Our Story

In 2011, life pulled Pong to Thailand, where he met Jid through his cousins. He was a former Navy cook with a love of making food and helping people, and Jid was running her own beauty salon. Her family was famous for their boat noodle recipe, a delicious Thai street food.

Not long after they met, Pong fell ill and was admitted to the hospital. As he was starting to recover, Jid came to visit him. It was pouring rain that day, but she still drove her motorcycle all the way across town just to see him. When she finally got to the hospital, she was soaking wet.

On the way home from that visit, disaster struck: the slick roads caused her bike to skid, and she barely missed getting hit by a passing car.

She was immediately rushed to the hospital she had just visited— the one where Pong was staying. When Pong heard that she was there, he left his room, pulling his entire IV stand in tow, to go check on her.

As Jid began to recover, their friendship grew into something more. Before long, they were married.

In 2012, they opened up their first restaurant together. It was very successful, but when they moved locations, business faltered. After four years, Pong made the difficult decision to return to the U.S. to work, while Jid stayed behind. The separation was difficult, but they strived to make it work.

By 2018, Pong had saved up enough money to bring Jid over. She took up a full-time job bussing tables and waiting at a Thai restaurant, while he worked whatever jobs he could— Uber driving, factories, and delivery. Outside of work, they began to cook food at home for their friends. Soon enough, their friends started to ask to buy their food from them, and people began to order food out of their house. This led to a pop-up restaurant in Downtown Chandler. Eventually, they opened this restaurant in Gilbert, serving the boat noodle soup that was Jid’s family recipe.

Now, if you walk into Thai Boat Noodle.PS, you’ll see Pong and Jid working side by side. He might crack a joke about “love being the main ingredient,” but when Jid tears up at the memory of that rainy hospital night, you know that their dream has come true. Their restaurant isn’t just about food. It’s a continuation of the love story that began with a chance meeting, a crash on a wet road, and two people who have been caring for each other ever since. It’s no wonder people come from as far as San Diego just for the pleasure of dining with Pong and Jid.