KIN KHAO >

As owner Pim Techamuanvivit’s star continues to rise, Kin Khao has maintained its foothold as the city’s top Thai restaurant. In Kin Khao, she took what she loved to eat her whole life and tweaked it to highlight Northern California produce. It’s a beautiful marriage, with dishes like pad kee mao, made with flat noodles and ground pork bits; Isaan-style shelling beans; rabbit green curry; and a dessert of black rice pudding.

Beyond the food and the story, the restaurant is one of the more accessible mid- to high-tier dining spaces in the city. Open for lunch and dinner, the dining room is a casual, low-ceilinged spot in the Parc 55 hotel. Its unassuming nature, though it can get loud, is a reminder of the chef ’s most basic desires in the Bay Area food scene — using the recipes of her youth, mixed with local seasonal produce, in a space where all feel welcome. Techamuanvivit’s career is approaching a crescendo, but for now, Kin Khao is her local, laid-back flagship.

What’s next? Techamuanvivit’s future is brighter than ever. Not only has she taken the reins at Nahm, the famed fine-dining destination in Bangkok, but she has opened a new Kin Khao spin-off named Kamin at San Francisco Airport’s International Terminal, alongside Tartine and Cala. Soon she will open another Thai restaurant in San Francisco’s Japantown; named Nari, it will be a tribute to women.

Order: Mushroom hor mok ($14), Pretty Hot Wings ($14), stir-fried choy sum ($8), khao mun gai ($19), khao soi ($18, lunch only)

55 Cyril Magnin St., San Francisco. 415-362-7456 or www.kinkhao.com. Lunch and dinner daily. Reservations and credit cards accepted.

— J.P.