SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Your flavor passport to Thailand awaits on 20th street in Midtown. The family-run restaurant, Kin Thai Street Eatery, is serving up flavors inspired by Thai street food and the flavors the owners grew up eating.
From crispy to spicy, and sour and sweet, you will find dishes on the menu that are famous among Thai locals as well as popular dishes you might recognize, like Tom Yum Soup. The hot and sour soup is served with ground pork and a soft-boiled egg, topped with a crispy wonton.
Napang Kongsitthanakorn runs the restaurant with her two sisters.
"We grew up in Thailand. We were born and raised in Thailand. Coming here, there's a lot of time when we missed some type of food that is near and dear to our heart or lesser known dishes," she said. "We want to represent Thailand in a different way than people are used to."
The menu includes dishes from different regions of Thailand, such as Khao Soi, a curry noodle dish from Northern Thailand that is served with slow-braised chicken.
"You don't have to leave Sacramento to experience that, you don't have to travel 16-19 hours to Thailand to experience that; we bring it here for you," Kongsitthanakorn said.
The restaurant opened in December 2021 during the pandemic. At the time, COVID-era restaurant restrictions meant they could only serve take out. Once restrictions were lifted, they were finally able to welcome people inside their new dining room the next year.
Kongsitthanakorn said her entire family comes up with the menu, and it evolves with each trip to Thailand as they try new dishes from different regions and recreate the dishes they grew up with. Their love of street food is a big influence.
"In Thailand when you live more like on the countryside, you kind of have to go to the market in the morning and walk through the market to go to school. So you pass along all these dishes and all the food smells fabulous, and that's going to be the snacks on your way to school. And now, night market is even more famous," Kongsitthanakorn said. "We want people who don't get to travel as often to experience that with us."
You can check out their street food specials and their full menu on the restaurant's website by clicking here.
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