“Thai food” took root in China. From tasting menus to home-style items

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The number of Thai restaurants in Beijing has almost tripled, and Chinese interest in Thai food continues to grow. From just wanting to "try and taste", visit a Thai restaurant to buy raw materials to cook stir-fried curry at home

“I never imagined that 'Tom Yum Goong' would become such a must-try dish and be ordered at every table like this.” Sukhumal Du or Du Xue Li Owner of a Thai restaurant in Beijing the capital city of China said

A Thai woman who married in Beijing saw an opportunity to do a Thai food business in 2021, leading to the opening of a Thai restaurant in Tongzhou. With a mother who has opened a restaurant in Thailand for more than 20 years and a younger sister who just graduated as an assistant.

“Our store is the first Thai restaurant in Tongzhou District,” said Du proudly. The family-run restaurant is known as “Krua Mae Mae” and “Song Phi Nong Thai Restaurant”.

“We import ingredients like kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass from Thailand. Trying to keep the original taste as much as possible,” Du said, where she supervised everything from choosing the location to decorating the store.

The kiosk's determination led to a positive response from Chinese customers. Although the store location is far from the city center. But there are customers who visit continuously On some days it sells well, with more than 50 tables of customers coming in to eat.

“I once had a customer who drove more than 60 kilometers because he wanted to eat Tom Yum Kung. I also bought 5 kilograms of tom yum soup to take home with me as a gift to my wife,” Du recalled impressed.

Thai restaurant name The cabinet's "birds and buffaloes" received the "Thai SELECT" seal from the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand at the end of 2022, which guarantees that the cooking techniques, ingredients and flavors of this restaurant are "authentic Thai".

Du revealed that in the past three years, The number of Thai restaurants in Beijing has nearly tripled, with both large and small sizes scattered throughout the city. And serves a variety of Thai dishes from royal recipes to street food.

The 2022 Must-Visit Restaurant Ranking by dianping, the urban lifestyle website in China. According to Southeast Asian cuisine, it ranks as the fourth most popular foreign food after Western, Japanese and Korean food. With Thai food as the main spearhead leading the Southeast Asian food army

over the years Trade and exchanges between the peoples of China and Thailand have been strengthened thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), with Chinese interest in Thai cuisine steadily increasing. From simply wanting to "try it" by checking in at a Thai restaurant to buying raw materials back to cook stir-fried curry at home.

"The taste of this restaurant is the same as what I've had in Thailand," said a woman surnamed Li in Beijing who had recently returned from Thailand as she dined at Du's restaurant. and added that now it is easy to find and buy Thai food ingredients. Makes it possible to try to practice cooking Thai food at home.

“The name of the shop comes from a Thai proverb about birds and buffaloes who depend on each other. Like shop owners, employees and customers who have to support and trust each other. Only then will business grow,” Du said, adding that food is the web of cultural exchange. And she is willing to connect China-Thailand friendship. through serving traditional Thai food to the Chinese in the future – Xinhua News Agency

Source: Thai News Agency