VS. 
The Secret is Out 🙂 Cheap Thai Food!
Here is another best kept thai cuisine secret for all those food adventurers out there. This time, this is a hawker style (just along the road- turo turo in short) place, where it serves sukho-thai food at a very cheap price! I’m really a food adventurer and sometimes I’m criticized for only trying the expensive ones (so here’s a cheap find for you). The food is cooked or supervised by a retired Sukhothai Chef who is a thai and has a family here in Makati. Som is the name of the grand daughter of the Chef. I’ve decided to check out Som’s Noddle House instead of going to the World’s longest dinner buffet in Eastwood (and the World’s most unsatisfied guests – I’m glad 🙂 Then, the next day, I also checked out SukhoThai in Megamall which is one of our favorites but we heard that it will be closing shop soon (hopefully just a rumor). Here is a blow by blow boxing match between Som’s Noodle House vs. Sukho-Thai before you even try to check this one out.
Som Noodle House vs. SukhoThai Boxing Round Comparison
Round 1: Ambiance
VS. 
Som is just along a Poblacion Makati road alfresco dining whereas sukho-thai is in Megamall airconditioned. Parking is easy in Som’s vs. trying to park in Megamall on a weekend or lunch time. After badminton or exercise, Som’s is definitely the best place vs. Megamall. But I would give this round to Sukho-thai since overall comfortability is very important for me.
(winner: SukhoThai’s Ambiance)
Round 2: Tom Yum Goong
VS. 
The soup is equally great and you can taste that Som’s tom yam soup is authentic Sukhothai soup as well. Although, there are fundamental differences like the Som’s Tom Yam used meat which is not that tender and uses button mushrooms. For Sukho-Thai it is shrimp and straw mushrooms. Our maid said that the original SukhoThai taste a lot better than the Som’s version. In terms of cost, the Tom Yam (P70) good for 3 vs. Tom Yum Goong (P220) good for 6.
(winner: Som’s Tom Yam Soup)
Round 3: Bagoong Rice
VS. 
The bagoong rice tastes the same although the Som’s rice is older/ harder which is a characteristics of long stored rice whereas the Sukho-thai tastes newly cooked. Of course, I would think there would be a difference if you eat in the morning or if you eat at night in Som’s Noddle House since you might get the freshness of cooked food during lunch. Som’s bagoong rices goes for (P60) good for two while SukhoThai bagoong rice (P160) is good for 4-5 people.
(winner: Som’s Bagoong Rice)
Round 4: Pad Thai
VS. 
This is no contest even though Som’s Pad Thai only costs (P65) vs SukhoThai’s Pad Thai (P170), the latter is a run away winner. Som’s Pad Thai does not even comes close. It is like spicy sweet spaghetti with kalamansi (I’m regretting that I finished this) Aarrgh.
(winner: SukhoThai’s Pad Thai)
Round 5: Green Curry
VS. 
Som’s green curry (P65) sauce is rich with eggplant while SukhoThais’ chicken green curry (P165) taste a lot better because of the leaves. I like them both but the Som’s curry is home made and if not for my sore throat I would order the chili one which I heard is really chili 🙂 My wife likes the SukhoThai version better while the Som’s taste was forgettable.
(winner: SukhoThai’s Green Curry)
Round 6: Chicken Noodle Soup only @ Som’s Noodle House
We like the soup alot and its the type of clear soup that you would like to get back for more. However, we we ate the Mixed noodle and we should have ordered the Chicken only since the mixed ingredients were bad. All for P42 pesos 🙂
(winner: Som’s Chicken Noodle)
Round 7: Thai Desserts!
SukhoThai wins thumbs up for this since Som’s does not offer desserts. Here are the top 3 SukhoThai Dessert: Sticky Rice with Mango, Thai Halo Halo, and Ta Koh.
(winner: SukhoThai’s Desserts)
THE VERDICT:
Nothing can beat the original SukhoThai (4-3) but if you are in the mood for cheap authentic Thai — Som’s is the place to be! Just a warning though, you need to make sure that your stomach can digest street food and we felt sleepy afterwards so we suspect that there’s a lot of Ajinomoto in the food.
MORE INFORMATION
Som’s Noodle House
5921 A. Alger St. Poblacion, Makati
757-8079, 0917-9227648
This is the street where Grilla is located along kalayaan ave corner Alger St. This is at the back of Rockwell.
What an interesting comparison article! I’ve seen Suko Thai lots of times in the mall, but have never felt compelled to try it out. For local mainstream Thai food, I’m pretty satisfied with Thai in a Box.
I’m actually off to Bangkok over the long weekend and am looking forward to trying all the authentic Thai food myself. =)
Bangkok food is way too delicious and would never compare with the thai food here in manila 🙂
Ingat wysgal!
