cover story
When it comes to
Bangkok Chef, it’s all
good
Story and Photos by Jo McGarry
T
o say that Patrick Chang’s restaurant beginnings were humble is something of an understatement. From a converted garage on Nuuanu Avenue, he sold fresh produce and Thai groceries until customers, who enjoyed his occasional foray into the kitchen, persuaded him to start selling Thai food. Eight years later, he’s ready to open Bangkok Chef No. 3. We sat down for a chat early one morning last week and talked about how things just keep happening for the city’s most unpretentious restaurant owner. JM: The last time we talked was less than a year ago, and you still had two tables in the Nuuanu garage. Now, you can seat more than 50 people there, the restaurant in Manoa is bustling and your third restaurant will open on Nimitz. How did this all happen? PC: (Laughs). I don’t know! Well, actually the liquor store next to us on Nuuanu Avenue closed, so we were able to expand Bangkok Chef and add more tables. And then the location on Nimitz came up, and I think it will be good for us. We should be open before the year’s end. JM: It’s such a great stor y — the birth of Bangkok Chef. Did you ever really think you’d be the owner of a restaurant chain? PC: I had no idea. We opened as a produce market with no restaurant in mind. We were selling fresh, locally g ro w n p ro d u c e a s w e h a v e l o t s o f farmer friends and some family farmers in Waianae, North Shore and Ewa. So we wanted to sell their produce, and at the same time we also sold in-
Top Right: Thai Spring Rolls ($5.95), Shrimp Summer Rolls ($4.50) and Green Papaya Salad ($6.75) are among the staples on the menu at Bangkok Thai. Above: Bangkok Chef owner Patrick Chang and his wife, Sansane Porchairattanakul. Far Right: Try the restaurant's House Delight ($3.50) — mango ice cream and warm sticky rice topped with crushed peanuts. Right: Hand-baked specialties include banana bread, fruit flavored tapioca and corn-flake cookies.
PC: Yes, that’s true. We had the produce and the ingredients we gredients for Thai food. needed. My wife’s family owned a JM: What I love about your restau- restaurant in Bangkok, so there was the rant story is that everything seemed experience, and my wife, Sansane Porto fall into place as if it was meant to chairattanakul, was teaching a Thai cooking class at Kaimuki Adult School, be. and the classes were very popular. The D I N I N G
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grocery store that we had even had a kitchen, as it had previously been a restaurant. Everything was there for us. It’s just all been very good timing. And it seems like ever y time we’re ready to move to the next level, the – See page 4 AU G U ST
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