10 Minutes News for Hoteliers 10 Minutes News for Hoteliers
  • Top News
  • Posts
    • CSR and Sustainability
    • Events
    • Hotel Openings
    • Hotel Operations
    • Human Resources
    • Innovation
    • Market Trends
    • Marketing
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Regulatory and Legal Affairs
    • Revenue Management
  • 🎙️ Podcast
  • 👉 Sign-up
  • 🌎 Languages
    • 🇫🇷 French
    • 🇩🇪 German
    • 🇮🇹 Italian
    • 🇪🇸 Spain
  • 📰 Columns
  • About us
10 Minutes News for Hoteliers 10 Minutes News for Hoteliers
  • Top News
  • Posts
    • CSR and Sustainability
    • Events
    • Hotel Openings
    • Hotel Operations
    • Human Resources
    • Innovation
    • Market Trends
    • Marketing
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Regulatory and Legal Affairs
    • Revenue Management
  • 🎙️ Podcast
  • 👉 Sign-up
  • 🌎 Languages
    • 🇫🇷 French
    • 🇩🇪 German
    • 🇮🇹 Italian
    • 🇪🇸 Spain
  • 📰 Columns
  • About us

The founders of Soothr and Sappe restaurants in New York City form Sawasdee Hospitality Management

  • Linnea Covington
  • 25 July 2024
  • 3 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0

This article was written by Restaurant Hospitality. Click here to read the original article

New York City restaurateurs Chidensee Watthanawongwat, Kitiya Mokkarat, and Supatta Banklouy want to change how Americans view Thai cuisine, and in April they formed Sawasdee Hospitality Management to open restaurants offering dishes from their home country that are rarely seen in the United States.

They currently operate two concepts, Soothr in the city’s East Village and Sappe in the West Village and plant to open more restaurants across the country, with hopes of presenting Thai food in what they say is a more sophisticated approach.

“The design comes before the menu. The whole thing comes together, like how to create the ambiance, the vibe, the lighting, and we have a place in mind for each restaurant,” Watthanawongwat said.

In general, the team wants to imbue each restaurant with a sultry Bangkok feel — think opium chic. For Sappe (pronounced “sap”), the idea was to bring a sexy 1950s Thai-American vibe to the table. Once that was in place, the group decided what kind of menu to offer, and wanted to deviate from the basic Thai menus found at takeout restaurants.

Watthanawongwat said New Yorkers are adventurous and sophisticated enough to try less familiar Thai dishes. And he also sees potential in Los Angeles and Miami.

Amadeus integrates Travalyst’s solution in…
Trending
Amadeus integrates Travalyst’s solution in…

He said he saw the move toward more traditional but also upscale Thai food in New York start about 15 years ago with the opening of Sea Thai in Brooklyn and later Fish Cheeks in Manhattan. Watthanawongwat added that the elevation of Thai food isn’t just on the East Coast; it’s a trend across Thailand too.

“Thai food in Thailand is evolving a lot and coming forward because the chef community is so huge,” said Watthanawongwat. “People there go to cooking schools and bring new styles and they incorporate some French and Japanese techniques into Thai dishes.”

These growing trends are what Sawasdee Hospitality Management is banking on. It’s also making sure there’s room on their menus for dishes that are beloved in Thailand but seen less often in the U.S., such as the street food ping yang, which is served at Sappe. Ping yang refers to a whole range of marinated and grilled skewers, including fish, chicken, and assorted vegetables, often eaten with sticky rice. It’s on Sappe’s menu starting at $20 for four skewers.

“When we approach guests that have never experienced something like this, we let them know it’s a cultural thing people in Thailand enjoy,” Watthanawongwat said. “There are options for everyone.”

Also on Sappe’s menu is dook fu, also called yam pladuk foo, a spicy salad of flaked catfish that’s fried until crispy and tossed with green mango. It’s $29. Crying Tiger, a spicy marinated beef dish with a savory and tangy dipping sauce, is $22.

