After saying goodbye to longtime staple Bob Likes Thai Food earlier this month, Main Street has just welcomed a brand new Thai restaurant.
Yumyai Thai Food officially opened its doors on July 17th, bringing with it a cozy 24-seat space that owner Phusadee Jaisuay wants to feel just like visiting a friend’s home.
“Just want people to try what we normally eat,” Phusadee shared with Noms Magazine.
“This restaurant is like a friend’s house that you come to hang out and enjoy the food my mom used to cook.”
Phusadee, who moved to Vancouver from Thailand in 2010, has worked in hospitality ever since.
But Yumyai is her first restaurant – and it’s deeply personal.
Even the name is a statement of heart.
She shared that in Thai, “Yum” is the iconic flavour-packed category of dishes, but in English, it sounds like “yummy”.
“Yai” means big – in this case, big flavour and big love.
The menu mirrors that home-cooked comfort, with dishes that blend Northern and Southern Thai influences.
Guests can expect familiar items like pad thai, papaya salad, green curry chicken, and chicken satay.
But there are also deeper cuts like eggplant pad ka pow, laab moo, and the must-try Bob’s Fish & Chips: deep-fried fish with Thai red onion, peanut sauce, and lemongrass.
The latter interestingly an item from the predecessor’s menu.
There’s also mango kham, a Thai snack that delivers sweet, salty, spicy, and tart in one perfect bite.
And the “Miang Kham 4 Bites” that pack peanuts, ginger, shallots, and lime into cha plu leaves for a bold one-bite explosion.
As for the space itself, it is designed to be minimal, easygoing, and welcoming, just like Phusadee’s vision.
And while it’s never easy to see a familiar name like Bob Likes Thai Food go, Yumyai steps in not to replicate, but to carry the torch in its own heartfelt way.
Yumyai now joins other new Vancouver openings like COFU Chinatown, Sai, and Rumble Fish.
For more new and upcoming food spots in Metro Vancouver, take a peek at our tracker here, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
Address: 3755 Main Street Vancouver, BC