UPTOWN — Two long-time friends are debuting their new Thai food concept, which serves up traditional street food in a Panda Express-like buffet, this week.
The owners of Immm, at 4949 N. Broadway, held their soft opening Sunday and will offer a week of discounts as they allow neighbors to try out the concept, which is far from fast food, according to the owners.
"Everyone says they serve Thai Street food, but the idea here is what we serve in Thailand at the [street] market. This is like the same pattern," said co-owner Noon Tosakulwong. "You go there, there's tons of food and you pick what you want."
The restaurant's main focus is Khao Rad Gaeng, which allows customers to choose their entrees served traditionally over a plate of steamed rice. The restaurant will have a repertoire of about 16-18 revolving entrees along with specials that will be announced via the restaurant's Facebook page.
Authentic Thai food takes hours to prepare, explained Tosakulwong, but they're cutting down on preparation time by preparing big pots of the entrees throughout the day.
After all, they chose the Uptown location because of the availability of fresh ingredients necessary for authentic Thai food sold in the area, said co-owner Dew Suriyawan, of Roscoe Village.
"The best thing here is the ingredients are all right here and everything is really fresh," said Suriyawan adding ingredients like Holy Basil and Morning Glory don't stay fresh long.
The fresh ingredients will help them produce the authentic taste of Thailand as opposed to a watered-down, Americanized style of the food, he said.
"You come here and you get Thai food. I don't care if you don't like the smell or it's too spicy because that's how they serve it [in Thailand]," he said.
The restaurant will be open all week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and all guest checks will be 20 percent off. The restaurant is BYOB, the owners said.
Inside Immm:
[The restaurant will have seating for about 40 people, owners said. DNAinfo/Josh McGhee]
[The mural, which was created by Thunder Sudsoe, depicts a man from Thailand eating Thai food with Chicago in the background. DNAinfo/Josh McGhee]
What's on the Menu:
[DNAinfo/Josh McGhee]
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