White Star Market’s newest vendor, Thaihey, brings unique dishes to Baton Rouge

Have you ever watched a travel food show and wished you could try some of the unique street food sizzling on the screen? Rather than hop a flight, you might want to head to White Star Market’s newest vendor, Thaihey Thaifood. It specializes in authentic Thai street food and vegan desserts.

When restaurant owner Orawin “Nim” Yimchalam moved to the U.S. from Thailand in 2012, she missed the Thai street foods she grew up eating. So she started making them herself. She shared her food with her husband, Nathan Greene, and their friends. It was a hit.

“Most of the Thai restaurants sell the same things,” Yimchalam says. “Thai people are craving for something different.”

The menu is unlike anything the Capital City has seen. It features dishes like Haw Mok: steamed red curry in a banana leaf bowl with scallops, shrimp and catfish. It’s served with a side of lemongrass blue rice, which is naturally colored from butterfly pea flowers. Another signature is Khao Soi: a northern Thai curry noodle soup, with chicken soaked in curry, turmeric and coconut milk and topped with rice noodles.

Read on for the rest of the story, which originally appeared in the March 2020 issue of 225.