What an innovative comparison-post, Anton. Kudos to you! There’s a limit to what kind of street food I’ll eat, but from your post, I think I’ll stick with Sukhothai. The chef being a retired employee of Sukhothai is no guarantee that his own place will be up to par.
Well your right. Although, these places tend to get a following. So once it gets popular, let me know if you’ll try it out at least once 🙂 I’m interested on what you have to say about this place, hahaha 🙂
My best Thai resto in Manila is Sala Thai on Julio Nakpil St near PWU. I wonder if you’ve tried it:)
I’ve tried soms, and I have to say it DOES measure up to Sukhothai in terms of quality of food. Everything we had except the pad thai was delicious!
i’m off to som’s tomorrow (friday night) and will check it out! cheap thai food? heaven!
Hi Anton, I went to som’s yesterday for the first time. Surprisingly, they now serve dessert – sticky rice with mango. And i loved the thai spring rolls…their curry is a bit too sweet for my taste but the red beef curry and tom yam soup was good enough for the price!
i just tried som’s last week, and i so loved the food! 🙂
I heard Som’s opened another branch along Reposo, Makati. I wonder what the place looks like and if the food is good too.
Yup it is in reposo, and it’s airconditioned! Great food for the price!
we ate at som’s today. its not alfresco anymore it has its own resto in a 1 story building.
oh i think its the one in reposo its good but their chicken pandan is quite small. you can fill up on rice tho.
aaaawwww=( i really miss suko thai sayang wala na. Sana mag re-open sila. I miss the tom yam gung a lot! =( and the bagoong rice. Jan ko lang natikman and pinaka masarap na Thai Food!
i live only two streets away from manang and have been eating and taking out som’s food since october last year. i was strictly following my diet of no rice since february that year but when i got hold of manong’s (siya pa nagluluto noon) red beef curry i had to take it with rice.
i love soms for the following reasons: its close to my flat, i can call and pick up food on the way home, manang takes care of thinking about what i will eat (since parang anak na niya ko at gabi gabi doon ako kumukuha ng ulam) but most importantly one time i passed by at eleven pm and they were closed na, the waiters were having kadyos for dinner which they gamely shared with me (no charge – softdrinks lang) and i learned that manang is very kind to them and is really (all around)a good person to work with.
Som’s is really the best stall. I’m a foreiner but really love this place so much. The food is fantastic and very cheap too. Well Done..
Friends, Have you ever tried the padra-pao in Som’s. Naku’ heaven ang taste sama ang beer. I’m inviting you all to try this. It’s a mix seafoods at ang kanilang sticky rice… wow na wow. The first time i’d taste this food inlove talaga ako. Gusto ko nang bumalik sa Pinaspara matikman ko muli.
I live along P.Burgos St. and everytime I come back from Rockwell I wondered what that place was. Until a friend told me that it’s a Thai place that is becoming popular.
So one night, I went with this German neighbor of mine who has also been to Bangkok in the past.
We both felt that there was something missing in each food we had. Probably the taste was intentionally adjusted to the local taste buds and/or they didn’t use all the spices they should.
For any food I’d say, don’t settle for less.
sorry, super late reaction…but I DID go to the “LONGEST” buffet in Eastwood, supposedly my treat for my Dad but turned out to be a disaster: it was bad enough going there (traffic was heavy), what’s worse is that there was no more food at 8pm! And we were all starving. Haay, we ended up eating at Tiananmen in Metrowalk.
guys…. close na yung SOM’s…
been there eh and I love the food. saan na kaya sila lumipat? Help naman please…
Please, don’t get me started how BAD the food here is. I have tasted real thai food, sukhothai and other restos serving thai food. The Pad Thai in som’s tasted like lucky me pancit canton calamansi flavor. Ang sama talaga!!! People, avoid this place. There was also an incident where the reposo branch (?) was robbed including the customers. Food is bad, location is bad. Oh, and did i say the food was extremely bad?
Friends yong Som’s sa Reposo nagchange ng venue. Andoon na yata sila sa Quezon, opening na daw sa Nov. 12.
After a million years, I finally am able to eat at Som’s – Quezon City branch. Frankly, I have to say that this has been the worst Thai food that I have eaten. I know that you have forewarned about the Phad Thai so it’s my fault for ordering it 🙁 But for the Tom Yam, I mean, it’s really weird and I think I heard my stomach rumbled afterwards – just really glad that there’s no running to the bathroom scene afterwards. I am really disappointed. Here goes another in my list of must go but got me disappointed in the end. I guess there’s a reason why am always obstructed from going to these “must go?!” places. There’s really Someone watching over me. 🙂
We’ve been reading a lot about Som’s in Algier St., Makati and out of curiosity tried their food just this afternoon –green curry, phad kim gay (not sure if i spelled it right), tom yum, bagoong rice and thai iced tea. We’re two, and we paid Php540.00 total. All in all, i can say this is the WORST Thai food that I ever ate. Oody’s Express in Market Market is even better than this. The noodles are too hard, it tasted something is missing in the tom yum, the bagoong rice is too dry and the rice is like NFA rice, and the iced tea is too milky. I can’t say it will give good value for your money, as there are better Thai restos out there within the same price range. Don’t be fooled, Som’s is not cheap (maybe before, but now the price is almost the same as the others). If I will rate this resto from 1-5, 5 being the highest, I will give this 1.5–which is still for me a high rate for such an overrated resto.
