When former web developer Kanate Ungkasrithongkul could not find the exact regional flavors of his homeland in Southern California, he used his STEM background to formulate his own recipes. Today, his signature khao soi noodles and jumbo lump crab fried rice have earned praise from the Los Angeles Times and Eater. Now, he’s opening Manaao Thai Comfort Food’s flagship restaurant at Irvine Spectrum Center®, bringing tech-driven kitchen precision and authentic Thai ingredients to Orange County diners.
FROM ENGINEER TO RESTAURATEUR
Kanate Ungkasrithongkul was an engineer and web developer for more than a decade. He had never cooked professionally. But during the pandemic, he longed for comfort foods from his homeland. When international travel shut down and everyone else was perfecting their sourdough bread recipes, Ungkasrithongkul was channeling flavors that he couldn’t find even in Los Angeles’ Thai Town. Fortunately, his STEM skills helped.
Ungkasrithongkul studied YouTube videos and perfected his recipes from taste memories. He typed everything down, to the gram. When he finally perfected the right flavors, he shared his food with his wife, Anita Lin, and their extended family. They became his resident taste-testers and encouraged Ungkasrithongkul to open his own restaurant. If it tasted this great at home, think about what he could produce in a commercial kitchen. They were right.
Manaao began serving khao soi noodles with rich coconut broth seasoned with yellow curry in 2022 at their restaurant in Tustin. Ungkasrithongkul’s noodles were unlike any other Thai food in the area and the Los Angeles Times declared it one of the best dishes of the year, which catapulted Manaao to new heights.
The crab fried rice, which is another popular dish, is made with a pound-and-a-half of lump crab meat. The restaurant’s coconut slushies are swirled with vegan ice cream that Ungkasrithongkul concocted himself. “I just couldn’t find a good one,” he says with a chuckle. “I’m picky so I got a churning machine at home.”
Ungkasrithongkul’s brain and training as an engineer allowed him to solve problems extremely quickly. He built better systems so he could grow the business and increase efficiency without compromising on flavor.
This summer, Manaao Thai Comfort Food will welcome diners to its flagship restaurant at Irvine Spectrum Center. For foodies-in-the-know, it’s a highly anticipated opening and the restaurant is expected to draw fans from across the southland.
Our editor met with Ungkasrithongkul, who shared what makes his food special, why Manaao has such a loyal following, and…what’s with the rubber ducks?
Manaao Thai Comfort Food is known for its khao soi noodles. What makes them so special?
There are many recipes out there. Some people mix different curries together. Some people create their own. At Manaao, the concept is, what I like to eat. If I like it, I’ll put it on the menu. That’s how the khao soi noodles got started. Most people didn’t know about [the dish]. But I really worked on my recipe until it tasted the way I liked it. Now, some newspapers say, we have the best noodles.
Is khao soi your most popular dish?
Actually, crab fried rice is really popular for big groups or families. It’s made with a pound-and-a-half of crab. It’s one of our best sellers. We thought, how can we make this dish better? So we added more crab. It’s jumbo lump crab. The biggest kind we can find. There’s a half a pound inside and then there’s one whole pound on top. For larger parties who love crab fried rice, or somebody who’s just obsessed with it, this is the ticket. It’s a more expensive dish but once they try it, they come back and order it all the time. Now the crab fried rice is a signature dish.
You also want to change how Americans view Thai food?
One of the best dishes we serve is holy basil with chili. For Thai people, this should be our national dish, not pad Thai. Everybody makes this dish in Thailand, but it’s a little different. It’s done mostly wrong here. They don’t use holy basil. They’ll cook with Thai basil instead, which is totally different. It’s not the same taste. [Holy basil’s flavor is a mixture of clove and pepper with hints of citrusy lemon and aromatic mint.]
Is Manaao’s holy basil imported from Thailand?
Yes, we tested it out. A few farms in Fresno grow holy basil. You can get it fresh from the farm every week. But it’s not the same flavor. So now we get holy basil from Thailand.
Why did you decide to open your flagship restaurant at Irvine Spectrum Center?
It matches what I have in mind for our restaurants. We want people to stop thinking that Thai food is cheaply made food. If you have low quality stuff that’s what people expect. You can tell from the fresh ingredients and everything that goes into our food. We don’t skimp on labor. It’s why we have great food that comes out in five to 10 minutes.
FUN FACTS
Manaao means “lime” in Thai, says Ungkasrithongkul. The restaurant is named after this key ingredient in Thai cuisine.
“When we were thinking about what to name the restaurant, at first, I wanted to do something crazy like, chubby elephant. But [his wife, Anita], she said it needs to be something basic. So we started thinking, ‘What are the main ingredients of Thai food?’ Lime. We use lime in everything. Also, chili. But that’s been used too much already.”
Rubber ducky, you’re the one. What do the rubber ducks at the restaurant symbolize?
It was the culture at my last job in Orange County. Before the pandemic, I worked there for 12 years. They have this summer program where they give out rubber ducks for a contest: ‘Go travel with this [rubber duck] and take pictures.’ I won every year. My wife and I went to Thailand. We went to Japan. So now I’ll bring them to the Spectrum.
Any new exciting ingredients?
The popular 6100 Bread artisan bakery in Santa Ana will start supplying fresh baked goods for Manaao’s restaurants this summer.
Developer driven but hospitality remains at the core. The restaurant runs on optimized technology, is that how you serve food so quickly?
Orders are all computerized. So no paper tickets [for the kitchen and servers to sort through]. That’s the system. It’s more efficient and organized. But we still keep some of that old school feeling. Even though we take orders on the iPad, when you pay, we print out the receipt. So guests sign the check. They don’t feel pressured to tip while the server is waiting there holding the tablet for them. Stuff like that, we’re still old school.
What makes the Irvine Spectrum Center® location different from your first restaurant?
We already have a winning concept so I don’t want to change that. People expect quality from us. It’ll be more elevated because it’s the Spectrum. Plating will be better. But the pricing, the menu, everything else, will be the same. We might introduce a new dish here, and launch specials or collabs in the future.
*This interview was edited for clarity and brevity.
MANAAO THAI COMFORT FOOD
Irvine Spectrum Center
771 Spectrum Center Dr., Irvine, CA 92618
