Over two decades of churning out Israel’s best Thai food
When contemplating where to take visitors out to dinner in Tel Aviv, Thai House almost always makes the 'hit list'. And while today we locals take for granted how international the Tel Aviv food scene has become, it hasn't always been the case - by a long shot. Thai House founder, Yariv Malili, was in fact a pioneer when he opened his Asian-inspired hot spot, which most people don’t realize is over two decades old. His second endeavor, the equally popular Kab Kem, has more than solidified the entrepreneur's spot as one of the major players on Israel’s culinary scene.
Malili lets us in on how he has successfully taught one culture about another culture through through food, where he likes to eat in Tel Aviv, and more.
Did you always have an interest in the restaurant business?
Not at all! I grew up in Israel and I never even ate at restaurants, let alone had any idea of what it would mean to own a place or be a chef! After the army I traveled around and when I was in Thailand, I met my now wife, Lek Sunan. We spent years traveling throughout Thailand and had a child together. At the time, I was working as a fisherman and never had dreams of opening a restaurant, but what happened was that my sister got married so it was my chance to come back to Israel and introduce my family to my new wife and child. We thought at most we would stay for six months.
How did you go from six months to permanent?
I came to Israel with no money and a wife and kid – it wasn’t easy. I worked some random jobs and then at some point, because my wife is such an amazing cook, we started to make Thai-inspired dishes like egg rolls and other small bites. We would sell these to local bars and restaurants. This venture became profitable enough that I focused on it, and eventually, with partners, I opened a sandwich bar that sold stir-fried chicken in a baguette. It became very successful, but I didn’t have any passion for it. I wanted to bring true, authentic Thai food to Israel.
What were the next steps?
When my partners and I saw the location where Thai House is now, they wanted to open a sandwich spot – I didn’t. It was very difficult at first and it didn’t take long for the two partners I was working with to leave the business – suddenly I was doing everything from cooking to dealing with lawyers on my own.
Kab Kem © Courtesy of PR
You opened Thai House over two decades ago when there wasn’t much of an international food scene. Can you talk about that and how things have changed?
It wasn’t easy back then. It’s all about small steps when you’re trying to teach one culture about another culture. It takes time and patience and you need a lot of knowledge. The way I approached it was to think back to the dishes I liked when I first went to Thailand, which were of course fried rice, pad thai…the easy things to love! I didn’t expect my diners to go further than beginner Asian food. As people became more and more familiar with the cuisine’s taste and spices, there were more and more options.
I assume that means there has been major menu expansion over the years?
Oh, yes. When we started there were maybe 25 dishes…today there are 150-200 different options.
Thai House is always packed - with so many amazing restaurants in the city, what do you think has been the key to keeping Thai House always bustling?
The most important thing is to have quality ingredients. You can have the best chefs in the world, but they can’t do anything without great ingredients. I make sure we have the best and freshest ingredients and I think the customer can feel that. Also, we’ve had our own farm for nearly 14 years where we grow many things. In fact, much of the produce we grow I was the first to bring to Israel. I brought morning glory to Israel a decade ago – no one knew what that was back then! Same for Chinese broccoli, Thai eggplant, etc.
Are you influenced at all by Israel or are you focused exclusively on Thai authenticity?
Though we source all of our produce locally and fresh, we are 100% authentic Thai. I go to Thailand at least three times a year so I’m always researching and learning. We have, however, adapted to make our customers comfortable. For example, when you’re in Thailand and you order pad thai it comes with the sweet element on the side, the sour on the side, and the salty on the side and each diner adds to suit their taste of the various elements. That would not work in Israel, so we make it perfect for them in the pan.
Are you still in the kitchen?
These days I’m less in the kitchen, which I leave to my amazing team of chefs, all of which are Thai and most of whom have at least 15 years of experience.
At what point did you think about opening another restaurant?
People asked for years about when I was going to open something else, but it was only starting about four years ago that I took the idea seriously. I saw the location where Kab Kem is and instantly knew it was the place for me – I signed that day!
Kab Kem © Courtesy of PR
What are the key differences between your two restaurants?
Thai house is a restaurant where people come to eat, whereas Kab Kem has a younger feeling and it’s more like a bar. We have a DJ every night and the focus is on finger food and a more lounge-like atmosphere. It’s less family-friendly though we do have families that come. People also drink a lot at Kab Kem. In fact, the meaning of Kab Kem is food you’re going to get when you’re near alcohol. When I’m in Thailand these are always the kinds of places I’m going to because I like to drink (unfortunately!).
Can you single out the most popular dishes?
It’s always papaya salad, which I brought to Israel. No one even knew what papaya was back then; people kept telling me they don’t want to eat fruit salad! They didn’t understand that it was green papaya and not sweet. Now everyone knows and it’s a star.
What about desserts?
It’s interesting because in Thailand authentic restaurants don’t serve dessert. People go to the market and it’s perfectly acceptable for them to buy something sweet from there and then to bring it with them to the restaurant. Most people just eat fruits like mango or papaya for dessert, but we also have a few coconut milk-based options. We make all our own ice cream and coconut milk.
When you're not working, where do you two like to eat?
Toto, Taizu, Basta, and Meat Market are some of my favorite spots.