Vancouver’s Newest Thai Restaurant Opens its Doors in Olympic Village

When SalaThai closed its doors in 2024, longtime fans of the Burrard Street staple were collectively crestfallen—this is the OG restaurant that set the stage for Thai cuisine in Vancouver. But while restauranteurs Hattaya and Somsak Kongsilp said goodbye, their son, Bobby Kongsilp, had something else in mind.  

Along with his wife (and executive chef), Bumpen “Jay Nok” Khangrang, Bobby began making plans to extend that 40-year family legacy into an innovative, modern era. But this was no small feat: first, there was renovating what was once Olympic Village’s location of The Flying Pig (which involved transforming the space into what feels like a vibey gathering space for late-night drinks and, simultaneously, what Bobby describes as a nod to Bangkok’s Khao-San Road for speedy lunchtime takeaway and perusing a market of Thai-made products); second was testing the ambitious menu items.  

Chef Khangrang’s menu includes share-able favourites like a punchy papaya salad bursting with fresh chilies and traditional dried shrimp, bouncy pad see-ew made with her secret sauce (let’s just say it’s somehow more savoury and addicting than even my go-to restaurants). But also technique-driven, modernized dishes like her take on pad Thai, which is wrapped in a delicate omelette, grilled pork jowl (served with a jaw-droppingly good nam jim jaew) and mango sticky rice that, like the best ice cream sundae you’ve ever had, features a warm base and a deeply nutty, not-too-sweet house-made coconut ice cream (the mangoes, too, were the sweetest I’ve had this year, and when I tried it they were out of season—this alone is a feat worth celebrating!). There’s also a full bar stacked with creative Thai-inspired cocktails, like the Nuk Soo Kow, that’s made with pandan, vodka, (hard to find) soursop, coconut cream and lime. 

But it’s the variation in service that makes Jay Nok so unique. That quick lunch service truly, well, serves the nearby office-workers of Olympic Village who aren’t able to have a leisurely midday meal but (like most of us) still want to break up the day with something delicious. While dinner service transforms the restaurant and bar into a space meant for gathering: tables large enough for ordering one of everything practically beg you to host your next birthday party here, while smaller tables against the newly installed booths mean it’s just as fitting for date night.  

Jay Nok

 127 W 2nd Ave.