‘It’s unimaginable’: Unique street eats land Kin Thai high on the Michelin Guide
Tucked into the Midtown Arts Retail Restaurant Scene building along 20th Street is one of Sacramento’s newest Michelin-recommended haunts.
Kin Thai Street Eatery neighbors midtown favorites like Omakase Por Favor and LowBrau, but it triumphed over them in May, when the Michelin Guide added the family-owned Thai restaurant to its 2025 California guide.
Kin Thai is Sacramento’s first Thai restaurant to be recognized by the prestigious dining guide, a feat that Napang Kongsitthanakorn — the sister of Kin Thai’s owners, Napak and Napis Kongsitthanakorn — said feels “unimaginable.”
“We are so proud of this moment,” she said. “We are so different (from other Thai restaurants) that you don’t know how people will accept, but being recognized by the Michelin Guide really ... put the Thai cuisine out there a little different than what people are used to.”
Kin Thai’s menu tours the streets of Thailand, sampling food from stands on Bangkok’s major boulevards to bike-riding vendors in the rural countryside.
“In Thailand, you’re always around food,” Napang said. “You never feel hungry for a second of your day, because there’s always food.”
In true middle-sibling fashion, Napang does not own the restaurant with her older and younger sisters, but she and the rest of their family help keep the operation running smoothly, even amid a recent surge of Michelin-driven traffic.
But the restaurant wasn’t always popping — in fact, no one was even allowed to eat at the restaurant when it launched. Kin Thai opened in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, starting exclusively as a take-out restaurant with no name recognition.
“It was difficult at first,” Napang said. “We kind of had to use social media to put our name out there and ... it could be an uphill battle at times.”
Now, almost five years later, the Kongsitthanakorn family’s eatery has built itself up to become one of just 17 Sacramento restaurants inducted into the Michelin guidebook.
“(Being in the guide) feels amazing,” Napang said. “It really shows the work that we put (in) to put these different dishes out there.”
Authentic Thai street food without a passport
The family’s mission is simple: Introduce the capital region to Thai flavors without flying across the globe.
“We all knew that we wanted to do something different,” Napang said. “How we present the food, design the restaurant and our mission statement, it’s all from scratch.”
To keep up with demand for unique dishes amid newfound Michelin fame, they recreate authentic Thai foods without sacrificing the original flavors, she said.
Everyone knows of the spicy basil ingredient used by many Thai eateries, Napang said. But by swapping the standard herb to a more traditional one, holy basil, the notes of the plate are elevated.
The Kongsitthanakorns feel confident in the changes they make to Thai dishes that are well-known stateside from decades of culinary experience.
“We travel to Thailand quite often,” she said. “Our family has worked in the restaurant industry for a very long time.”
Gui Chai (four for $11.50) are chive cakes that are steamed and pan-fried in garlic, then served with a sweet chili and soy sauce. There’s an umami flavor that is brought out by crunching through the crispy exterior to reach its incredibly dense, fluffy inside.
Napang said the chive cakes can be tricky to find even in Thailand if you don’t know where to look.
“You will see, maybe a person on a bicycle with a fryer in the back (selling Gui Chai),” she said.
The Hoy Tod mussel pancakes ($20) are fried in a crispy egg batter that is paired with bean sprouts, garlic chives and a sweet chili sauce. The strong flavors and aromas of each ingredient melt together to create a cohesive, creative shellfish dish.
Pou Nim Pad Phong Karee ($32), or soft shell crab curry, started on the seasonal specials menu and quickly became a fan-favorite among customers who kept ordering it.
Napang said that’s when the family decided to make it a permanent fixture.
The dish pairs deep-fried soft shell crabs with crab meat pieces swimming in a sweet and savory yellow curry with eggs and fresh vegetables like sweet peppers, celery and onions and steamed jasmine rice.
“It’s not really about us,” Napang said. “It’s about bringing uncommon Thai dishes to the world.”
For dessert, try the sweet roti ($8), which is a fried, lightly charred roti flatbread drizzled with warm condensed milk.
Looking for a refreshing summer drink? Order the longan slushie ($10), a slightly sweet slush topped with whole longan fruits, a tropical southern Indonesian fruit. Or turn to the classics like Thai tea ($6.50) and green Thai tea ($6.50).
Kin Thai Street Eatery
Address: 1050 20th St., Suite 180, midtown Sacramento
Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4:30 to 9 p.m., Monday to Friday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday; noon to 9 p.m. Sunday; closed the second Tuesday of the month
Website: kinthaieatery.com
Phone number: 916-619-8144
Vegetarian options: Numerous, labeled on the menu with a V
Drinks: Wine, beer, hard kombucha, along with traditional and green Thai iced tea, longan fruit slushies, hibiscus juice and soft drinks.
Outdoor seating: None
