A Spoonful of Spice & Culture
Pad thai, pad kra prao, fried spring rolls, yellow curry with rice, orange chicken with rice, and crab rangoons served Friday afternoon at Sasi’s Thai in Brownsville. Mia Ramirez/Pulse
In Brownsville, a family run restaurant named Sasi’s Thai explores the tasteful and unique culture of Thai food.
Owners Sasivimol and Lee Laidig created Sasi’s Thai because she wanted to open up a business and share her passion of cooking homemade meals from her culture.
“My wife’s name is Sasivimol, but when we came to Brownsville nobody was able to pronounce it, they shortened it to Sasi and it stuck. So Sasi’s Thai sounded good,” he said.
Lee said Sasi was tired of working as a custodian in an airport and a worker in H-E-B. She had this idea of wanting to open a business, but they did not have the money.
“She said she was going back to Thailand, so rather than buy her an airplane ticket. I took her by the hand and put her in the car to look for locations,” he said.
The couple opened their restaurant in 2013 and retired in 2016 to live in Thailand. They came back to Brownsville to reopen their business in 2019, so they can have money to bring their son and family to America.
“We decided to come back here and get back what we started, to bring them over and have a decent start in life,” Lee said.
Sasi’s Thai creates its own spices and adds its own vegetables to create a unique flavor.
“It has to have flavor and it has to be fresh. When customers order a meal here Sasi has to start cooking it individually, so it can be fresh,” he said.
Lee explained they have been going to the same H-E-B for seven years and have gotten to know the workers there.
“If there isn’t enough broccoli out there that Sasi likes, she tells me and I get the guy,” he said. “He’ll bring out two or three more boxes.”
The restaurant contains many pieces of Thai art with history and religion that was given to the couple for their business.
The owners goal is for their customers to feel happy when they enter and leave Sasi’s Thai.
“We want to give them a feel of Thai culture, that’s why we have so many Thai art and statues here,” he said.
Lee said he encourages people reading to give their restaurant a try.
“Give us a try, I think you’ll like it and if you don’t, then you’ll come in and look at the menu [and] I’ll ask you questions on your preferences,” he said.
Sasi’s Thai is open from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, and from noon to 7:30 p.m. Saturday to Sunday at 937 Frontage Rd in Brownsville.
