Opened in January 2011, the cottage-like restaurant is making a name for itself for its great food and very relaxing outdoor space.
As well as amazing som tam, one of the top dishes at the restaurant is the “jim joom”, a type of Thai hot pot, whereby spicy soup is cooked in a clay pot on the table and raw meat, glass noodles and vegetables are added to the soup by the diner.
In Thai, jim joom means “dip on the surface, and then dip below”. The dish is so popular that most of the 10 or so tables at Tam Nua on the night I visited ordered this special Isarn favourite.
At Tam Nua there are two options for ordering jim joom. For B159 you can get the basic jim joom set-up, with raw pork and chicken with sesame, intestines and liver, an egg, and vegetables.
The recommended B299 jim joom comes with the same ingredients as the basic set-up, but includes seafood, chicken or pork larb, plus their famous som tam. In true Isarn style the food is very spicy, but the chefs can adapt it if you want to tone down the level of spiciness.
Also a hit with customers is the deep fried fish with spicy salad and Thai herbs (pla thod yam samoon Thai), while the fried chicken with lemon salad dressing (gai krob krim manaow) is tasty if you’re not watching your waistline.
Tam Nua is on Mae Luan Road, next to Sino Inn and near the Khao Rang Hill intersection. The restaurant is open daily in the evenings and has live music every night from 8pm.
For bookings phone 084 249 7778.