Meet our Chef & Our Chef’s Favorites

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Run by our Chef Nucharin (Arin) Lapakulchai, we want to welcome our customers to our Kao Sarn home away from home. Born and raised in Bangkok, and graduated from the Bangkok University, Chef Arin recently moved to the Washington area and wanted to share her love of cooking and of Thai street food with the American, Vietnamese community of Eden Center, and diverse patrons in the Washington DC area.

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The Chef has selected her favorites and introductory Thai Street Food menu for your pleasure. Her “Must Try”:

1. Boat Noodle Soup (mildly spicy and delicious)
2. Kao Soi Curry Noodle Soup (rich and flavorful)
3. Kha Na Mu Krob (Thai stir fried vegetable dish with crispy pork belly over rice—stable and satisfying)
4. Som Tum Green Papaya Salad and Yum Woon Sen Bean Thread Salad (deliciously refreshing)
5. Pad Thai Stir Fried Noodle (classic and reliable and still is the most common dish in Thailand (street food) and U.S. (restaurant)

Tyler Cowen’s Ethnic Dining Guide
Washingtonian’s Best Cheap Eats
Northern Virginia’s Review 2018

Street food – a way of Thai’s life

In Thailand, street food is consumed at any hour of the day, well into the AM. Traditionally offered on boat canals, on the streets, or at open markets, street food is a way of life for the Thais. It is freshly cooked and eaten right on the streets or take home, with each vendor specialized in a single dish, and often passed on from generations. Pad Thai is a street food item but its popularity here in America has transformed it into a stable, reliable, restaurant sit-down menu item.

See menu

The name “Kao Sarn”

Kao Sarn, also referred to as Khao Sarn, Khao San, or Kao San, stands for rice or grain, which is a stable base in many Asian and Thai cuisine. Kao Sarn is also the name of a popular street in Bangkok, where many street food and local fruits are sold.

Bringing Thai Street Food via Kao Sarn Thai to Eden Center, we invite you to join us in an intimate culinary experience ideal for a quick lunch or a relaxed sit-down dinner, as well as for groups and catering parties. Enjoy this culinary journey to Thailand at our clean and cozy Kao Sarn restaurant but without the hustle and bustle of Kao Sarn street.

Customer Reviews

  • This mom and pop is one of the very best Thai places around. The Yum Woo Sen bean thread salad and the Kao Soi Curry Noodle Soup are especially good.

    Tyler Cowen Ethnic Dining Guide

  • Kao Sarn absolutely kills it when it comes to no-frills Thai food. The Pad Thai and Curry here are both absolutely superb.

    Kirk S.

  • The Crispy Pork Belly is incredible.

    Jon Y.

  • Boat Noodles, Papaya Salad and Mango Sticky Rice were all legit. Take it from a Thai native.

    Pat K.

  • Fantastic Thai food. I love their Drunken Noodles (possibly the best I've had anywhere) and their Chicken Satay is on the same level. Our kids enjoy the Pad Se Ew.

    Bill M.

  • Just like you're in Thailand. The Thai iced tea (with milk) is the best but the lemongrass is equally good. Tom yum was just like I remembered in Thailand with juicy shrimp and mushrooms. Also had warm noodle salad which was light, warm and lemony. The pad thai was a star, with the noodles perfectly cooked and had a distinctive high fire flavour.

    Aloi S.

  • Wow! What a hidden gem this little place is! If you've been to Thailand and love all the street foods like I do, you must try it!!!

    Case L. (Special thanks! Our first reviewer!)

  • With Kao Sarn, chef Arin Lapakulchai has delivered an infusion of Thai flavors.

    Tim Carman and Dayna Smith The Washington Post Review

  • Few places turn out these staples as deftly... Lapakulchai’s khao soi, the coconutty curry soup with crisp egg noodles, pickles, and shallots, is a straight-up masterpiece.

    Washingtonian Best Cheap Eats

  • Like many dishes here, its presence might make the menu read like that of any old Thai restaurant, but the execution elevates it to something a lot more memorable… creamy-centered eggplant stir-fried with ground pork and basil… crave-worthy jumble of spicy Chinese broccoli with crispy pork belly… pungent, spicy green papaya salad…

    RINA RAPUANO Northern Virginia Magazine 2018

Comfort Food in a Friendly Setting

Located near the Seven Corners Center of Falls Church, Kao Sarn is bringing our tasty street food onto your table. You can see our Bangkok-born Chef Arin, who has compiled a focused menu featuring a unique collection of traditional Thai food as well as Thai street food, in the open setting. Join us in our cozy dining room or experience the comfort street food feel at our outside rustic tables.

Boasting on original Thai flavors, each dish is crafted with clean ingredients and genuine care. All of these can now be found inside the Saigon West Mall of Eden Center in Falls Church, Virginia.

Explore our Menu

Traditional Recipes with Genuine Care.

In addition to the traditional and authentic dishes such as Drunken Noodle or Chicken Satay, we would like to introduce other common Thai street food such as Boat Noodle Soup (its name derived from the dish being sold on small boats along Thai canals; also sometimes affectionately referred to as the Thai Pho by the Vietnamese community, the Thai version of the Vietnamese Pho).

See menu

Sincere Thanks

to all our customers and food critics who love our food for your great support and for spreading the words and a shout out to Dave N. of BCLC and his teams for their business support services.

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 dine in • take out • delivery

Kao Sarn Thai Restaurant, Eden Center, 6795 Wilson Blvd., Unit 12, Falls Church, VA 22044
Email: kaosarnthai@gmail.com. Phone: (703) 992-7440

© 2017 Kao Sarn Thai Street Food.
Designed by PSK Creative.

Kao Sarn Thai Restaurant, Eden Center, 6795 Wilson Blvd., Unit 12, Falls Church, VA 22044
Email: kaosarnthai@gmail.com. Phone: (703) 992-7440

© 2017 Kao Sarn Thai Street Food.
Designed by PSK Creative.