My first trip out of the country over 25 years ago was the two months I spent in Thailand, followed by a month in Vietnam. Barely out of my teens, it was an intense trip in orphanages and hospitals around the country, in tough conditions (mostly sans bed or bath), but with the privilege of eating “real deal” food from villages and street carts. Nothing was tamed for tourists back in 1999 and I developed a rash outside my mouth from perptual dishes so hot I couldn’t bear to finish them. But I broke about six weeks in, thereafter able to dive into (and love) burn-your-face-off dishes.
A palate for glorious Thai cuisine has remained dear to me since, as I’ve also grown up on Thai food from LA to NYC, and at home in the Bay Area. While there has long been countless good-to-great neighborhood Thai spots all over the Bay, the “game” changed when Pim Techamuanvivit opened Kin Khao in 2014 in San Francisco after over 13 years of her popular Thai cooking blog, Chez Pim, and her first cookbook (P.S. She just released a new cookbook on August 25).
I first reviewed Kin Khao as it opened, before it garnered a Michelin star, raving about her forward-thinking approach to traditional dishes and flavors. I recalled the proper Thai heat and flavors I was weaned on at classic Jitlada in LA, or experienced since the first Pok Pok opened in 2005 in Portland. Pim brought her Bangkok roots, married with Bay Area innovation and ingredient purity, further elevating things at her more upscale-yet-casual, also Michelin-starred Nari. She’s also been executive chef at Michelin-starred Nahm in Bangkok, where I was privileged to dine just as she took over in 2019.
Pim’s restaurants have remained reliably vibrant, pushing forward with intriguing dishes. Case in point: returning twice recently to Nari, melon som tum (thin sheets of a few types of melons in chili lime dressing with peanuts and dried shrimps) was a simple but smart alternative to a classic papaya salad. Naem khao tod, or Lao-rooted crispy sticky rice “salad” mixed with pork sausage, peanuts, ginger and coriander, served in lettuce cups, is one of the best versions of this favorite dish I’ve ever had. A new curry dotted with Hungarian wax peppers stuffed with fish cake-like seafood “sausage” is a vividly spicy dream. For me, it’s now my top curry at her restaurants since Nari’s aubergine (eggplant) curry.
The New Wave
As I was writing this feature, SF Standard published this article on SF’s Thai “boom” and how Pim led the way. She’s been part of bringing increasingly greater understanding of regional Thai food. For example, northern Isan Thai, heavily influenced by neighboring Laos, has grown in popularity over the years (how I miss James Syhabout’s Hawker Fare in SF!) So have funky-fun spots like Farmhouse Thai or Saap Ver, the latter awash in colorful Thai movie posters.
The new wave of Thai restaurants also doesn’t just stick to traditional decor but exudes color, fresh hipness from design to dishes.
Read the rest on Substack: THAI TIME: Thai is Hot in the Bay