Bobby Kongsilp is still a bit bummed about the elephant. Imported from Thailand, adorned in gold and weighing hundreds of pounds, it cast a benevolent eye over the diners at SalaThai, the restaurant his parents, Sam and Joy Kongsilp, owned for nearly four decades until they retired last year. “My mom sold everything… but I wish she hadn’t sold that,” Kongsilp says.

Now that he is owner and general manager of his own restaurant, Jay Nok, Kongsilp thinks the elephant would be a cool addition to the contemporary and slightly industrial-looking space in Olympic Village. But aside from his mom’s famous (and famously non-traditional) pad Thai, there’s not a whole lot else he’d want to copy.

“It was her restaurant, with lots of teak and artifacts, old school. This is me — modern,” he says.

It’s the same challenge — and opportunity — shared by a second generation of restaurant kids trying to redefine their culinary traditions. They’re inspired by what their parents brought to this country, but are remaking it in a way that is fresh, modern, very Canadian and deliciously their own.

At Jay Nok in Vancouver’s Olympic Village, chef Bumpen “Nok” Khangrang and her husband Bobby Kongslip, shown above with restaurant manager Margarita Virata Santos, blend authentic Thai flavours with street food flair and modern design, re-imagining family recipes and creating an inspired space. Kongslip’s parents, Sam and Joy, also shown above, opened SalaThai, the city’s first ever Thai-owned–and -operated restaurant, on Cambie Street in 1986.

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The next generation
For many newcomers to Canada, opening a restaurant is a way to make money, feed their community and introduce their neighbours to foods they may not have been lucky enough to taste before. Their kids may grow up bussing tables and pinching dumplings, but once they reach adulthood, they often leave the hospitality business altogether.

Not so Aman Dosanj in the Okanagan Valley or Kirn Bawa in Victoria or, here in Vancouver, Jonathan Lee or Vincent and Amélie Nguyen. Each has taken the foundation their restauranteur parents laid and built it into something altogether new.

Dosanj, whose parents owned the popular Poppadoms in Kelowna, leads an exciting series of travelling pop-up dinners called The Paisley Notebook. Bawa, whose parents serve traditional Punjabi food at their three-location Sizzling Tandoor chainlet, recently opened Kinu, a modern Indian tapas restaurant and cocktail lounge in uptown Victoria. Yuk Sing Lee, Lee’s grandfather, established Flamingo Chinese Restaurant, a long-time cornerstone of authentic Chinese cuisine and dim sum on Cambie Street; now he has his own place, Little Bird Dim Sum + Craft Beer, serving dumplings and beer in Kitsilano. The Nguyens’ mom, Ly, owned and operated the iconic Pho Hoang restaurant; now the siblings carry on her tradition with the modern Vietnamese Anh and Chi and the inventive cocktail bar next door, Good Thief.

This cross-generational, global-meets-local approach is one that really works: Both Little Bird and Anh and Chi are among the few restaurants in Vancouver to be recognized with a Michelin Bib Gourmand, bestowed on the very best “value-for-money” establishments.

And now there’s Jay Nok.

The restaurant is named for its chef, Bumpen “Nok” Khangrang, who is married to Kongslip and was previously the chef at SalaThai. (“Jay” is an honorary title that means something like “older sister or owner.”)

Born in Thailand, she worked in formal restaurants back home before arriving in Canada. Throughout her career, she has been showered with accolades, including recognition from the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Vancouver. Among her achievements: She was Thailand’s four-time national champion for watermelon carving. Kongslip proudly calls up pictures of his wife’s intricate carvings on his phone, and says, “That’s how she got here.”

Soft-spoken and reserved where Kongsilp is ebullient and outgoing, she is determined to express her own culinary vision and definitely has her eyes on Michelin recognition.

With all the talent and fresh ideas under this roof, anything and everything is on the table.

Fresh, modern flavours
Following your folks into the restaurant biz has its advantages. It also has its challenges.

Not too surprisingly, Kongsilp’s mom has had plenty of thoughts on the décor and the food at Jay Nok. “She moved everything around from what the designer did. She’s already come here and helped with the cooking.” And, as Kongsilp vividly recalls, “My dad literally came in and started shouting, ‘How are you going to pay for all this?’”

It was his dad who first came to Canada, back in 1960 when the cruise ship he was working on docked in Vancouver, a place that was peaceful, prosperous and bright with potential. Sam Kongsilp got a job cooking at the high-end Polynesian-themed restaurant Trader Vic’s, basically making “a lot of white food with Asian influences,” Bobby says. “Then he brought my mother over from Thailand.”

Today, as an homage to the family’s history with Trader Vic’s, Kongsilp serves his high-octane Thai iced tea — strong brewed black tea mixed with condensed milk — in tiki glasses, and happily shares, “I still have Trader Vic’s original Mai Tai recipe book.”

In 1986, Sam and Joy Kongsilp opened SalaThai, the city’s first-ever Thai-owned and -operated restaurant, on Cambie Street. (It relocated to 888 Burrard Street a few years later.) Kongsilp and his brother Brian grew up working front of house and later handling purchasing and other admin, while Khangrang cooked “and my parents did everything.”

In April 2024, at the age of 78 and facing a monthly $70,000 rent, Sam and Joy decided it was time to retire and closed down what had become a beloved Vancouver institution. In October, they were recognized as “industry pioneers” by the B.C. Restaurant Hall of Fame.

And Kongsilp and Khangrang decided it was time to try their own thing.

