Nón Lá bringing Vietnamese cuisine to 4th Street

Nón Lá Vietnamese Kitchen is coming soon to 128 E. Fourth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

This new venture is from Ronny Nguyen, who runs the very solid Sao Mai on First Avenue. As we understand it, his son will be operating Nón Lá. 

The space was home to Lui's Thai Food. As previously reported, chef-owner Pimnapa "Lek" Sunthatkolkarn had to retire her business after being hospitalized late in the summer.

Thanks to Stacie Joy for the photos and tip!

Lui's Thai Food will not be reopening

As previously reported here, longtime East Village resident Pimnapa "Lek" Sunthatkolkarn, the chef/owner of Lui's Thai Food, was hospitalized in mid-August.

While Chef Lek was discharged from the hospital, she will continue to need medical treatment. And sadly, she has had to permanently close her restaurant at 128 E. Fourth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

She opened Lui's in 2013 after running Holy Basil on Second Avenue near Ninth Street.

Here's the walk-off line from EVG contributor Stacie Joy's interview with Lek in March 2019:

Lek has a cheerful disposition and laughs a lot. As I am leaving she tells me, "Eat, then dance. Have fun!"

Lek's friends and neighbors launched a crowdfunding campaign several weeks ago to help her and her family with expenses. You may find the GoFundMe link here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Friends and neighbors come together to help Chef Lek at Lui's Thai Food

• A visit to Lui’s Thai Food on 4th Street

Friends and neighbors come together to help Chef Lek at Lui's Thai Food

[Photo from early August by Stacie Joy]

East Village resident Pimnapa "Lek" Sunthatkolkarn, the chef/owner of Lui's Thai Food on Fourth Street, was hospitalized late last week. She remains in the hospital in stable condition, per EVG contributor Stacie Joy.

Lek's friends and neighbors have come together and launched a crowdfunding campaign to help her and her family with expenses.

Per the campaign:

Lek, who grew up in Bangkok, has lived in the EV for more than 30 years and previously owned the much loved Thai restaurant, Holy Basil, before opening Lui's Thai Food. At 62 years old, Chef Lek is a powerhouse and a beloved neighbor in the community.

You may find the GoFundMe link here.

The restaurant at 128 E. Fourth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue remains closed for now...



Previously on EV Grieve:
• A visit to Lui’s Thai Food on 4th Street


[Photo from March 2019]

A visit to Lui’s Thai Food on 4th Street

Photos and interview by Stacie Joy

Getting Pimnapa “Lek” Sunthatkolkarn, chef/owner of Lui’s Thai Food, 128 E. Fourth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, to sit still for a minute for our interview is no easy task.

I stopped by the small restaurant during a break in service, which happens every day from 4 to 5 p.m. Although she confesses to being tired, she’s in almost constant motion, a 62-year-old one-woman powerhouse.



She first addresses a common misconception with me — that she must be the eponymous Lui.

But no, lui in Thailand means, roughly, “go for it!” Still, enough people call her Lui that she good-naturedly answers to it along with Lek, her actual nickname.

Lek used to own Holy Basil, a much-loved, now-shuttered Thai spot on Second Avenue near Ninth Street. She opened Lui's in late 2013.

An East Village resident (she’s lived on 11th Street for more than 30 years), Lek says having a restaurant here is hard work and wonders aloud if the East Village has changed, speculates how it might have changed, and worries about keeping the restaurant busy enough going forward.

She mentions how many people, her long-term customers, are leaving NYC now. When I ask her if she’ll be staying, she tells me she has five years left on her 10-year lease.






[Kris the waiter]

When she first opened Lui’s Thai, she had only nine items on the menu. And she didn't offer pad thai.

She laughs and tells me that “you must have pad thai or you die.”

She’s changed the menu since opening day. Today, she not only has the mandatory noodle dish but also traditional curries and some locally sourced small-batch specials. Some of those plates get playful names like Ooh la la Salmon Belly or Grilled Squid with Spicy Sexy Sauce.

If something doesn't sell, then she takes it off the menu. Current best-selling dishes are the crispy duck and the garlic chicken.

Lek would like customers to try new things and expand their palate but doesn’t want to tell them what (or what not) to eat. She wishes she could instruct them “don’t eat only pad thai, try the drunken salmon noodles.” Her favorite item on the menu is the Thai eggplant with soft tofu, a recipe from her grandmother.


[Crispy duck with garlic chives and basil]


[Tofu and vegetables soup with ho choy, watercress, tomatoes and spicy broth]


[Crispy calamari and shrimp w/garlic chives and green beans in spicy sauce]


[Beef drunken noodles with chilis, Chinese broccoli and basil]

There’s no alcohol at Lui's, though you can bring in your own bottle of wine (without a corkage fee). When I ask her why she doesn’t want a beer/wine license, she laughs again and tells me that people linger too long at a place serving alcohol. You need high turnover in a space this small or a business can’t survive.

Despite her worries about the business, Lek has a cheerful disposition and laughs a lot. As I am leaving she tells me, “Eat, then dance. Have fun!”





---

Lek is old-fashioned and doesn’t do social media. Restaurant hours include a lunch service from noon until 4 p.m., then dinner from 5 to 10:30 p.m. No reservations.

H/T to Kathleen McMillan for helping facilitate this interview.

Monday's parting shot

A moment at Lui's Thai Food, 128 E. Fourth St. Photo by Derek Berg.