Off Menu with Aloy Thai

Food authenticity isn’t just a matter of mixing the right ingredients together to create a culinary masterpiece. It’s all in the technique, which Aloy Thai (“delicious Thai”) aptly demonstrates meal after meal. The flick of the wrist at the proper time, the right amount of water to create the ideal noodle consistency, and the right temperature are just a few components that go into making some of Boulder’s best Thai food. Another vital component is the 55 years of culinary experience that Sorawee “Momma Kim” Makapadungsuk brings to the table.

Makapadungsuk grew up in Bangkok with her 10 siblings, and countless cousins. As the third oldest, the responsibility of cooking typically fell to her. At the vibrant age of 10, she walked to the market twice a day to retrieve the freshest ingredients for her concoctions. Arisa Bode, Makapadungsuk’s 41-year-old daughter, explained that there were always, “at least like 30 people in the house at all times,” and her mom was the one who fed everyone. This is the same intensity that Makapadungsuk and Bode bring to Aloy Thai’s three locations today.

Boulder’s Aloy Thai is the mothership location. It’s an unassuming restaurant that’s tucked into the corner of a complex at the intersection of Arapahoe and 28th street. If you’re not looking for it, you could blink and pass it without a thought. Yet the interior of the building is a buzzing city with fragrant smells wafting across the space.

The original Aloy Thai opened its doors to patrons in 2006 – the same year that Makapadungsuk moved to America. After spending most of her life behind a stove, Makapadungsuk spends her days teaching and demonstrating those top-secret techniques that contribute to her restaurant’s success.

Som Tum (Papaya Salad)

Bode explains that the most popular dishes in the restaurant are what you might expect: Pad Thai and Drunken Noodles. But there’s something on the menu that she’s been eating regularly since she was a child that rages on the palate: Som Tum (Papaya Salad). As a girl, Bode picked the chilis out of the salad as a pre-meal snack, making her mom giggle at her child’s love of spicy food. The dish is made with green papaya, carrot, tomato, and peanuts and doused in a spicy lime dressing. Light, refreshing, and as spicy as the patron decides, the salad is a prime example of the restaurant’s delicate and intentional cuisine.

While Aloy Thai takes a traditional approach to Thai food, the family business has also grown to include locations in Capitol Hill and Ball Park, and another one is expected to pop up in Englewood in 2025, with each spot featuring its own character. The Ball Park modern Thai eatery is, “mixed up with Korean, mixed up with Japanese, mixed up with Chinese [influences],” explains Bode. Like much of the contemporary food that travelers find in Bangkok, the restaurant takes inspiration from multiple cultures, and the menu rotates.

Aloy Thai’s Boulder location

The Capitol Hill location provides more of a light-eatery experience, allowing diners to grab and go as they please, which is a response to the cultural food shift that’s taken place since COVID-19. Aloy Thai is finding that more and more people want to bring takeout home where clients can relax. Today, 60% of business flows through third parties like DoorDash and Uber Eats, while 40% remains in house. It’s the same shift that’s contributing to changes in server pay in places like Chicago.

The mothership Aloy Thai takes a more traditional approach to Thai food. Bode explains that authentic Thai is a little bit different from the classic recipes that many of us envision. “I think it’s curry. Curry,curry, and stir-fry.”

Since moving to Boulder to assist her mom with the restaurant in 2006, Bode has come to love all kinds of international food, but her mother stays loyal to her roots. She says, “I only love Thai food.” And retaining that authenticity that sets Aloy Thai apart from other restaurants is a process. Bode and her mother work diligently to monitor the food chain, ensuring that their restaurant only provides the best ingredients. This is not only because they take pride in their dishes, but Bode says it’s also because they eat at their own restaurant all the time. The result is a diverse range of dishes that you might find on the streets of Thailand.

Drunken Noodles

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