Som's Table
Kenika Ruaytanapanich/Time Out Bangkok/Som's Table

Som's Table

The former head chef of Karmakamet Conveyance, Jutamas "Som" Theantae has left Bangkok to make waves in the seaside town with her carte blanche restaurant.

Arpiwach Supateerawanitt
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Arpiwach Supateerawanitt
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Back in June, at the peak of the COVID-19 lockdown, we checked in with Chef Jutamas “Som” Theantae, the culinary talent behind progressive fine-dining restaurant Karmakamet Conveyance. The venue was then struggling, having to close and then reopen again, following the constantly changing government regulations brought about by the pandemic. The uncertainty was a bit overwhelming for the chef and prompted a rethink of her future.

Chef Jutamas
Som's TableChef Jutamas "Som" Theantae

Six months later and Som is in a different head- and workspace. If anything, the pandemic served as a trigger that encouraged her to put up an endeavor that she can completely call her own, one where she calls the shots. She set up Som’s Table in the peaceful resort town of Hua Hin, in a converted house right by the water. 

Som's Table
Kenika Ruaytanapanich/Time Out Bangkok
Som's Table
Kenika Ruaytanapanich/Time Out Bangkok
Som's Table
Kenika Ruaytanapanich/Time Out Bangkok

At this new venture, Chef Som goes “back to basics” and rekindles her relationship with European fare. “I actually started my cooking journey with European food,” she explains. “This new restaurant has allowed me to go back to where I started.” 

Som’s Table is, in many ways, a 180-degree turn from Karmakamet Conveyance. Instead of serving haute cuisine with a don’t-ask-don’t-tell gimmick, Chef Som dishes out comfort food off a carte blanche menu. Dishes vary on a daily basis, and are dependent on the availability of ingredients from local sources and fishermen from surrounding villages.

During our visit, the starter of the day was Fish Bites (B390), a dish featuring bite-sized morsels of house-smoked black cod with sambol-seasoned rice. This was followed by an impressive appetite-driving salad (B690) of fresh mangoes, huge avocado chunks and juicy tiger prawns with dill sour yogurt and horseradish-infused beurre noisette.

Som's Table
Kenika Ruaytanapanich/Time Out BangkokFish Bites
Som's Table
Kenika Ruaytanapanich/Time Out BangkokMango and avocado salad

Som’s Table is nestled on a quiet beach in Khao Tao, far away from Hua Hin’s city center. But that doesn’t seem to be an issue for guests, as long as she keeps serving more great food like a bean stew with local barracuda (B790) paired with superb ratatouille and green olive tapenade; and hand-rolled pici with spicy nduja (B590). “There were no guests at all during the first seven days,” she relates. “But after that, boom! Full booking! It was a complete surprise to see so many people flocking here.”

Som's Table
Kenika Ruaytanapanich/Time Out BangkokBean stew with local barracuda
Som's Table
Kenika Ruaytanapanich/Time Out BangkokHand-rolled pici with spicy nduja

We don’t share her surprise. Each dish is a telling revelation of Chef Som’s passion for her trade. It probably helps that she feels no pressure to comply with any brand concept, hence the freedom to do whatever she likes. Though she jokingly admits missing “cooking for fine dining”, the prolific chef is in no hurry to go back to her former life in Bangkok. “It’s already as good as it can be... [Fine dining] wouldn’t suit this place,” she asserts. “It would be impossible for me to force diners to understand what I do. They’re on holiday!”

But that still doesn’t stop her from “exploring new tastes to add more layers” to every dish she serves at Som’s Table. “European cuisine in Thailand still has plenty of room for improvement,” she says.

Som's Table
Kenika Ruaytanapanich/Time Out Bangkok

It may be a bit too soon to declare Som’s Table as the chef’s career-defining moment considering it only opened less than two months ago, but with what we’ve tasted and witnessed so far, specifically how she cooks and season each dish herself to ensure its complexity and quality, the future seems bright for Chef Som.

Opening between Thursday and Monday (15:00-22:00), Som’s Table is located on 19 Soi Ruamjai, Jai Kao Tao, Nong Kae, Prachuap Khiri Khan. Reservations can be made via 09 7287 2442, reservation@somsatable.com or somstable.com.

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