Oh and by the way, service is at its worst level too…they served the food 30 minutes after our order, and the place is not full yet (it’s 4pm). They first served the noodles, then after 15 minutes served the green curry, then served the bagoong rice and tom yum 15 minutes later. The curry is already cold when we started eating…not to mention the flies that constantly bug you…
I will NEVER, NEVER go back to this place again.
we went dinner time, the service was pretty quick, not like fastfood quick hahaha..but what we ordered was just bagoong rice, tom yum, & curry..the chicken pandan took a little while to be served…i must say, i was sooooooooo disappointed with the soup..it was BLOODY SWEET!!! you cannot take a thai to that resto..
Hi! just to share, we used to have a simple thai cuisine in west fairview, near FEU-NRMF school in Dahlia. It’s called MAEPHAP Thai Cuisine, but we closed it after almost 5 years because my mom needed rest. Yes, she is the cook, my mom is pure Thai, born and hailed from northeast of Thailand. We shop for our own ingredients and ship it directly from our province in Thailand to Manila, and we are always hands-on with the management of our restaurant. My mom personally cooks every dish we serve, since our customers know the difference if the food was not cooked by my mom. let me give you a quick background of our cuisine, we have re-opened thrice already, like other businesses we had our first trial to test the waters, back in late 1990’s we had our first restaurant but we had to close it down because of a bad location, then we re-opened again in a much bigger place, like as big as a house in fairview also. this time we focused on upscale customers since we were in a fine-dining setting. but after serveral years, we had to close again and reposition because not everyone in the area are willing to spend a little more than the usual fast food price for good food. finally, we opened MAEPHAP Thai cuisine in Dahlia street in west fairview, we started with one shop, but had to get one more shop as extension to accommodate the customers because they all come in groups and eat at the same time (lunch time) so it was really crowded. we also made deliveries within the area, to dorms and the neighboring subdivisions. i must say, my mom is a very good cook 🙂 she has a personal touch that only she knows. our main customers were med/nursing and PT students, dormers and also the resident or visiting doctors from FEU. we have concentrated on budget meals since we know that not all people would be willing to shell out loads of money just to taste an authentic thai meal. our budget meals range from 55 to 70 pesos already with rice and soup, we position our prices in an affordable manner but not compromising quality and taste. apart from the main thai meals like thai bagoong rice with sweet pork and scrambled egg, we also have our popular and best seller, thai lemon grass chicken. we also serve some typical filipino dishes like caldereta, sinigang, menudo, vegetables, etc. but mind you, these are also a big hit and a major come on of our small dinette. unfortunately we had to close it down again because my mom needed some time to rest abroad, and also because the landlady and their kids and staff were not so nice, really pain in the *ss ungrateful. 🙂 closing it down was not our loss, it was more of their loss because for sure, our simple dinette was well-loved by people and it was the main attraction of their old and unsanitary building. sorry but that’s really the reality.
so for those who live in the north (quezon city area, commonwealth, fairview) we are re-opening a very small area in a food strip beside Our Lady of Fatima University along regalado in fairview, on the way to SM Fairview it’s on the left side, inside Sitio Seville subdivision. we also accept orders in bulk but there has to be at least 3 days to 1 week lead time. you can email me or text at this number for your pa-luto 🙂 let us know first which dish you want and we’ll see if we can offer that 🙂 0917 834 82 60
Thanks!
Sawasdee kha!
HOY! Excuse me! Malinis yata magluto tita ko!
May I ask….I wanted to try out Soms….is it still located in Algier St. Makati? Thanks…
We just had dinner at Som’s. it’s true what they say, it’s good value for your money. The Red Curry Chicken was delicious and at 120 pesos in Makati, it was a steal! The Yellow Curry Chicken was a little sweet, if they could lessen the sugar (or maybe it was the MSG) it would have been good to.
The chicken noodle soup was disappointing. It was more like La Paz Batchoy than Thai! I think it’s because there’s no cilantro on it. Speaking of La Paz Batchoy, there’s this cheap Thai place in Iloilo which serves really good Thai food, it has also become popular thru word of mouth. If you happen to be in Iloilo, try Pepe Thai, it’s 2KM further from SM Mall beside Augustine Grove Subd. and San Agustin High School.
