About us

What is Manao?

The word “Manao” in Thai language means limes or lemon. We use limes in most of Thai dishes especially salads as sour flavor is one of the dominant tastes in those dishes.

What do we serve?

Our goal is to bring food from the southern and the northern part of Thailand and the food that we usaully had with our friends and families to Portland. We also have some dishes that can be found almost everywhere in Thailand, but not Pad Thai or some curry dishes. There are other things that Thai people like to go out and eat as well. And that is why we would like you to try, and you might like them too. We prepare our food from scratch where possible and practicle. We also try to use different ingredients as much as possible for each dish to make it close to the dishes that we would have in Thailand. We do NOT use MSG in our food preparation and cooking.

How to dine at Manao?

Our food is best served in family-style where people order different dishes and share them together because one dish compliments the other. And, one thing that is important for a meal is rice. This can be sticky rice or jasmine rice. Thai people tend to eat sticky rice with salads and grilled/deep fried food, while jasmine rice with soups and stir-fry food. You can ask our servers about what dishes go well with sticky rice or jasmine rice. However, it will depend on your preference, of course.  We just want you to enjoy your experience having Thai food at our restaurant. If you ever find a dish that does not suit your taste, you can always ask our servers for a condiment.

Generally, we use a fork and a spoon to eat rice and other dishes. If you find it hard to eat some dishes with a fork, you can try it with a spoon. One way to use a spoon and a fork is to push food with your fork onto the spoon. This will prevent rice or smaller items to fall through the prongs of a fork. But, it is sometimes easier to just eat food with our hands, especially with sticky rice. When you have a salad and sticky rice, we would recommend that you grab a small amount of sticky rice and part of the salad for a bite together, and pop it in your mount. If you really like the salad dressing, you can even make a rice ball and dip it in the dressing. This will add a nice flavor to the rice. We do use chopsticks for noodle dishes.

Who is “Chef Chew”?

My nick name is Chew, in Chinese means fall season. As my full name is Ekkachai Sakkayasukkalawong, I usually go by that name. Until I met Andy Ricker, the owner of Pok Pok and other restaurants, he started to call me by Chef Chew as they go well together. Having a chance to work with him at Pok Pok and Ping for almost 5 years has inspired me the idea of introducing other Thai dishes to Portland.