Best Thai restaurants in US list inspires DITP to hunt for new trade opportunities
The latest list of 35 best Thai restaurants in the United States has inspired the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) to start looking for new business opportunities.
The “Best Thai Restaurants in America” released by the 24/7 Wall Street website lists 35 top Thai eateries in the country. Thai is the third most popular cuisine in the US after Chinese and Mexican.
“With their unabashed use of fish sauce, chillies, vibrant herbs and a remarkable knack for fusing sweet with bitter or sour with spice, Thai chefs have doubtless expanded the palates of those tentative gourmands who were first drawn in by the comforting nuttiness of a mild pad Thai,” the article reads.
Phusit Ratanakul Sereroengrit, DITP director-general, said on Monday that Suprattana Gamolvej, director of the Thai Trade Centre in Chicago, believes there are great opportunities waiting for Thai cuisine in the US market.
Phusit said Thai cuisine is popular in the US because the flavours of each dish are unique and perfectly balanced. Also, he said, most dishes feature herbs, which respond to the demands of health-conscious consumers.
Besides, Thai restaurants in the US have also developed interesting versions of classic dishes like som tam, larb, nam tok, nam prik ong and kaeng tai pla, he added.
“There are currently more than 5,000 Thai restaurants in the US and they will become better known now that the list has been published,” Phusit said. “This list will offer us an opportunity to distribute Thai raw materials like jasmine rice, noodles, sauces, spices, Thai tea and coffee.”
The export value of Thai food products to the US in the first nine months of 2022 came in at US$3.09 billion (111.86 billion baht), up by 8.65% year-on-year, he said, adding that this number is likely to rise further.
Suprattana, meanwhile, said 125 Thai restaurants in the US had been given the Thai Trade Centre’s “Thai Select” certification.
Of the 125 restaurants, four are featured in the list, including Aroi Thai, Arun’s Thai Restaurant and Sticky Rice in Chicago and Chao Baan in St Louis, Missouri.
She added that Thai trade agencies should use this as an opportunity to publicise Thai cuisine, especially via online media, so it wins fans among the younger generation.
She too believes that Thai food is more attractive to health-conscious people because it uses a lot of vegetables and herbs. She also said that this popularity will give Thai restaurant owners an opportunity to introduce plant-based foods manufactured in Thailand.
The 35 “best” Thai restaurants list included 10 in California, 10 in New York, three in Illinois and Washington DC each, two each in Oregon and Massachusetts and one each in Missouri, Colorado, Maryland, Nevada, and Texas.
The list can be found at the website.
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