Anton,
Where can i find the besto thai resto here in Manila (aside from som’s)preferably in QC, makati and ortigas. I am really craving for thai food these past few days especially that I’ve just arrived from bkk.
I have just tried banana leaf but i don’t find their pad thai authentic. In fact, they’re even using sotanghon noodles (hello?).
Btw, for those who will be going to bkk, the best pad thai is in the street, it’s in ratchathewi station bts station, bangkok. For only 40baht, you can savor the best pad thai in bangkok. ANdami locals talaga bumibili! And also the best tom yum is not in the hotel restos (which we’ve tried), but that in chatuchak weekend market.
ANton, please.. please.. recommend naman a good thai resto. super thanks!
Hi Anton,
Would you be able to go back to Som’s and give us an up-to-date info on how the food’s going at that place?
Hayyy… Bakit ngayon ko lang ba nakita ang mga comments na to? I’m about to go to Som’s pa naman ngayon… Been waiting and wanting to go here pa naman since I got back from Bohol and was able to taste Isis Bungalows curries. (hay! man, those curries in Bohol were yummy!)
Yeah, sige, I will do an updated Thai Food Places on the Cheap post.
Som’s now has a branch along Boni Circle. It now occupies the slot of Inihaw Circle…
I used to go to Thai Pad in Pasong Tamo corner Herrera St. in Makati. The owner used to be the owner of Suko Thai in Megamall. The Taste is the same but cheaper. now they vacate the place, I wonder where they are now. Do you know where they transfered ? I missed their soups and desserts.
Sige, I'll be on a lookout if they transfered somewhere else. they
were doing well in that spot with the office crowd.
Anton
hey bro,
no offense but i think u missed on using the word ” authentic” to describe the food at SOMS… all the flavors for each dish is adjusted to complement the pinoy palate and looses the authentic thai food charm,
the sweet- salty- spicy kick just doesnt hit the spot.
the price is affordable – its a carinderia with a twist! not authentic though.
Yeah, you're right Spanx. thanks for this comment.
ate the tom yum, worst in the world
Here’s my take on Soms..
http://followurtummy.blogspot.com/2010/05/bu-soms-sa-sarap.html
Soms, the best Thai food in town! =)
I’ve heard alot of good feedbacks about Som’s so I’ve tried it last week with my two friends. We ordered Spring Rolls, Basil Rice with Shrimp (I actually forgot the exact name), Thai Bagoong Rice and Chicken Satay. We all got frustrated. We didn’t like it. Yung Spring rolls nila is too oily and it tastes like lumpiang shanghai. Thai Bagoong rice naman hindi authentic ang taste. Parang rice na linagyan lang ng powder flavor and yung cut/slice ng meat was too big (would’ve been better if mas maliit ang slice) Hindi din namin nagustuhan yung sauce ng chicken satay. It was pretty weird. Ang nagustuhan lang namin was the Shrimp with basil. overall, I didnt like it even the ambiance.
You should try MUANG THAI. It is located in banawe and diliman.
Mas okay ang ambiance.
They have combo meals for around 130-150. Like for example. Combo thai 2 includes: thai bagoong rice, squid, pad thai noodles and iced tea.
Spicy beef basil rice includes takho and iced tea.
Although I’ve tried their Tom Yum (diko gusto masyado) BUT their Sticky rice with mango…it’s the best I’ve had so far.
BTW, there’s a restaurant near Ayutthaya, Thailand masarap food nila.
^^ i agree to your review. nadismaya ako nung kumain ako kagabi dito. after ng magagagandang review i thought masarap talaga.it’s not cheap at all, ang mahal halos same lang din ng mga thai resto sa mga malls. nag-order kami ng noodle soup nila, bagoong rice at chicken pandan. it cost 390 plus service charge na 10%( what the?). napansin namin ng kaibigan ko yung chili paste na binigay sa amin may itim. buti na lng napansin niya nung tinignan namin mabuti BANGAW pla. sinabi namin sa service screw nila, ang ginawa lng pinalitan yun na. di man lng nagsabi na ma’am naku pasensya na po etc… tpos yung mga baso nila hindi nahuhugasang mabuti may itim itim sa loob na kung lalagyan mo ng tubig maari mong mainom ito. sanitation nila kadiri! daig pa ang karinderia sa dumi. sa food nmn nila, yung noodles ewan ang lasa. yung bagoong rice yung mangga lng masarap. at yung chicken pandan ang oily at ewan din ang lasa. hindi namin naubos at sa presyong P429 nakakahinayang. kumain n lng sana kmi sa oddy’s. kung irarate ko sila from 1-10….score 1. it’s not authentic thai resto! waste of time going there and waste of money!