One of Chinatown’s most promising Thai restaurants has closed

Chon Tong Thai Kitchen, the family-run restaurant that brought joyful, brightly colored space to an unlikely corner of Vine Street, abruptly closed late last month after its owner returned to Thailand. The Central Thai specialist, which opened in 2022, was a favorite of Thai expats in Philly.

Owner Thidarat “Grace” Teekabud, whose great, great, grandmother had been a chef for the fifth King of Siam in the late 1800s, came to Philadelphia in 2019 to learn English. She noticed a void in Philly’s food scene and missed the desserts and snacks she grew up with. Opening the restaurant was her solution. (“Chon Tong” means “golden spoon” in Thai.)

Teekabud did not respond to requests for comment.

The real estate broker for the space at 1439 Vine St. told The Inquirer that the owners had already moved back to Thailand after a quick sale of the business and transfer of the turnkey space.

Chon Tong was a close contender for The Inquirer’s 2025 edition of The 76, making the list of restaurants that writers (unsuccessfully) championed for inclusion.

Though the concept initially focused on desserts, Chon Tong became better known among the area’s Thai student community for its boat noodles, fried items like the mussel-studded hoi tod pancake, tum tod (an inventive fried sweet-and-sour papaya salad) and jay tod (speckled with juicy-sweet corn kernels and crunchy tofu), as well as its crispy pork belly (moo tod nam pla).

The property’s broker said that a Chinese-Japanese fusion restaurant will take Chon Tong’s place.