Yada Thai Cuisine, a family-owned Thai restaurant, quietly opened in late June in the Fair Oaks Square Shopping Center, bringing regional dishes and street-food flavors to the neighborhood. Owner Tami Sawangwan built the menu from family recipes, and early diners have already singled out kana moo krob, a stir-fried broccoli and crispy pork belly dish, as a standout.
Family roots and a local story
Sawangwan launched Yada Thai after growing up in a family of restaurateurs and immigrating to the Sacramento region 16 years ago. Her grandmother ran multiple restaurants in the Bay Area, and her father previously owned Rum Thai Bistro in Lincoln before a stroke forced the family to sell, she told The Sacramento Bee. She told the paper that "Thai food is very rich in culture and flavors" and said she wanted the menu to reflect those roots.
What’s on the menu
The kitchen mixes familiar plates like barbecue, curries and fried rice with lesser-seen noodle soups and street-food snacks. Abridged’s City of Treats newsletter highlighted yen ta fo, an Ayutthaya-style noodle soup made with pork blood and mixed proteins, during Yada’s soft opening and noted that the menu aims to deliver authentic regional flavors (Abridged). Sawangwan also points to stir-fries and small plates that come from family recipes rather than Americanized takes on Thai food.
Soft opening and hours
Yada wrapped its soft-opening stretch in mid June and is currently operating Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4:30 to 9 p.m., according to The Sacramento Bee. The restaurant sits in a space at Fair Oaks Square Shopping Center, according to CommercialCafe. Management says these hours are part of an extended soft opening, with a full schedule to come once service settles in.
Where Yada fits in
Yada joins a modest but growing cluster of Thai options in Fair Oaks, from Siam Patio to Takieng Thai, giving locals more choices for authentic regional dishes. Abridged also noted several new Asian openings around the region this month, underscoring a busy stretch for local food news (Abridged). For now, Yada’s family-driven cooking and its less-common noodle soups look set to be the restaurant’s calling card as it settles into the neighborhood.
