White Star Market’s newest vendor Thaihey Thaifood serves authentic Thai dishes and vegan desserts

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.

For dessert, Thaihey Thaifood is dishing up vibrant and delicious vegan-friendly treats like coconut ice cream, Thai iced tea ice cream and fresh coconut. Drinks include Thai iced tea with salted cream foam and the Purple Palmer made from butterfly pea tea, lemongrass and fresh lemon juice.

Cooking runs in Yimchalam’s blood. Her mother has owned a Thai food restaurant in Thailand for more than 20 years. Greene and Yimchalam visit Thailand once a year to see family, try new dishes and get new food inspiration.

Yimchalam says it was the relative lack of authentic Thai cuisine in Louisiana that encouraged her to turn her skills into a business. After a few months of popping up at markets and teaching Thai cooking classes where they were living in Lafayette, Yimchalam and Greene set their sights on a physical location. This January, they packed their bags and moved to Baton Rouge to open their first spot at White Star Market.

“We want everybody to taste the authentic, real Thai taste,” Yimchalam says. “I want people to enjoy my food, come see me and say hi. We’re happy to be here.” thaiheythaifood.com

This article was originally published in the March 2020 issue of 225 Magazine.