Early in the morning and late into the evening, New Kaewthamai spends his time making sauces and grinding chili in preparation for Oceanic Thai Kitchen to open its doors.

After working in the restaurant industry as a server, manager and bartender, Kaewthamai decided to open Oceanic Thai Kitchen in April 2015.

The restaurant, located at 1501 Preston Road, Ste. 800, Plano, offers customers traditional Thai dishes and American-Thai dishes. 

She is a big reason why he opened the restaurant, he said.

The recipes Kaewthamai grew up making are the ones he still uses today. However, he often likes to add a twist to offer customers something that is unique to Oceanic Thai Kitchen.

Kaewthamai said popular menu items include the ocean cha cha, which is a stir-fried mix of seafood seasoned with Thai herbs tossed in a garlic chili sauce ($14.95); and chicken curry puffs—a combination of peppers, chicken, corn, peas and curry powder wrapped in a flaky pastry ($5.95).

Manager Jay Smith said servers typically ask if the customer has tried Thai food before and if he or she is in the mood for noodles or rice.

“That helps narrow down the menu because we have a lot of options,” he said. “But if somebody’s just starting off as a beginner in Thai food, the easier choices are going to be the [Thai] ginger or the spicy basil. Their flavors aren’t overpowerful; it doesn’t scare anyone away, whereas someone who likes to try to be adventurous will go for the [ocean cha cha].”

Another popular menu item is the avocado curry ($13.95), which is a massaman curry sauce made with a peanut base, avocados, peanuts, onions, bell peppers and the customer’s choice of meat.

“The goal is to expand, to be bigger, to bring our quality of Thai food to people who haven’t had Thai food before,” Smith said.