The concept would be elevated street food, with a fun but thoughtfully curated drinks program. There would be cocktails made with Thai ingredients such as pandan and lychee, a well-edited wine-by-the-glass selection of mostly spice-friendly whites, lots of craft beers on tap and Thai beers in bottle.

Lunch would be counter service and the menu would feature more traditional Thai dishes, such as the tangy papaya salad called Central Som Tom, or the drunken noodle dish known as Pad Kee Mao, even Joy’s famous pad Thai, which was made with tomato paste rather than tamarind because tamarind was so hard to source when his parents moved to Canada.

“That’s when we try to bridge the culture between old and new,” Kongsilp says. “You go up to the counter, get a number and the food comes to you, just like in Thailand. And dinner will be full service and modern.”

At dinner, Nok says, “His mom’s food and my food come together. I make it more classic… but it tastes like street food.” Even before the restaurant had opened, her signature chicken wings, made with a secret marinade and spice blend, had become a must-try dish. She’s also got a taste for brightly flavoured condiments and the more-ish fried garlic garnish that adds a nutty note and crispy texture to many of the dishes.

They also hired a consultant: Clement Chan, founding chef at Torafuku, the Canadian Culinary Federation’s 2011 Canadian Chef of the Year and Food Network Canada regular (Chopped Canada Champion, Eat St., Top Chef Canada). He advised them to go bold with ingredients such as oxtail and the roasted cracked bone marrow that adds the perfect finishing touch to Jay Nok’s crispy noodles in red curry rich and fragrant with coconut milk.

They’ve even established a takeout window to make it easier for the neighbours (and delivery drivers) to just grab and go. All that was left was for the permits to be approved, and they were ready to start dishing out their modern take on curries, spring rolls and noodles.

“The neighbourhood is ready and waiting for us,” Kongsilp says.

‘Walking through Thailand’
It’s been a little harder to convince his mom. Joy Kongsilp is, of course, proud of her son and excited for his new venture, but moms have to mom, especially when they have 38 years of experience ahead of you.

“My mom hated it at first because it’s modern. But now that there are a lot of artifacts going up, she’s starting to be happy with it,” Kongsilp says.

In fact, despite his plans to avoid all the traditional teak trappings of the old country, Kongslip has worked several things from SalaThai into the new restaurant, which was designed by Jute Studios. Among them are the teak chairs, the portrait of the King of Thailand and “the tiger that I stole from my mom.” The room — which has 126 seats and separate zones for lounging and dining — also features a monkey-patterned wallpaper, sleek red banquette, colourful cushions and a 100-inch TV playing Bangkok street scenes: “It’s like you’re walking through Thailand.”

It was his mom who wanted the TV, Kongsilp says, adding, “I was pretty shocked.” He’s also planning to have a DJ spinning tunes, possibly on weekends or maybe just for special occasions, playing ’90s hip-hop and R&B, the music he grew up with. He laughs a little. “My mom used to hate hip-hop. Now she listens to it.”

He adds: “Like a proper family, we don’t agree on everything, but we do agree on some things. It’s turned out pretty nice. I listened to both sides.”

There is one more surprise though, where past and present meet. Down the narrow hall that leads to the bathrooms, the wall is covered in bold graffiti art of, what else, a massive elephant. Kongslip grins. “Mom sold her elephant, so I made one.”

A whole generation of restaurant kids totally gets it.

Jay Nok Modern Thai
127 W. 2nd Ave., Vancouver
jaynokthai.com | 604.683.7999 | @jaynokthai

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More tempting Thai cuisine
Thai cuisine is among the world’s most popular and for good reason: Its sweet-sour-salty-spicy flavour profile, its fresh, fragrant ingredients and its pleasing textures quite simply satisfy all our cravings.

Good news, then, that there is so much great Thai cuisine being served up around Vancouver.

The city’s best-known Thai restaurant might well be the Michelin-recommended Maenam in Kitsilano. Now chef-owner Angus An and his team at Full House Hospitality (Fat Mao Noodles, Sen Pad Thai, Longtail Kitchen) are bringing northeastern Thai flavours to the West End with a new restaurant called Sainam.

It is all about the robust, rustic flavours of the Isaan region, known for signature dishes such as som tum (papaya salad) and gai yang (grilled chicken). Leading the kitchen here is head chef Poom Sikarin Sirisupanon, who hails from Khon Kaen in Isaan and is currently sous chef at Maenam.

Expect a smallish (1220 square feet and 40 seats), stylish and playful space designed by Scott Cohen, the same architect who worked on Maenam and Gastropod.

Sainam is expected to open sometime this spring.

Sainam
1235 Davie St.
sainam.ca | @sainamrestaurant

Royal Thai cuisine
In other exciting Thai restaurant news, the upscale, 20-seat, tasting-menu-only Baan Lao Fine Thai Cuisine in Steveston was recently named Canada’s best restaurant at the sixth annual World Culinary Awards.

The focus here is on the delicate and exacting Royal Thai cuisine. It’s not just the white gloves and golden tongs, but the way any fruits and vegetables served together are exactly the same size, the way all bones, pits and stones are removed, and the way all flavours are in perfect balance, without any extremes.

In the hands of chef Nutcha Phanthoupheng, the 13-course tasting menu is a journey and an experience, each dish a work of art. Since she and her husband, John, opened Baan Lao in February 2021, she has earned many accolades, including becoming the first Thai chef in Canada to be given the designation of Maître Rôtisseur by La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs and being recognized by Canada’s 100 Best.

Baan Lao Fine Thai Cuisine
4100 Bayview St., Richmond
baanlao.ca | 778.839.5711 | @baanlaosteveston