No way to go but up

Indeed, it is not your run-of-the-mill Thai restaurant. For starters, the Thai in a Box chain of restaurants is owned and operated by five young and dynamic entrepreneurs: siblings Oging Sicat, Jojo Sicat and Tess Sicat-Gonzales and their good friends Edmon Bautista and Raymond Pagdanganan.

Largely because of its youthful owners, TIB (as it is now popularly known) is imbued with an electric and eclectic ambience. Its official colors (yellow and violet) and elephant logo are very bright, very bagets. Just like the beaming owners.

Moreover, the restaurants themselves (with five outlets and counting) are tantalizingly Thai. Thai in a Box is located in The Podium, SM City Nort Edsa, Greenbelt 1 and in Tomas Morato and Katipunan Avenue.

It’s because these visionaries wanted to make certain that they will deviate from the typical look and concept of many dour and dimly lit Thai restos in the metropolis.

"Most Thai restaurants are fine dining, therefore very expensive," Raymond quips. "With TIB, it’s fun dining. It’s very affordable, but still of very high quality."

"And when you look at other restos’ menus, you’d end up dizzy and confused," Jojo explains further. "It’s because everything is written in Thai. That’s why we made sure that our menu is in English."

Even the chain’s name is in English, to start with.

"Modesty aside, a lot of people have been asking if TIB is a foreign franchise," Tess volunteers. "We tell them that it’s proudly Filipino. Young Filipino."

"Our original vision is to be the number one Thai restaurant in the country that is specializing in delivery," Oging remarks. Thus, the name Thai in a Box. Simplicity, coupled with creativity is the secret of their success.

Their gung-ho, innovative spirit has yielded positively glowing results and has attracted their peers, Manila’s junior movers and shakers, not only in the business arena but also in the show business world.

MYX veejay Luis Manzao always has Chicken Red Curry delivered to his home, divulges Jojo. "That’s his favorite."

Another young gun, Dominic Ochoa, patronizes TIB for the Spring Rolls, Tess reveals. "A lot of celebrities drop by our Tomas Morato outlet because of its proximity to the TV studios," she adds.

Quezon City Councilor Aiko Melendez always orders the Phad Thai Noodles. Father-and-son comedians Dolphy and Vandolph both can’t get enough of the Spring Rolls every time TIB caters in the special shows and events of Home Along Da Riles.

Broadcaster Julius Babao and colleague-fiancee Tintin Bersola are TIB regulars and loyalists. "They started dining in our original outlet on Meralco Avenue and have even followed us, even though we have transferred to The Podium," Oging proffers.

Robin Padilla, who has had a press conference at the TIB, relished the Thai Steak, Grilled Chicken, and the Stir-Fried Vegetables.

Morning Girls host Kris Aquino considers the Thai Beef Stew as her all-time fave. "She even featured us in her old show Today With Kris and gave us the highest rating," Oging looks back fondly.

"A lot of basketball teams, like Alaska, Purefoods, Smart Talk ’N Text, ate in our first outlet," Jojo points out.

"They even went to our old place by convoy," Oging recounts. "Whole basketball teams ate in TIB."

"Now, we often see Eric Menk and Rudy Hatfield in our restaurant," Jojo says.

Because TIB has become the certified favorite of stars, they have always been most requested as caterers and bar hosts in some of the top-rating TV shows in the country like Sharon, ASAP Mania, The Buzz, Private Conversations With Boy Abunda, Home Along Da Riles, Breakfast, Masayang Tanghali Bayan and Magandang Umaga Bayan.

But not only ABS-CBN stars have tried TIB. Even GMA 7 headliners like Joey de Leon, Janice and Gelli de Belen, and Regine Velasquez have enjoyed TIB meals. In fact, they have catered for the concerts of Regine Velasquez, the sold-out show of Ai Ai de las Alas, as well as the debut special of KC Concepcion and the Miss Philippines and Miss Earth beauty pageants.

Aside from dine-in and delivery, catering is another business aspect that the TIB team is developing. "We even catered for a wedding once," Jojo reminisces. "I think the couple liked our food so much that they wanted to have it on their special day."

Business is booming. Truth be told: After only four years in the biz, they have grown by leaps and bounds.

"It’s headed toward the right direction," Raymond discloses. A sixth branch is in the works, in fact.

"Our growth is on track," Tess testifies.

"We’re on target." Oging concludes. "We’re very happy with our expansion rate. We are concentrating on Manila now. But we also hope to open TIB outlets in the province, go full-blast in franchising and maybe after five or 10 years, we’ll go international."

TIB is surely going places. With such an innovative and inventive team behind it, Thai in a Box has no way to go but up.