Kin Kao Thai Kitchen | Scott & Scott Architects

Kin Kao is a 25 seat restaurant for chef Tang Phoonchai, a former Bangkok native along with his wife Min and their partner Terrence Feng. 

Situated at the edge of an active manufacturing zone near the commercial end of a neighbourhood high street on the back of a nondescript strip mall the restaurant will serve a community of shop workers and families for lunch, after work snacks and dinner. 

The menu is a cross between home style and street style Thai recipes that uses locally sourced ingredients and draws heavily on the food of Tang’s childhood.

Architects David and Susan Scott designed the space using materials that are economic and readily available; balancing durability with a desire for the public elements to wear-in with use.  

The service area walls are finished with galvanized panel for maintenance and as a magnetic board for hanging daily fresh sheets.  The bar, tables, and seating are soaped beech to age comfortably and be easily refinished over the restaurant’s life. The bar is made of construction grade douglas fir plywood and washed with a thinned application of the blue floor paint.  

The small room is brightly day lit and two linear pendant fixtures produced by the architect’s studio are installed for evening illumination.  The loose seating and tables in the dining area allow for the room to be used for small lunch and dinner seatings and re-configured for communal meals. 

As with the menu of Thai street and homestyle dishes, the space celebrates ordinary materials and simple details which are light hearted and familiar.