At Dara Restaurant, Thai chef shares cultural flavors & some of her grandma's recipes

Tuesday, March 24, 2026
CENTER CITY (WPVI) -- Dara Restaurant has been open just over a year and it's already famous for its hor mok.

It's a truly authentic Thai dish made with a mix of seafood, homemade red curry, coconut milk and egg. It's decorated with the Thai flag and served inside a fresh coconut.

Chef Wichittra Phansaeng grew up in Thailand, cooking with her grandmother since she was a young girl.

She went to culinary school and worked in kitchens in Thailand and then New York City before discovering Philadelphia and opening Dara.

She's also known for her crab fried rice. It's wild-caught jumbo lump crab served on white rice with her special seafood sauce.



The restaurant is BYOB but they do serve fresh coconut water complete with the umbrella

Dara is the Thai word for star, and it's the chef's way of staying connected to her homeland because the stars in the sky can be seen from anywhere in the world.

She hopes hungry Philadelphians will stop in and say hi, said "Sawadee ka" in Thai.

Dara Restaurant | Facebook |Instagram
1221 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19107
(267) 876-8107
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