Michelin chef blends Chinese roots with Thai flavors

A Michelin-starred chef has reimagined Thai-Chinese cuisine to commemorate the 50th anniversary of China-Thailand diplomatic ties.

Pichaya Soontornyanakij, popularly known as Chef Pam, is a Thai-Chinese-Australian raised in Bangkok. In 2021, she opened her restaurant, Potong, where her Sino-Thai heritage takes center stage. Drawing inspiration from her family’s culinary traditions, Chef Pam crafts innovative Thai-Chinese dishes that seamlessly blend her Chinese roots with vibrant Thai flavors.

Potong quickly rose to prominence, earning a Michelin star within its first year. This achievement made Chef Pam the youngest and first female chef to win Michelin Thailand's Opening of the Year Award. Her impact on the culinary world was further recognized in 2024 when she was honored as Asia's Best Female Chef, a tribute to her cultural and gastronomic contributions.

Chef Pam explained that the name "Potong" derives from the Chinese word for "simple," symbolizing her great-grandfather's wish for the family to find happiness in simplicity.

"If you walk around and you ask Thai people on the streets what is their heritage, mostly there will be some Chinese in their blood because of the cultural interchange hundreds of years ago. So my great-grandfather migrated from China to Thailand ages ago, 150 years ago, hoping for a better life. My great-grandfather named the pharmacy Potong Pharmacy and it actually comes from the word 'pu tong' which is Chinese, [it] comes from 'ordinary'. So I think food has to give happiness in the most simple ways," said Pam.

"When we created Potong we wanted to do Thai-Chinese cuisine but in a progressive and modern way. Thai- Chinese food has been in their daily life for so long that they already thought its Thai food. So for me Thai- Chinese food is not the Chinese and Thai, half and half. It's already like a one cuisine that is blended in Thai cuisine already, that combined cultures from people who migrated here and to show that there is more to Thai cuisine than what people usually think," said the chef.

Chef Pam expressed her desire for customers to feel as though they are journeying back to her ancestors' hometown, immersing themselves in the flavors and heritage of the dishes, which are cherished family delicacies.

"I think in every country, nothing would be the same without migrations and without globalization and all the history of people, the culture exchange and each country has its own uniqueness and has its own influences. But for me, the history and the heritage is very strong. For me, it is the only way and the right way to embrace it and to show people and to tell people about it," she said.

Michelin chef blends Chinese roots with Thai flavors

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday chaired a State Council executive meeting during which arrangements were made to implement a package of policies that will boost domestic demand by leveraging coordinated fiscal and financial measures.

The meeting noted that the package is an important measure to expand effective demand and innovate the approaches of macro-control.

Efforts should be made to refine loan interest subsidy policies for businesses in the services sector and personal consumption, aiming to expand the supply of high-quality services and boost household purchasing power, the meeting said.

It said that loan interest subsidy policies will be implemented for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, with an eye to bolstering private investment, and to lowering financing thresholds and costs for companies.

It stressed that basic public services should be provided based on an individual's place of permanent residence. Efforts will be made to address the most pressing concerns of permanent residents without a local household registration, and on improving their access to education, healthcare and employment services.

Chinese premier stresses coordination of fiscal, financial policies to boost demand