Lao Food and Thai Food Made with Love

Article: Lao Thai Kitchen on Berkeleyside NOSH Dining on the East Bay

Article: Lao Thai Kitchen on Berkeleyside NOSH Dining on the East Bay

Breaking news! -- LAO THAI KITCHEN ON BERKELEYSIDE NOSH DINING ON THE EAST BAY!

The honorable (best Bay Area food writer) @mamaoak Momo Chang has written about Lao Thai Kitchen!! Come check us out! Read all about us below:

From left: Edgard Papio, Boua Phahongchanh, Emma Papio (in lap), Phao Phahongchanh, Evan Phahongchanh (in lap), Evelyn Phahongchanh and Pheng Phahongchanh. Photo: Lao Thai Kitchen

Lao Thai Kitchen

The family that owns Lao Thai Kitchen in Albany have a long history of cooking in the East Bay. Head chef Phao Phahongchanh, along with her three children — Pheng Phahongchanh (chef and manager), Boua Phahongchanh (co-owner) and Edgard Papio (co-owner) — run the kitchen and business at the Solano Avenue restaurant.

Phao, Pheng and Boua first worked together in 1992, helping open and co-own Dara Thai Lao Cuisine in Berkeley. In 2000, they parted ways with the restaurant. Boua decided to pursue higher education and worked at a brokerage firm. Her brother, Pheng, worked at a construction company while managing a Thai restaurant in Concord. Mother, Phao, helped open Bangkok Thai Cuisine in Berkeley, working as the head chef there for 17 years. In 2017, a distant aunt retired from Lao Thai Kitchen, and Phahongchanh’s family acquired the restaurant.

“There’s never a dull moment,” Boua said about working with her family. “Our mother, Phao Phahongchanh, has been in the restaurant for over 30 years since starting her career in 1986 migrating from Laos. She’s one of the pioneers of Lao cuisine in the Bay Area.”