The best coconut chicken soup (tong ka gai) ever! The food was so good!!! Cosy atmosphere.

But I am giving less stars for service.

To the young waitress I hope this comment helps you. Tapping on the table whilst customer decide on what to order is considered rude. I can let it pass once. However, waving and tapping the payment tab is very very rude. You can always simply say, "I will come back".

As a customer service personnel myself I can understand customers, and truly hope this is good feedback to you. Other waitresses in the resturant were very...