Kin Khao Chef Pim Techamuanvivit Has Plans for a Larger SF Restaurant

More big news from chef Pim Techamuanvivit, who was recently tapped to helm the celebrated Bangkok restaurant Nahm in addition to her Michelin-starred Union Square restaurant Kin Khao. According to an in-depth New York Times profile, Techamuanvivit plans to open another San Francisco restaurant that “will be larger and more ambitious than Kin Khao.”

For more, Eater SF reached out to Techamuanvivit, who says that she’s focusing on Nahm and Kin Khao for the moment and will share details on the next SF venture in the coming months.

From the Times:

Though the opening date isn’t set, there is no debate over the name. Ms. Techamuanvivit has known for years that when she opened a Thai fine dining restaurant in San Francisco, she would call it Nari — a Thai word meaning women.

According to the profile, a customer at Nahm recently told Techamuanvivit that it was nice to see Thai food “back in the hands of Thai women,” an allusion to Nahm’s previous chef, David Thompson, who is Australian.

The customer’s assertion reportedly took Techamuanvivit aback: “Thai cuisine has always been in the hands of Thai women,” she said. “It never, ever left us.”

Techamuanvivit’s role at Nahm and her new SF restaurant aspirations come in addition to plans outlined in December for an SFO outpost of Kin Khao in a group effort with Bay Area businesses like Tartine and Cala. SFO might be convenient place for Techamuanvivit these days: The chef splits her time between Bangkok and San Francisco, where at Kin Khao, longtime chef de cuisine Meghan Clark is picking up whatever slack there might be.

• A Thai Chef Heads Home for a Challenge [New York Times]
• Kin Khao’s Pim Techamuanvivit Named Chef of Acclaimed Bangkok Restaurant [ESF]