Chopsticks House Thai and Chinese Restaurant has been serving authentic Asian cuisine since 1994. For 20 years, owners Nataya and Santaya Pleesonti have been treating customers to great food properly prepared with the freshest ingredients.
“We really love what we do, making delicious food for our customers. And we enjoy being in the Cutler Bay community,” Santaya said.
For Nataya and Santaya, cooking was an essential part of family life even when they were children. Nataya’s Chinese father and Thai mother operated a restaurant.
Santaya’s grandfather taught him the art of chopping food; cooking was a tradition in his family and all the men from grandfather to son were involved. His mother owned restaurants in Miami and Boca Raton and he worked in them on visits to the U.S. as a young man.
Nataya and Santaya married in Thailand and immigrated to the United States, settling in the Miami area.
“We came here in 1987 for the old-fashioned reason that many people come to the U.S. — because we believed we had more opportunities for a better life here and we did,” Nataya. Said.
Once here, Nataya worked in the local restaurant scene, learning more about cooking, serving and managing a restaurant business. Santaya was employed by a local company working in the computer department. By 1994, they believed they were ready to open their own restaurant, launching Chopsticks in the Old Cutler Towne Center. For 20 years the restaurant has remained in its original location, enjoying a brisk lunch trade.
“Chopsticks began as a ‘mom and pop’ operation, Nataya said.
“Mom” and “Pop” are still in the kitchen, preparing the kind of food that keeps you returning for more.
Chopsticks brings the best of both worlds to its menu. Classic dishes prepared with extremely fresh ingredients are available in your choice of heat intensity. Pad Thai is an example of one such dish that has remained popular at Chopsticks for two decades.
Chinese and Thai cooking share a common tradition that reaches back 2,000 years when settlers from the Yunnan province in southwest China settled in what is now Thailand.
They brought with them the spicy cooking of their province. The Chinese tradition of blending five flavors — salty, sweet, sour, bitter and hot — is also a mainstay of Thai cooking. Other influences on Thai cuisine have come from India and Malaysia. As in China, rice, noodles, dumplings and soy sauce are essentials in Thai dishes.
Chopsticks is located at 20553 Old Cutler Rd. and is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. Delivery service is available within a five-mile radius. Contact them at 305-254-0080 or visit the website at www.chopstickshousemiami.com.
