Khun Kan (left), a native of Thailand, prepares authentic Thai dishes for customers.[/caption]

Since February 2014 restaurant owner Khun Kan has operated Khun Kan Thai Kitchen in the former Dia Thai restaurant location at 114 E. Seventh St.

When Kan took over the space, she revamped and expanded the restaurant’s menu and has been serving Georgetown customers authentic Thai food for a year.

“It’s something unique in Georgetown,” customer Dave Wells said.

Kan, who spent most of her life in Thailand, said she came to America in 2007 with a desire to teach people about where she came from.

“I had a dream of owning a Thai restaurant,” Kan said. “When you come from Thailand you always dream of having your own place to show your culture.”

Kan was no stranger to the food industry before coming to America, she said.

“My mom and I did a food truck in Thailand,” she said. “I love to cook for [people].”

By using what she learned with her mother, Kan created a menu that offers options for noodle dishes, soups, salads and desserts as well as an entire section dedicated to curry dishes, which are a common Thai meal.

“We have [food from] north and south Thailand, but what I serve here is kind of like central Thailand,” she said. “It’s the original Thai style.”

For $9.99 guests have the choice of a green, red, yellow, panang or a mussamun curry. Kan prepares these dishes by blending the different curry pastes with coconut milk and complementary ingredients, such as peppers, bamboo shoots and carrots.

The curries range in spiciness, each plate is served with steamed white rice, and Kan said these dishes are a favorite among guests.

Kan said the most popular dish, however, is the pad thai—a stir-fried rice noodle dish that Kan prepares with egg, bean sprouts and scallions blended in a thick sweet and sour sauce and topped crushed peanuts.

It is a common dish in Thailand, Kan said, and is typically available everywhere.

“If people go to a Thai restaurant it’s usually the first dish they order because they see [the word]‘Thai,’” she said.

Kan serves a mild pad thai, but customers can request varying levels of spice.

“I’ve eaten pad thai at a lot of different restaurants, and I think they have one of the better pad thai I’ve ever had,” Wells said. “I order it every time I come.”

The pad thai is $8.99 or can be ordered for $6.99 during lunch from 11 a.m.–3 p.m.