SappeCrying_Tiger_SAPPE_Suer_Rong_Hai_(Crying_Tiger).png

The Crying Tiger

Also on the menu is leng zaab, a sour pork rib soup, that’s $45.

The menu also has plenty of other plates meant for sharing, as most Thai cuisine is, that range from $14 to $20.

At the group’s other restaurant, Soothr (pronounced “sood”), dry noodle soup — noodles in a bowl with minimal broth — is the specialty. Dry Sukhothai noodles, a specialty from a former Thai capital in the north of the country, are $18. A dry noodle dish with crabmeat called ba mii pu is $26, and drunkard’s chicken noodles — chicken khii mao — are $19. The resetaurant also offers Thai dishes that are iconic to many American diners, including shrimp pad Thai for $18, duck spring rolls for $14, and massaman curry for $28.

The blending of what American diners expect with the vast repertoire of This dishes is the goal for all of Sawasdee Hospitality’s restaurants. The next plan is to introduce Thai barbecue hot pot to Manhattan this summer.

Please click here to access the full original article.

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
You should like too
View Post
  • Revenue Management

“Travel has become so expensive since COVID—I wish we could go back to… | Dimitris Floros

  • Dimitris Floros
  • 5 June 2025
View Post
  • Revenue Management

Is last-minute discounting good or bad for hoteliers?

  • Automatic
  • 5 June 2025
View Post
  • Revenue Management

TakeUp and Cloudbeds Bring Enterprise-Level Revenue Optimization to Independent Hotels

  • Automatic
  • 29 May 2025
View Post
  • Revenue Management

IDeaS Accelerates Growth and Builds Business Momentum in Greece

  • 10minhotel
  • 28 May 2025
View Post
  • Revenue Management

The Role of a Hotel Revenue Manager: Responsibilities, Skills & How to Excel

  • Nashi Dasgupta
  • 28 May 2025
View Post
  • Revenue Management

U.S. tourism business faces ‘perfect storm’

  • Automatic
  • 27 May 2025
View Post
  • Revenue Management

The 2025 State of the Restaurant Industry Report

  • Automatic
  • 23 May 2025
View Post
  • Revenue Management

Navigating the Decline in International Travel: Strategies for Sustaining Occupancy & Revenue

  • Mia Belle Frothingham
  • 22 May 2025
Sponsored Posts
  • Influence Society Publishes Q2 Edition of Societies Quarterly for Visionary Hoteliers

    View Post
  • Case Study: Refinery Hotel Redefines Revenue Management with LodgIQ

    View Post
  • Day & Night: The Bold Rebranding Powering Shiji’s Presence in Global Hospitality Tech

    View Post
Last Posts
  • VENZA to Acquire OpsTechPro and Offer End-to-End Risk Management
    • 5 June 2025
  • U.S. hotel results for week ending 31 May
    • 5 June 2025
  • Radisson Hotel Group builds on sustainability commitment with closed loop approach to amenities recycling
    • 5 June 2025
  • India’s International Visitor Spend Soars to Record Highs, WTTC Reports
    • 5 June 2025
  • avid hotels by IHG Celebrates 80th Milestone Opening, Expands Midwest Footprint
    • 5 June 2025
Sponsors
  • Influence Society Publishes Q2 Edition of Societies Quarterly for Visionary Hoteliers
  • Case Study: Refinery Hotel Redefines Revenue Management with LodgIQ
  • Day & Night: The Bold Rebranding Powering Shiji’s Presence in Global Hospitality Tech
Contact informations

contact@10minutes.news

Advertise with us
Contact Marjolaine to learn more: marjolaine@wearepragmatik.com
Press release
pr@10minutes.news
10 Minutes News for Hoteliers 10 Minutes News for Hoteliers
  • Top News
  • Posts
  • 🎙️ Podcast
  • 👉 Sign-up
  • 🌎 Languages
  • 📰 Columns
  • About us
Discover the best of international hotel news. Categorized, and sign-up to the newsletter

Input your search keywords and press Enter.