7

Kalaya

Philadelphia

Imaginative Thai cooking with reams of charisma

A path less travelled: While a working as a first-class flight attendant, Bangkok-born chef-proprietor Chutatip 'Nok' Suntaranon met the frequent flying University of Pennsylvania professor who would become her husband. They fell in love, she moved to Philadelphia, and then Philly fell in love with her when she, at age 50, opened the first iteration of Kalaya in 2019. Word spread around the city, then the nation, about her periwinkle-blue, butterfly-pea dumplings, regal $98 tom yum soup and other electric interpretations of traditional Thai recipes. The restaurant's reputation outgrew its size, so Suntaranon relocated in 2022 to a skylit Fishtown warehouse with a pistachio-green bar, rattan furniture and colossal potted palms. The restaurant quintupled its seating – but that hasn't made reservations any easier.

Family ties: Culinary prowess runs in the family. Suntaranon's mother, Kalaya, ran a stall in the Yan Ta Khao market in southern Thailand, where she gained an adoring following for her aromatic curry pastes. Naming the restaurant Kalaya honours her mother's talent and discipline.

Changing tastes: Why can't Thai food be luxurious? Why can't it be stunning? These are the questions posed by Suntaranon and her menu at Kalaya, where the raison d'etre is to free the cuisine from the cheap ingredients and takeaway boxes in which most Philadelphians were accustomed to encountering it. Instead, dainty, bird-shaped dumplings hide centres of sweet, caramelised cod. The grand, tamarind-glazed pork chop has chophouse swagger and Mangalitsa provenance. Maximalist shaved-ice desserts are treasure hunts, with peak-season fruits, jellies and panna cottas buried under the snow.

Star power: As beautiful and evocative as Kalaya's ambiance is, the most luminous part of it is Suntaranon herself. She's the charisma magnet that powers the whole restaurant, as comfortable handling a searing hot wok as a Birkin bag, she understands hospitality is about making guests feel special.

Contact