A new Thai kitchen has landed in Williamsburg, and it comes from a chef who has been cooking since he was about seven years old. KhunYa's Thai Street Food opened in July on Mooretown Road, bringing Bangkok-style street food to a corner of the Historic Triangle that chef Chakhrit Netsan says has been missing it.
The restaurant is Netsan's third overall and his first in the Historic Triangle, according to Williamsburg Yorktown Daily, which reported on the opening months after the Virginian-Pilot reported that the restaurant was open. He already runs two other restaurants, including Bangkok Thai in Chester and Capital Thai in Chesterfield, per the same report. Netsan learned to cook from his parents starting around age seven, and he draws his recipes directly from his family's cooking, the outlet notes.
Address details for the new spot vary slightly depending on the source. The Virginian-Pilot reported in the spring that KhunYa's Thai Street Food is now open at 6610F Mooretown Road in the Victory Village Shopping Center. The restaurant's own online ordering page, however, lists its address simply as 6610 Mooretown Road, Williamsburg, VA 23188.
A Menu Built on Bangkok Street Food Staples
Netsan says he is inspired by Bangkok and uses fresh, local ingredients to serve authentic dishes that can be hard to find locally, according to Williamsburg Yorktown Daily. The menu leans into that street food identity with boat noodles, yentafo pink noodles, and Northern Thai-style curry noodles that the restaurant's online ordering page describes as having incredible flavor.
Pad Thai is on the menu too, stir-fried rice noodles in a tangy tamarind sauce with a choice of meat, bean sprouts, scallion and egg, topped with crushed nuts, per the restaurant's ordering platform. Diners can also order red, green, yellow and Massaman curries made with coconut milk, the latter paired with onions, potatoes, carrot and peanut, the same listing shows.
Beyond the noodle bowls, the kitchen turns out wok-fired specialties, chicken katsu dishes, and Thai-style barbecue red pork, according to Williamsburg Yorktown Daily. There's also crispy duck served in a house special basil sauce with rice, the restaurant's online ordering page notes.
Customers Say It Tastes Like Home
Netsan told Williamsburg Yorktown Daily that some customers who have visited Thailand have said the food tastes just like it did there. “I love to cook so much, and I'm always happy to see when people like eating my food,” he said, according to the outlet.
KhunYa's is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch and 5 to 9 p.m. for dinner, with weekend hours running noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, per Williamsburg Yorktown Daily. Netsan hopes to hold a grand-opening celebration in November, the outlet reports.
