'Eed' Kanlayani Mertens

Born in Yala province, near Bangkok in Thailand, Eed grew up in Bangkok and learned to cook by watching her mother. She worked hard and studied cooking and became an excellent chef.

Eed opened her own family-style restaurant near the Bangkok main Police station and ran the business there for 15 years.

Thai restaurants are different from American restaurants: typically every dish on the menu is cooked and displayed for the customers to choose among, then their dishes are prepared fresh in the kitchen. There are usually fewer service people, and a lot of direct customer interaction with the owner and chef. This is typical of family restaurants all over Asia.

Eed came to the USA in 2001 and made her home in Los Angeles. After a few months, she came north and started working at a Thai-owned restaurant in Half Moon Bay. A fortunate meeting in an Asian market brought her to Santa Cruz and she immediately fell in love with the town.

She opened her own Mission Street restaurant in late 2002, naming it the “Thai Orchid” and has successfully made it a favorite among UCSC students and staff. Many other local folk and regular visitors to Santa Cruz are regular customers and enjoy genuine Bangkok dishes in friendly and comfortable surroundings.

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Our Favorite Thai Orchid Recipe

See-sa Hai

The name See-sa Hai means literally “four friends “and it`s a sizzling seafood combination of shrimp, calamari and scallop stir-fried with fresh asparagus and garlic. It also includes bell pepper, green onions and sweet Thai basil. This delicious meal is served on a very hot iron dish and eaten over steamed rice. It can be made as mild or as spicy as your taste buds prefer and is especially good with fresh young coconut juice or a Singha beer on the side!

 

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