Sylva restaurant specializes in authentic Thai cuisine

While the 5 o’clock meal rush is still a few several hours away, Chef Kanlaya Supachana is zipping close to the kitchen of Dalaya, preparing several signature northern Thai dishes with these meticulous and precise treatment — no modest detail forgotten, regardless of whether for presentation or palate.

Sitting down in the small, cozy dining space of the Sylva institution (on the much close of West Main Street) is a hungry and curious journalist from The Smoky Mountain Information. And even even though yours certainly only needed to attempt a pair choices and not overstay my welcome, Supachana will not allow me go away till she delivers out dish following dish (following dish) to sample.

“You simply cannot generate about this put without having hoping a minor little bit of every little thing,” Supachana modestly mentioned. “I want this space to really feel like my home, the place anyone is welcome, where we seem ahead to introducing you to the genuine cooking of my indigenous Thailand.”

Chef Kanlaya Supachana of Dalaya, a well-liked northern Thai cafe in Sylva. (pics: Garret K. Woodward)

Even though many individuals might believe Thai food items is all about “heat and spice,” the style of reliable northern Thai, in accordance to Supachana, is far more of an emphasis on taste, as properly as colour and beauty (the food is nearly way too aesthetically pleasing to eat, with Supachana a correct artisan of her craft).

New fruit (Thai pineapple salad), vegetables and sauces (krabong) occur into play, often complemented by sweet and sour glazes (spicy fish sauce wings). There is also a keen knack for mouthwatering curry soups (khao soi, gaeng masaman), meat that falls off the bone (khao muu daeng) and seafood (plaa muk yang, khoong yang), not to point out home made Thai tea ice product for dessert.

Initially from the Chiang Mai area of northern Thailand, Supachana figured out to cook from her late father, a beloved determine of culinary talent and delights in her hometown. He bestowed on his daughter the ancient cooking instincts of come to feel and flavor, as a substitute of “going by the book” of precise recipes and regimented instruction.

But, at first, Supachana did not see herself in the foods world. She was a lot more intrigued in computer systems, one thing that parlayed alone into Supachana immigrating to the United States to go after a diploma in the industry. Ultimately, she uncovered herself operating in Thai eating places in New York Metropolis to fork out the payments.

“I commenced by just answering phones and putting with each other the takeout orders,” Supachana reminisced. “And, on our days off, myself and my coworkers — who had been also from northern Thailand — would prepare dinner the actual food stuff we ate again home, not the normal issues you see in [American] Thai places to eat.”

Supachana’s cooking turned in higher demand from customers from pals and acquaintances, finally inserting her in the kitchen area of a handful of Thai places in Brooklyn. Quickly, she and a associate opened the pop-up cafe Kao Soy. Found in Crimson Hook, the organization was a smashing success — lauded by The New York Occasions, with lines out the door day-to-day.

And it was in Brooklyn the place Supachana achieved David Months, a self-proclaimed foodie who frequented Kao Soy (which has considering that closed). Months, who has family roots in Sylva, located himself with an option to bring Supachana and her high-quality dining know-how to Jackson County. 

The two became partners, and Dalaya (a mix of their 1st names) opened just about two and a 50 % yrs in the past, with most of its existence expended in the midst of the restaurant market shutdown all through the early stages of the pandemic. 

But, the small business survived, largely thanks to a stream of faithful consumers who requested takeout on a standard basis. And now, with the dining area reopened, Dalaya is serving equally lunch (takeout only) and supper (sitdown/takeout), exactly where a packed dwelling is the norm these times.

“The assistance has been so excellent,” Supachana said. “If it was not for that, when we experienced to shut down, I do not know if we’d be below nowadays — but, we are, and the folks are still coming in to consume and get pleasure from on their own.”

So, what would her late father consider of Dalaya, of Supachana and her renowned abilities in the kitchen, of getting footing and friendship in the mountains of Western North Carolina?

“He’d be really very pleased, but he’d also be laughing a little, also, because when I was younger, I didn’t want to develop into a cook,” Supachana marveled with a chuckle. “He liked cooking and I preserve his memory alive with this food items — it’s fairly particular.”

Want to go?

Dalaya Thai Cuisine is positioned at 1084 West Key St. in Sylva. Lunch is takeout only, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday by way of Friday. You can location your buy on the internet at dalaya.sq..site. Dining several hours are 5 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday via Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 5 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday.

For more details, connect with 828.477.4945 or e mail This email deal with is staying shielded from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to look at it..