Same Same But Different Thai Food
“East meets West”
As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, I worked in a Thai restaurant, took Thai cooking classes, trained with Thai chefs, and travelled throughout Thailand—so if I’m going to feature and recommend a place that serves Thai food, you can rest assured that it meets my expectations of what Thai cuisine should be.
From this point on, I’ll refer to “Same Same But Different” as “SSBD.” You can find SSBD in the parking lot of Dhaliwal’s Sunview Market in Oliver, inside a specially designed white trailer where owner and chef “Maggie” is creating authentic Thai food she learned to make in her native Thailand.
The first thing you’ll notice as you approach the food trailer is the big smile on Maggie’s face. I’ve been around the world, and I can say without hesitation that the people of Thailand are among the nicest on the planet—always friendly, always smiling, and always willing to help anyone at any time. Maggie is no different. She’s friendly and happy not because you’re a customer, but because she genuinely enjoys cooking and making people happy.
Originally from Northern Thailand in the Chiang Rai region, Maggie grew up watching her mother work in the local market. It was there that she learned all about Thai cuisine—its fruits, vegetables, and how to cook with them—simply by observing her mom for years.
In 2022, Maggie moved to Oliver to be with her husband, who had previously come to Canada and was working in the restaurant industry. He told her he moved to the “Warmest place in Canada,” which made her decision to follow him a little easier.
Originally working in the spa industry, Maggie’s husband had always dreamed of opening a food truck that served authentic Thai food, but he was too busy to pursue it. So Maggie took on the responsibility herself. With her husband’s help and the knowledge passed down from her mother, she opened SSBD—serving dishes that truly honour Thailand, its culture, and its cuisine.
Maggie explained that, because her trailer is located beside the market, she can pick her own ingredients from the field right next door. As a result, she uses only the freshest and most local ingredients available.
She also made a strategic decision that I constantly tell more restaurants they need to do: consolidate the menu. Instead of four pages of options, offer one page of dishes that are perfected and served consistently. I’m a strong believer that restaurants should only sell what they do well—and do it right, 100 out of 100 times.
Maggie has done exactly that, selecting her best dishes along with Thai favourites like green curry, panang curry, salad rolls, and both vegetable and meat stir-fry dishes.
She told me the shrimp salad rolls are her best-seller, along with the green curry. I was lucky enough to arrive before the salad rolls sold out, and after dipping one in Maggie’s green herb dipping sauce and taking a bite, I stood up from the picnic table, walked back to the trailer, and demanded she tell me how she made it.
For all the Thai food I’ve cooked and studied, I’d never had a dipping sauce like this. It was the perfect blend of fresh and sweet, offering the ideal balance of flavors to elevate the salad roll. I can’t even begin to tell you what’s in it—because I legitimately don’t know. But Maggie told me if I come back at the end of the week, she’ll share her secret.
That dipping sauce makes it onto my rhetorical “Must Try List,” and for those of you living in Osoyoos, it’s worth the drive to Oliver just to experience the flavour bomb that is the secret green sauce.
Next, I tried the Panang curry, which—of all Thai curries—is my absolute favourite (with green curry a close second). The Panang was exactly what I expect from an authentic Thai curry, whether I’m eating it in Thailand or at a proper Thai restaurant like Dolce Thai in Osoyoos.
It had that unforgettable aroma and signature red hue. One bite, and your taste buds are hit with a beautiful “sweet heat.” First, the sweetness from coconut milk and cane sugar, then the heat—gentle but addictive. It’s spicy, yes, but never overwhelming. The kind of spice that has you reaching for water but never once regretting the next bite.
So the next time you want to reward your taste buds, get another stamp in your culinary passport, or try to reverse-engineer whatever sorcery Maggie uses in her secret green sauce, stop in at Same Same But Different Thai Food. Try anything—or everything. And when you do, tell Maggie that Sheldon sent you.
Same Same But Different is located at Sunview Market in Oliver, at 5497 Highway 97, Oliver. SSBD is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. You can also call and place an order ahead of time at 778-808-4128.
Sheldon Herman is the author of the award-winning, international best-selling book The Tortured Traveller: How I Survived the Worst Vacation Ever, and has eaten his way through over 60 countries. This review was written independently and without compensation. Have a restaurant you’d like featured? Email [email protected].
