So when a nearby restaurant space became available, the duo jumped at the opportunity. The result is the Green Elephant, an all vegetarian, pan-Asian restaurant with a sleek, minimalist style that opened two weeks ago.
“This is our dream restaurant,” says Sriprasert. “Our parents have been saying you should do something like this. In our family, we eat a lot of vegetables.”
In addition to offering Portland’s first all-vegetarian lunch and dinner spot, the restaurant aims to tread lighter on the earth. Of course, serving veggie food is one part of this strategy (a recent study by the U.N. pegged meat- and dairy-related greenhouse gas emissions at 18% of the worldwide total, which is more than all the worldwide transportation-related emissions). But the Green Elephant also has sustainably-harvested bamboo floors, offers biodegradable to-go cartons and will soon run on green electricity.
While the menu carries many Thai influences, Sriprasert, 29, and Wongsaichua, 32, say it is different from the Bangkok Thai fare, instead drawing inspiration from a variety of Asian cuisines.
“My mom had a restaurant in Thailand,” Sriprasert says. “Now she’s retired. She helped me set up the restaurant and the menu.”
Look for offerings like king oyster mushroom tempura ($7), green leaves wrap with mango and herbs ($7), Asian vegetable stew ($4), vegetable and tofu kabob ($8), organic green tea noodle ($10), pineapple brown rice ($10) and peanut curry ($13). All the meat references on the menu (tuna, spare ribs, duck) are really vegetarian soy products. Everything can be made vegan and a number of the items are gluten-free.
“This is pretty close to what we eat in Thailand,” Sriprasert says. “But in Thailand, we have really strong flavors, so this is a little more mild.”
But, he adds, “if they want spicy, we can make it spicy.”