Maine Restaurateurs Help Smash Pad Thai World Record in LA
Two Maine restaurant owners joined 37 other vendors to serve over 1,300 pad thai dishes in one hour at LA's Thai New Year festival, crushing the previous Guinness World Record. Their dishes sold out in 45 minutes, and business back home exploded so much they ran out of supplies.
Sourasay Senesombath and Anima Nikonthet didn't fly 3,000 miles to Los Angeles for the sunshine. The Maine restaurateurs went to make history.
The co-owners of Asian Noodle Bowl in Augusta and Asian Cafe in Winslow joined 37 other vendors at LA's 17th annual Songkran Festival with one mission: break a world record. Together, they served over 1,300 pad thai dishes in just one hour, smashing the previous record of 1,200 and earning their spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.
"When it started, they're like 'Go, go, go, it start,' and then we all are rushing," Nikonthet recalled. "All we know is like 'Hurry up!'"
The Thai New Year celebration brought an estimated 200,000 people from around the world to one place. Nikonthet said she'd never seen so many Thai people gathered outside of Thailand.
What made the event special wasn't just the record. Every vendor brought their own twist to the traditional dish, creating 1,300+ unique versions of pad thai.
"Everybody have their own technique, their own recipe so every single pad thai came out differently," Senesombath explained. From shrimp to turnip, red sauce to white, no two dishes were identical.
The Maine duo's version stood out for what it didn't include. "We don't use fish sauce, that was the unique thing about our pad thai," Nikonthet said. They adapt the traditional recipe to fit their community's tastes, proving cultural dishes can evolve while honoring their roots.
The Ripple Effect
The Maine pair completed their share in just 45 minutes, but the real celebration happened back home. Word of their world record achievement spread fast through their Central Maine communities.
The weekend after returning, both restaurants got slammed with customers wanting to try the record-breaking dish. Business was so good they actually ran out of supplies and had to close early.
It's a reminder that when small businesses dream big and show up for something meaningful, their communities show up right back for them.
Based on reporting by Google News - World Record
This story was written by BrightWire based on verified news reports.
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