Yum Saap – ยำแซ่บ แซ่บครบรส – is a restaurant chain specializing in Northeastern (Isan) food; there are around 50 branches, most located in and around Bangkok but also found as far afield as Chiang Rai and Phuket. On our last visit to Thailand we had a meal at the branch at the Imperial World Shopping Cener in Samut Prakan. Here are my impressions. (note: แซ่บครบรส is translated as “full flavor.”)

(Click images to see larger version.)

I enjoy eating at Thai restaurants of all varieties. It’s fun every once in awhile to try out the food at one of the Thai chain restaurants. Imperial World is a shopping center that is about a 10 minute klong (canal) ride and walk from our townhouse in the neighborhood of Nakhon Thong in the Samrong district of Samut Prakan (found on the edge of Bangkok). The basement of Imperial World houses a food center, which is a popular lunch destination for us, and also many restaurants, including Yum Saap. We decided to give it a try at the end of December last year (2013).

Yum Saap has a whimsical and very noticeable logo, as you can see to the left. It’s a clean restaurant, furnished not unlike chain restaurants in the U.S. (such as Denny’s or IHOP).

One item we ordered was a “Coconut Frostie” – นำ้มะพร้าวปั่น (Nam Maprao Pan), which arrived before the food. It’s a refreshing drink, not overly sweet (as some are).

As might be expected, their menu had a fair number of ยำ (yum) type salads. The menu had pictures of every item and my eye was immediately caught by Eggplant Salad (Country Style) – พล่าหมูมะเขืออ่อน – (Phla Moo Makeau Awn). I had never seen an eggplant salad made with the Thai eggplants. I wanted to try it. It did not disappoint. It included pork and was spicy and sour, with a bit of sweet. I’m hoping Kasma will duplicate this recipe for a future class! When Kasma likes a dish at a restaurant she’ll write down the ingredients and flavor profile so that when we return home, she can de-construct it and come up with her own version. Quite often, I find her versions better than the originals. Many of these used to show up in her Advanced Thai Cooking Classes.

Another delicious dish was the Grilled Chicken – ไก่ย่าง (Gai Yang), served with two types of dipping sauces – น้ำจิ้ม (Nam Jim); one sauce was sweet and the other was spicy and a bit sour (made with roasted chillies).

We ordered two other dishes. The Stir-fried Morning Glory – ผัดผักบุ้งไฟแดง (Pad Pak Boong Fai Daeng) above left. The 4th dish was Vegetables Stir-fried with Oyster Sauce and Squid. (I’m unable to find this dish listed on their online menu so can’t give you the exact name.)

All in all, the food was quite acceptable. Two of the dishes were very good and others were also good. What impressed me was that the food was authentic Thai food – it did not seem as if any shortcuts were taken. It was spicy and flavorful. I only wish I could get food that tasted as good at the chain restaurants here in the U.S.!

Note: When we ate her in early 2020 the food was still authentic and tasty.

---

Location

Imperial World Samrong
999 Sukhumvit Road. Samrong Nua,
Muang, Samutprakarn 10270
General Phone : 0-2756-8217-9

Yum Saap Restaurant – ยำแซ่บ แซ่บครบรส
Imperial Samrong Branch – สาขา อิมพีเรียล สำโรง
For address & map – see Imperial World above. Restaurant is found on the basement floor.
Phone: 02-756-9991
Review of Yum Saap, MBK (a different branch, offsite, opens in new window)

---

Written by Michael Babcock, June 2014 & June 2020

Return to top