It seems Thai restaurants are opening on a daily basis in America. Enough so that Hugo Kugiya, writing for Crosscut in Seattle says "Thai food is the new Chinese food." It's an interesting idea, one that I'm not sure I fully embrace even though I know Thai food is much more accepted now than when my parents opened Kung Fu Plaza in 1973.

Back then, it was the reason they decided to call it Kung Fu. Kung Fu helped it stand out from all the Chinese restaurants that were enjoying a renewed interest and popularity in Las Vegas. Kung Fu was associated with the television show, starring David Carradine, because of its link to Buddhism, which is associated with Thailand.

Some people don't see the connection like they did back then. In the west, Kung Fu is always associated with martial arts (actually called wushu), but in the east it refers to one's expertise in any skill achieved through hard work and practice. Of course, more people are familiar with Thailand, muay Thai, and Thai food nowadays.

Is Thai Food Is The New Chinese Food?

In some ways, Thai food is becoming just as well known as Chinese. The challenge is, however, just as Kugiya writes. He says anything slathered in peanut sauce or sautéed with basil can be called Thai food to Americans. He's right and wrong. Anything "slathered" can be called Thai food, but not everything that is called Thai food IS Thai food.

The same can be said for most Asian foods. A few weeks ago, for example, we wrote about how Laotian food is mistaken as Thai food. While there is nothing wrong with a Thai restaurant serving Laotian food, I do think it's important to preserve the differences. Mixing and matching them is very much the same as calling Creole food American. They are very different.

Being one of the few restaurants to serve Chinese alongside traditional Thai cuisine, I think Americans like them equally well. Americans tend to order want they know, first. For example, when served side by side like we do at our restaurant, Chinese and Thai are ordered about the same with the most popular dishes being those that people know.

Our most popular dish is Mongolian beef (Chinese). Our second most popular dish is pad Thai (Thai). Our most popular soup is tom yum (Thai). Our second most popular soup is won ton (Chinese). Rounding out our top ten dishes are two more Chinese dishes and four more Thai dishes.

When Thai people visit it is different. They tend not to order the most popular American preferences (some even request dishes that are not on the menu). So while I am always pleased that Thai food is gaining popularity as everyday dishes, I hope more restaurants help us preserve the tradition of Thai food.

But in looking up restaurants that call themselves Chinese and Thai, I've noticed that many do not. Some add one or two Thai dishes to the menu and think it is enough to be Thai. If you ask me, it takes considerably much more hard work. And that was why we adopted the name Kung Fu all along.

Kung Fu Plaza is the oldest and most authentic Thai restaurant in Las Vegas. It was opened in 1973, after the Wong family immigrated from Thailand. My family, like many Thai people, has both Thai and Chinese ancestors.