Thai hole-in-the-wall: Now that's hot!

This is a story of two business partners, and Thai food. She’s a Thai chef who’s lived in the Philippines for the past 10 years; he’s a Filipino restaurateur who thinks he was Thai in a previous life. She comes from a family of cooks — her aunt, mother and sister having worked in the kitchens of first-class hotels in Bangkok such as The Four Seasons and Sheraton Orchid; he was the kitchen supervisor of pioneering restaurant A Taste of Thailand in 1987, back when the cuisine was just becoming very popular here and abroad. She teaches Thai cuisine at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies; he is a consultant in the food industry. She loves adobo with chili powder; he cooks a mean Thai beef salad. 

So, when friends Chariya Thaikupt and Al Purugganan got together, you would have thought that they would open a fine-dining restaurant somewhere in Greenbelt or Rockwell. Instead, last August they opened a hole-in-the-wall on Nicanor Garcia St. (formerly Reposo) in Makati. Called Chariya’s Thai Kitchen, the resto-slash-canteen is a no-frills place with its main décor being pictures of King Bhumibol of Thailand and his grandfather, Rama V, who was an enthusiastic cook, according to Chariya. The logo of the resto also features Chariya looking like everybody’s favorite plump auntie.

Chariya’s Kitchen is one of the best finds in Makati if you’re looking for value for money and a quick Thai meal, proof of which is that it is patronized by a lot of Thai expats working in Makati. And when they order tom yum soup for delivery they always specify: Make it super hot please, which means 20 pieces of siling labuyo (which, to a Pinoy not used to such spiciness, will probably mean smoke coming out of his ears).

Everything in Chariya’s kitchen is authentic Thai — including her fellow chef, her brother Jedsada Bhamornsoot. The ingredients are sourced from Bangkok, and not from supermarkets but from the herb gardens and homes of Thais who come from a long line of cooks…well, you know the story — no self-respecting Thai chef will buy chili paste from a supermarket shelf; she will either pluck the basil and other herbs from her own garden and make it from scratch or she will source it only from someone she respects. Chariya has had this kind of training since she was nine years old, when she would tag with her mother to the markets and watch her pound herbs in a stone mortar. 

The menu is very straightforward, divided into soups, curries, meats, grilled items, rice and noodles, and Thai favorites. A meal here costs between P80 (pho pia or fried spring rolls) and P160 (prawns stir-fried with garlic and pepper), with the average price at P120 to P150 per dish.

Chariya lets us try bestsellers such as crispy catfish salad (P130), which is surprisingly not oily at all and very crispy on top of a bed of green mango; yellow curry with tofu and vegetables (P120), which lets you savor the curry taste without sending you to the nearest water faucet for relief; pad thai with shrimps (P120); and bagoong fried rice, which has just the right saltiness and is not smelly at all.

That’s the secret of Thai cooking, says Chariya, who smatters her sentences with Tagalog words. “We have a balanced taste. Some cuisines are maalat or maasim na sobra. Thai cooking is based on palm sugar, Thai patis and lemon: sweet, salty, sour.”

Al describes Chariya as the “leading authority in Thai cuisine in the Philippines.” Apart from being co-owner of Chariya’s Thai Kitchen in Makati (her first branch is at 168 Mall and the second branch came about when fans started demanding that she put up one in a more accessible location), she teaches every two months at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies, where she has around 60 to 70 students (the specialty cuisines of the world rotate in schedule), whom she also teaches fruit and vegetable carving. 

“We put up Chariya’s Kitchen here in Reposo because when you say Thai food, you think medyo mahal in a formal or semi-formal setting,” says Al. “But when you go to Bangkok, some of the best Thai food can be found in the streets. Thai food should be looked at as one of the cuisines in your neighborhood and you don’t need to think twice about the expense when the craving hits you.”

“Al and I had been looking for a place when this space opened up,” adds Chariya. “Some of our customers just walk from their offices to eat here, sometimes they call for delivery. Most of them are Thai nationals who want real Thai food and they prefer us because other restaurants make Thai-Filipino food. Here, we use all authentic ingredients — when you taste it you will know. It’s the same with ingredients: you can get them from everywhere, the question is, which one is the best?”

Three more dishes that are exceptional: crispy pork with kailan leaves, which Chariya’s brother makes; squid with garlic and pepper (“the secret to cooking squid is you do it very fast at high heat so it won’t be rubbery”); and the beef salad.

While you can always request the level of spiciness to your food, Chariya invites diners to try it the Thai way. When choosing curry, bear in mind that the most spicy is green; next is red; and yellow is mild. “Filipinos also now love green curry, especially Bicolanos,” she says.

Thai food that’s authentic and cheap: Now that’s really, really hot.

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Chariya’s Thai Kitchen is located at 1776 N. Garcia St. (formerly Reposo St.) corner Milagros St., Makati. Call 382-1616 for inquiries and delivery within the Makati area.