Food Trippin' in Soi Thai Restaurant at SM Seaside Cebu

Have you ever experienced walking around aimlessly at the mall searching for a good place to eat? 

You're hungry, you're cranky, and your tummy is making those awful growling sounds. You just want to decide what cuisine to have to satisfy your appetite. 

Going Thai on a Saturday afternoon

Nowadays, Filipinos are becoming a little more adventurous with their palate. And one of the Asian cooking styles that is gaining traction among Filipinos is Thai cookery. 

When you look at the staple ingredients of Thai cooking, we have something in common. We use a lot of fish sauce, chillies, fermented shrimp paste (bagoong), star anise, ginger, coconut milk, lime, and vinegar. 

But there are also differences in the flavor. They use spices and herbs that we don't normally add to our cooking like coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, basil, or curry paste.

Some of their dishes have that strong herb flavor. You'll taste it distinctly in their soup-based dishes. If she had a choice, my Mom wouldn't choose a Thai restaurant since she's not too fond of those minty flavors. 

As for me, I've grown to like Thai food. There is a certain level of happiness that I feel whenever I sit down and have a good Thai meal. 

And that was why I was happy to learn that Soi Restaurant is now open in SM Seaside Cebu. More Thai food options, the better. My advice for folks who haven't tried this Southeast Asean fare, start with what Soi restaurant is offering. They have your typical selection of Thai dishes and they also serve some unusual meat options like duck.

What I like about the way they prepare their dishes is that the flavor is subtle. The spices and herbs that they use do not overpower your senses. If you're a beginner in terms of Thai cooking, Soi restaurant is a good place to start from. 

To make it easier for you, I've listed down options that you can choose from. You've gotta eat Thai food, to love Thai food. Some of the food, you'll like; others may be just okay. It will always depend on your own taste buds. Just remember, make eating an enjoyable experience.

How to start it of

Fresh and Fried Spring Rolls - this is not your grandmother's lumpia. The spring rolls are made up of shrimp, rice noodles, chili paste, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, and covered in vermicelli wrapper.

The dipping sauces are different between the fresh and fried rolls. I actually prefer the fried spring rolls because of I love fried food and it didn't hurt that the carrot sauce was quite tasty.

Equal parts of Fresh Spring Roll

Anything fried is goooood. Fried spring roll with carrot sauce.

Salad Revolution

We don't normally have salads in the Pinoy menu. The closest that I could think of is atchara or pickled veggies. Gusô or latô (seaweed) might be considered a salad ingredient.

Soi's appetizing salads have proportions that are meant to be shared. They have different textures and tastes. The classic Thai salad is the Som Tum or spicy green papaya salad. It has different elements of sweetness, spice, and acidity brought upon the pounding of the ingredients in preparing this dish.

But after tasting Soi's take on the Mimced Roasted Duck and Crispy Tilapia salads, I'm becoming a fan of Thai salads.

A crunchy and crispy tilapia salad with mango strips

A hearty roasted duck salad

A sweet and acidic Papaya salad

Delicious Soups

Thai soup-based dishes have a variety of flavors and it's quite different from what we're used to. And the level of hotness in every spoonful is unmatched. That's why I always make it a point to tell the waiter to minimize the hotness. The Tom Yam Talei or Tom Yum is the epitome of this cuisine's love for spiciness. If you want a milder version, you can order the Tom Kha Kai. The coconut milk helps with the spice.

Sukhothai has a clearer broth and has noodles in it. We can liken it to the Japanese Ramen or our very own Batchoy. It's jampacked with all of the ingredients that you can think of.

Overloaded Sukhothai

Creamy Tom Kha Khai

Hotness madness with Tom Yam Talei

Soi Specials

Slow-cooking, grilling, frying, stir-frying are cooking methods that we share with the Thais. And all of these techniques are showcased in Soi's specialty dishes.

It's all about your choice and what you feel eating when you're faced with these varieties.

You've never tasted Thai food if you haven't tried Pad Thai. 

Lemongrass fried chicken

Chicken satay

Chicken Leg Barbecue

Mu Palo (tastes like humba or adobo)

Pad Thai with intricate egg des8gn

Green Chicken Curry

Rice to the challenge

There are some flavors and dishes that we share with the Thais. And it's very apparent in how we cook fried rice. We use whatever leftovers we have on hand, whether it's shrimp or pork or veggies. And their rice is stickier. It might be because of the paste or spices that they use.

Bagoong fried rice, Vegetarian fried rice and crabmeat rice

Healthy Drinks

Wash it all down with any of their Healthy Drinks. They have Thai Iced Tea, Pandan and Lemongrass Juices. Make sure that when you drink these, you have plenty of ice. They taste better when cold.

Lemongrass, Thai Iced Tea, Pandan juices

Sweets for my sweet tooth

These 2 types of desserts that Soi is serving are worth mentioning. The traditional sticky rice with Mango and coconut cream. The sticky rice is best eaten while it's still hot. Their snow mountain dessert (which is similar to our ice scramble) is topped with delightful syrups like grape and cream soda.

You gotta love sticky rice and mango - sweet & sour combination

Soi is part of the Cabalen group of restaurants. This is their first venture in Cebu City.

Soi Restaurant: Eat Thai Love Thai
Ground Floor Level, City Wing, SM Seaside Cebu
Opening hours: 10am-9pm