In Thailand, it is customary that a customer ask the preparer to make the dish suited to his or her tastes. To specifically refer to the original style of papaya salad as prepared in Laos or Isan, it is known as ส้มตำลาว or som tam Lao or simply as tam Lao, and the dish as prepared in central Thailand may be referred to as som tam Thai.[6]
Traditionally the local variety of green papaya salad in the streets of Bangkok is very hot due to the addition of a fistfull of chopped hot Bird's eye chili, however with its rising popularity among tourists, it is often served now not as hot.