By Gisella Brok
As I was looking back at all the mouth-watering food I had over the summer, I noticed something interesting but not that surprising: I ate a lot of Thai food. It was to the point where I was going to one restaurant multiple times in one week.
That restaurant is Tum Pok Pok, a cozy restaurant located near Buford Highway’s popular Food Terminal. In Thai, Pok Pok is the sound of different spices being pounded by a pestle, a sound often heard on the streets of Bangkok. The name’s pretty accurate since the food tastes just like it does when you get it from the street vendors in Thailand.
Though my memories of my time in Bangkok are a little fuzzy, my parents remember their 6-year time there pretty clearly (most importantly, remembering the food). As we ate, they felt like they were right back in Thailand, buying Nua Sawan from the street vendors as a late-night snack.
Because we were missing the authentic taste of Bangkok, we ordered quite a lot… There are a lot of options to choose from, so my advice is to go family-style so you can try a bit of everything.
To start with the drinks, I got the Thai lime tea, which was super refreshing during the hot Georgia summers (though our heat doesn’t nearly compare to Thailand’s). It comes in a kettle, decorated with their signature “Tum Pok Pok” sticker that adorns their tables.
Other than the taste, the real highlight of the drink was the ice: it’s the really good crushed-up type that you can only find at certain places like Chick-fil-A.
The process of drinking Tum Pok Pok’s Thai lime tea is honestly an experience; first, you get your drink, then you pour it over the best ice ever, and you finish it off by squeezing the lime.
For the apps, my go-to is the Nua Sawan with sticky rice. It’s a beef jerky that just bursts with flavor. I like to put a piece on top of my rice and then eat it, but it’s so flavorful that you can eat it with or without rice.
Next we got the Chicken Pad See Ew ‘cause you can’t go wrong with some noodles. What I wasn’t expecting was it to be one of the best pad see-ews I’ve had since moving to Atlanta. The chicken is perfectly tender and they don’t hold back on the veggies.
When you see it on the menu, the Gai Yang seems like it’s just chicken, but trust me when I say you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the flavor and tenderness of it. The sauce, which I loved dipping my sticky rice into, has an unexpected kick that adds a little heat to the chicken, making the combination mouth-watering.
If you still have some room left, their desserts are a must-have. A classic is the mango sticky rice: it’s warm, it’s cozy, and it’s absolutely delicious. Served with a fresh mango, the warm sticky rice just melts in your mouth. To top it off (literally), the coconut cream drizzled over the dish brings the perfect lightness to it while also being not too sweet.
It’s not just the food that’s warm and cozy, though, but also the atmosphere. At dinnertime, the restaurant is bustling with people, yet it doesn’t feel overcrowded at all. The place is covered in Thai decor, making the experience all the more authentic.
Side note: If you still have room, next door is a place where you can get red bean sesame balls the size of your palm. They’re the perfect mix of sweet (from the red bean), chewy (from the mochi), and crispy (from the sesame exterior).
The next Thai restaurant I visited was Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft, a personal favorite that I’ve been eating at almost every year since I moved to the United States. It’s a little different from Tum Pok Pok in the sense that it has a little more of an elevated feel than it does cozy.
The restaurant is also literally elevated, as you have to take an elevator to get to the actual restaurant. This ends up with the restaurant having a spectacular view of Atlanta. There’s also outdoor seating, where you can really take it all in.
That’s not to say that there aren’t cozy elements; there’s literally a Tuk Tuk in the main entrance. For those who don’t know, a Tuk Tuk is a 3-wheeled, no-door taxi, and it’s a pretty iconic mode of transportation in Thailand.
For as long as I can remember, their Nua Sawan has been my all-favorite, and to this day it hasn’t moved from that top spot. It has a little less of a kick than Tum Pok Pok’s, but I still love it.
Another dish I always get is the Moo Yang, which is pork skewers. It’s one of my family’s favorites, and we usually get two of them. The pork has a rich, smoky flavor, which I love.
While you can have a full meal with just the nua sawan and moo yang, who wants to miss out on the entrees?
While I don’t get this so often, the Ba Mee Moo Dang is one of my main recommendations. It’s Thai-style BBQ pork, and it’s tender and full of flavor. While it is BBQ pork, don’t expect the classic American-style pulled pork; its flavor is unique.
If you like chicken more than beef or pork, I’d go with the Chicken Pad See Ew (an easy go-to in my opinion). At Tuk Tuk, the noodles are thick and the vegetables add just the right amount of lightness to the dish. To me, pad see ew is one of those dishes that’s consistently good, so it’s a good go-to if you’re craving Thai but don’t know what to get.
When looking back at my summer trying to decide which restaurants to highlight, I just kept coming back to these two. One could say my mom was right when she said, “I guess I missed the taste of Bangkok…” Though I didn’t really get to go back, the flavors I found at Tum Pok Pok and Tuk Tuk brought me as close as I could get.
