A place to go for Thai kampung food

Soft-spoken and gentle with delicate mannerisms and the sweetest smile imaginable, Rungtiwa Homchan is not the sort of person you would imagine to head a restaurant kitchen. But looks can be deceiving because that’s exactly what she’s doing at Baan Rao, a restaurant in Taman Bukit Mayang Emas, Petaling Jaya, started by her husband and his childhood friends to showcase her culinary skills.

Rungtiwa grew up in a poor family in Ayutthaya, Thailand, and learnt how to cook partially from her parents and partially by trial and error as she often had to make meals for her siblings.