Getting a taste of Thailand at Tum Pok Pok

CHAMBLEE, Ga. - Its name comes from the sound of chilis being beaten and ground in a mortar — but the sound you’re most likely to hear inside Chamblee’s Tum Pok Pok is that of satisfied customers clearing their plates.

Tum Pok Pok is a new addition to metro Atlanta’s culinary scene, opening last month on Buford Highway in Chamblee. The restaurant’s concept is built around Thai street food, drawing inspiration from the Isan region of Thailand (also known as Northeast Thailand), which is the country’s largest geographic region.  Chef Taya Denmark knows Isan food well; she spent her childhood in Buriram, which is one of the region’s 20 provinces.

So, let’s talk about that food! Popular menu items include the Pad Thai (which consists of stir-fried rice noodles, tamarind sauce, bean sprouts, scallions and peanuts), Pad-Zee-Ew (made up of stir-fried flat rice noodles and meat in the chef’s special house brown sauce), and the Pad-Kra-Pow Moo-Grop (stir-fried crispy pork served in a Thai basil sauce with jasmine rice).

Tum Pok Pok is located at 5000 Buford Highway Northeast in Chamblee and is open from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily; orders may also be placed online for pickup.

Of course, the Good Day Atlanta team is always on the hunt for the city’s next great culinary spot, so we could wait to spend a morning at Tum Pok Pok learning more about Thai street food and Isan flavors with Chef Taya.  Click the video player in this article to check out our morning doing a little taste-testing!

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