Mae Krua Kiosk Coming Soon to 331 Cortland, for Thai Food Like Grandma Used to Make

/ Todd_Lappin

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This is Anucha Kongthavorn, and he preparing to set up shop in the fabulous 331 Cortland marketplace. His business will be called Mae Krua, and he will serve up Thai food like grandma used to make. Anucha tells Bernalwood:

My name is Anucha Kongthavorn and I’m originally from Thailand. I’ve loved to cook since I was a child. I spent a lot of my early years watching her cook. She always consistently cooked the most delicious food and I strive to be like her. Every weekend, my mother left me with her and I always helped her to prepare. I fell in love with the joy of cooking watching my grandmother work long hours in a traditional Thai restaurant. That is where I learned how to cook authentic Thai food.

To me America is the land for opportunity, coming from a poor family, I independently moved to San Francisco to make my dream come true. I went to City College of San Francisco (CCSF) and worked ay the same time to earn experience and know what’s it’s like to cook for Americans and adapt to the culture. I always keep my eye on this dream. I worked at Thaistick in San Francisco and Millbrae for 6.5 years. I have never had a business of my own, but it is still part of my dream.

In Thai, Mae Krua means a women who cooks to serve for her family. This is the name I’d choose for my business. Mae means mother. Kua means kitchen.

I love to present my food to people to people who live here so they can try authentic Thai food that is different and unique to what I’ve learned from my Grandmother and what I’ve learned here in America. My kiosk is going to serve only unique food which is adapted from my own experiences and my Grandmother’s recipes. They will love to have this food and bring it home for their loved ones.

I make a Curry Rice Balls stuffed with fine cheeses. These will be a delight for people who are vegetarian. Some will also be made with Tofu and Bean Cake. I will serve salad with my own dressing such as Curry Dressing and Sesame Dressing. The community will love to try my food because it will both be healthy and delicious.

I will be very happy if you decide to give me a chance to start my own business with you, even though I have never had a business here. I think you would be very pleased to have me as an addition as well.

Helpfully, Anucha also shared this launch menu:

maekruamenu

PHOTO: Anucha Kongthavorn by Anucha Kongthavorn

28 thoughts on “Mae Krua Kiosk Coming Soon to 331 Cortland, for Thai Food Like Grandma Used to Make”

  1. My mouth is watering! I will be supporting you!!! Signed, Super Pregnant Lady Craving Thai

  3. Congratulations! Welcome to the ‘hood.

    Your m. & affordable. Hope you have some dishes thats aren’t too spicy. Will definitely try.

  5. Awesome. Yay for Thai and yay for vegan options! Alas, hard boiled eggs aren’t v=vegan, but v=vegetarian would work for that salad. That coconut soup has my mouth watering.

  7. By all the misspelled words you can tell this will be authentic Thai! I remember when Blue Elephant Thai first opened they scattered menus all over Bernal featuring their signature dish, soft shelled crap!

    • I was going to make the same snarky comment but you beat me to it! All that’s missing for the authentic Thai menu is some “french fried” to placate the farang. The cheese balls are a surprise. Aroy mak mak!

      • You snarks are annoying. Have you ever tried to speak or write Thai? Here’s a guy who comes over, learns English (one of the hardest languages on earth), makes it very clear what he’s talking about, and all you can do is snark snark snark. But YOU don’t speak or write Thai or Siamese, do you? Can you read Sanskrit or Khmer? No? Then SHUT THE FUCK UP!

      • David Kaye, you response was more annoying than some innocent jocularity over spelling. And your language! Tsk tsk.

      • Jeez. You obviously missed the “farang” and “aroy mak mak” in my comments. Hello, that’s Thai, na ka. I lived there for a year, so yes, I have actually tried to speak Thai. You’re making a lot of assumptions. 555 (that’s Thai for LOL).

  12. Awesome! I love how we get to experience so many different types of culinary businesses through the comings and goings at 331. It is one of our many neighborhood treasures. So excited to check out Mae Krua!

  13. All of us at 331 Cortland are excited to have Anucha join us! Based on the food he prepared for our tasting, he’ll be a hit.

  14. 331 Cortland doesn’t really provide enough infrastructure to cook in. Plug in a toaster oven, and oh, here’s a little bar sink. No high-CFM hoods or the like. But I guess there are things you can do under severe constraint OK.

  17. I have known him for almost 15 years. All of his family members are very good in cooking and he really likes and loves to cook too. he always creates new menus which we had never tried before. I know this is his dream and I am so proud that his dream is coming true. I hope what he is going to offer would worth your money.

  21. Very exciting! I hope that Anucha can work the tricky balance between what he’ll hear from audiences, asking either for “not too spicy or weird” and the other side asking for “bring on the powerfully spicy, stinky, fermented, herbal.”

    I, for one. prefer Thai food packed with fish sauce, shrimp paste, dried mysteries, and other fermented flavor boosters. A lot of others do too—there’s a reason Lers Ros Thai is so popular! I don’t know how to get the same flavorful results in Thai food while staying vegetarian, so will be interested to try Anucha’s menu and taste how he does it.

    • I second the love for authentic Thai! I’m excited to try this, but I have to say, after living in a Thai village for 2 years, I can’t say that cheese + Thai flavors make me feel very excited… (sorry to be a wet blanket!!)

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