THE aroma of Thai milk tea and curry wafts out from a small quaint restaurant, as enthusiastic diners feast on authentic Thai dishes.

The restaurant, in Shouchang Ancient Town in East China’s Zhejiang Province, is owned by Kenny Yang, a Thai chef with over 30 years of experience. After working in many Chinese cities for more than 10 years, he settled down in Shouchang, his wife’s hometown, in 2019.

In Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang, there are more than 1,000 restaurants with Thai food as either the main cuisine or side dishes, according to Dianping, a popular Chinese review and rating service provider. Thai restaurants can be found in almost all major business districts in Hangzhou.

In a shopping mall alongside West Lake, a major commercial area in the city, more than 20 tables in the Motai Thai restaurant were already taken before 5:30 p.m., and a queue had already begun to form.

“Consumers in Hangzhou are fond of Thai food, and during peak dining hours, they sometimes need to wait for more than an hour for a meal here,” a restaurant manager said.

Yang’s restaurant is far from the city center, and yet it still attracts a large number of foodies. Every weekend, diners from the surrounding areas and downtown Hangzhou flood into the restaurant.

“In order to re-create the authentic taste of Thailand, many ingredients are imported,” Yang said.

Thanks to close business ties between the two countries, buying and shipping in fresh ingredients from Thailand become easier than before.

According to Yang, it used to take two to three weeks or even longer to ship ingredients in from Thailand; with improved logistics, more suppliers are available providing speedier services.

“Ingredients and seasonings, delivered from my suppliers in Shanghai and Guangzhou, can reach me within two or three days after orders are placed,” he said.

Yang decided to open the restaurant in Shouchang after seeing a resemblance between this town and his hometown.

“The pleasant environment, the leisurely pace of life and the locals’ love for spicy food are similar to my hometown in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand,” Yang said, adding that people here are very friendly too.

Not just Thai restaurants, an increasing number of imported Thai food products have also been well received in China.

Data from retailer Hema Fresh showed that the sales volume of imported Thai coconut water under its own brand had doubled in the first 10 months of 2022, compared with the same period last year. Since 2018, sales of fresh tender coconuts from Thailand have grown by 2.5 fold at Hema. This year’s Thai tender coconuts sales revenues are expected to reach 140 million yuan (about US$19.6 million).

Another popular Thai product is seaweed rolls. “Among all seaweed products, my favorite is Thai seaweed rolls,” said Wang Yiming, a young consumer from Hangzhou. “The fusion of seaweed’s freshness and the refreshing spicy taste of Thai chilies linger in my mouth for a long time.”

China is Thailand’s largest trading partner, its largest export market for agricultural products, and a major source of foreign investment.

In 2021, bilateral trade exceeded US$100 billion for the first time between the two countries, which is still on the rise. (Xinhua)