Som Tam Sundays at the Ace Cafe Jomtien

The most popular event at the Ace Café is one that actually takes place on a weekly basis, and that is "Somtam Social Sunday!"

As owner Martin explains "I really miss the social atmosphere of a traditional English Sunday afternoon at your favourite local pub, sitting in a beer garden bantering with your pals or indoors having a bar billiards tournament, enjoying stuffed roast spuds or prawn dips put on by the guv’nor with all the family welcome and sharing a really relaxing social get together with friends before the weeks work ahead.

This is what I have tried to recreate at the Ace, where we have some delicious complimentary pork, chicken and vegetable bar snacks, and a mountain of somtam for the girls!"

To explain: somtam is a very spicy Thai salad of diced papaya, tomatoes, fresh limes, red and green chillies, garlic, peanuts, sugar and fish sauce all very lovingly pounded to smithereens in a mortar and pestle, hence it’s ex-pat nick-name of "Papaya Pok-Pok! Locals will eat it all day, every day, the spicier the better, complain bitterly of stomach aches for a few days and promise themselves "never again" whilst eagerly looking forward to the next session!
Now isn’t that something that sounds familiar!!

Martin continues "after 2 years of hard work and dedication I think we have finally turned the corner and now have a clientele who are far more than customers… at the Ace Café you become a family friend, and as far as I’m concerned that is what this business is all about."