SARAN YENPANYA CREATES ‘KHAO TOM KUI RESTAURANT CHARGED WITH A CASUAL VIBE BY FEATURING GIMMICKY ELEMENTS ADAPTED FROM ORDINARY STUFF AND REDEFINES ‘KHAO TOM KUI’ RESTAURANTS TO BE NOT JUST A PLACE TO DINE, BUT A GATHERING SPACE WHERE ONE SPENDS TIME WITH FRIENDS, AND FAMILY
TEXT : KITA THAPANAPHANNITIKUL
PHOTO : KETSIREE WONGWAN EXCEPT AS NOTED
(For Thai, press here)
When it comes to the discussion about ‘Khao Tom Kui’ restaurants that serve rice congee with a variety of savory dishes, the most common impression has to be the glass case displaying a whole bunch of ingredients prepared and waiting to be cooked. Then there are the sounds coming from the kitchen, of ladles and spatulas crashing against woks and pots, the shouting of the head chef or owner expediting orders. If the setting were at night, seats would be filled with patrons, some are family members, and some are lone diners. Later into the night, these late night restaurants welcome the night owls, some coming fresh out of their long night of clubbing, looking to fill up their bellies with some hot, deliciously cooked food before heading home. There is something that connects these Khao Tom Kui restaurants to Thai people’s way of life. Perhaps it’s because they’re offering accessible, friendly and affordable cuisine that everyone loves and enjoys. Ruay Mitr Sathorn interprets this unique food culture through the design of physical elements and ‘vibe’ of its space, making it more than just a casual dining place selling boiled rice and side dishes but something that tells stories of connections between people and the time they spend in this seemingly ordinary restaurant.
Walking past the first floor where Supanniga Eating Room is located, one can sense a shift in the atmosphere from a cozy restaurant people go to on special occasions or big family dinners to something quite different. On the third floor of the same building, Ruay Mitr Sathorn feels like another world. The colorful decoration exudes fun energy. It’s over the top, with diverse details and elements that cannot be defined or fit into a specific style. It isn’t international nor Thai. The best definition of the place has to be ‘eclectic,’ which is what the designer, Saran Yenpanya, intends to create to encapsulate the sentiment of this particular type of establishment, regardless of the nationality of the dishes it serves. Clearly, the designs want to be friendly, casual, and comfortable and make people have a good time over the meal they share.
The beginning of such an eclectic aesthetic comes from an idea Tatchai Nakapan, the CEO of Supanniga Group, had about what Ruay Mitr is or could become. These Khao Tom Kui places are equivalent to Japanese Izakaya restaurants. It’s the kind of place that anyone can enjoy and revisit time and time again. Most importantly, it’s the type of restaurant that is perfect for group gatherings. The menu and drinks are developed to be very diverse and is based on the simple nature of the restaurant, for example, the use of real ume or Japanese apricot for the aromatic minced pork soup where plum is normally used as a key ingredient, or a preserved egg dish that gets levelled up to something called the golden preserved eggs. The place also offers an incredible variety of drinks, from wine, soju, cocktails to frozen beer, contributing as a key ingredient that make Ruay Mitr even more eclectic in spirit while perfectly complementing the interior decoration.
Tatchai Nakapan (Left) l Saran Yenpanya (Right)
Within the limited timeframe, the decorative elements from all the props, furniture, or utensils are all the stuff seen and used in everyday life, but simply reconfigured and re-presented. Ordinary objects are used with a new creative take, such as the repainted old furniture taken from Supanniga Eating Room, shelves with the inner part covered with a flashy bamboo pattern wallpaper (the type of wallpaper once can find in a local salon or bistro that will have most designers second guessing), or even the kind of plastic chairs with tacky Chinese pattern one can found used and discarded in a construction site somewhere, all are integrated as a part of the decoration. It gets us thinking about how design isn’t about what’s expensive and what isn’t, but more about using the right elements at the right place and time.
Another challenge arises when the old stuff is already very nicely done. The original structure designed by onion perfectly supports the asymmetrical trapezoidal roof. The complex form of the roof causes the wooden structural framework providing support underneath to have just as complicated details, which Saran perceives as the beauty that complements the eclectic decoration of the space just right. New elements that Saran brings to the design are presented at eye level, allowing the existing components such as the roof to fully express itself. Saran compares the roof structure that onion designed as an old t-shirt while what he did was tailor a new pair of pants to go with it. What’s even better is if a designer were good enough, the same old t-shirt would look even better even if no altercation was made. The space is ‘homey’ in spirit so the entire floor does not only blend itself to the existing roof structure but changes its entire image that was once packed with traces of complex architectural language. People used to compliment the metallic roof and how well it looks with the white interior of Supanniga Eating Room. With Ruay Mitr, the very same roof has received comments about how its metallic surface is perfect for the vibe of this Khao Tom Kui restaurant.
Supanniga Eating Room designed by Onion l Photo courtesy of W Workspace
Saran insists that he isn’t an interior designer and his contribution to the project doesn’t involve any structural modification of the architecture at all. What he did was design the mood for the place to feel fun and welcoming; the kind of place people can expect to have a good time. His design reveals an element hidden and oftentimes forgotten in every architectural creation, which is ‘emotion.’ A lot of the time, architectural or interior design projects are so focused on perfecting the details to the point that everything becomes uncomfortable. What he did with Ruay Mitr is the exact opposite. There are elements in real life that are put into the design and they make the place accessible and relatable. Fish sauce bottles or cans of canned fish become decorating items that make people feel like they are having a meal inside the kitchen at one of their friend’s houses. Questionable funny images stimulate conversations. Even the music being played are hit songs that most people can sing along to. These things tell stories that make a restaurant more than just a place where food is served and people eat at, but a social space where one spends time with friends, and family. If you have time, stop by Ruay Mitr, soak up the vibe and enjoy the food. Dig in and enjoy the rice and all the great dishes that are served with, sing along to songs at the top of your lungs, with someone, with anyone; your friends, the people at the next table, and of course the man who runs the place.
