Charm Thai Cuisine PGH (ชามไทย พิตต์สเบิร์ก), offering Thai street food, now open for takeout in North Oakland.

Charm Thai Cuisine PGH (ชามไทย พิตต์สเบิร์ก) has just opened in North Oakland at The Mill Food Co. "From the vibrant streets of Bangkok to the heart of Pittsburgh," the website says,

our journey is a celebration of Thai culinary traditions. Inspired by the rich flavors of my hometown, I opened this kitchen to share my passion for authentic Thai food. Join us as we blend heritage and heart in every dish.

It will open at 451 Melwood Ave. (map) and is one of the takeout restaurants at The Mill Food Co, a newish food hall in North Oakland that seems to have a rotation of restaurants.

At The Mill Food Co, our mission is to become your go-to spot for to-go meals. We are a restaurant co-op that's modernizing the traditional food hall experience. From online web ordering to touchscreen kiosks, we make it easy to order from our 20+ partner restaurants.

Smile Thai & Sushi now open in Oakland.

Smile Thai & Sushi has recently opened in Oakland. It is located at 253 Atwood St. (map), taking over the spot from Spice Island Tea House which long occupied the space. Signage went up a few weeks ago, and the storefront now has its hours posted (and based on what they have posted online, the long hours of operation is not a typo).

More dates announced for 2024 Thai film How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (หลานม่า), now playing in Pittsburgh, September 20 through 25.

The 2024 Thai film How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (หลานม่า) will play in Pittsburgh from September 20 through 25.

After his grandmother is diagnosed with cancer, a scheming young man moves in to care for her, motivated by a desire to secure her fortune for himself. Unfortunately for him, it turns out that winning Grandma’s favor is no easy feat.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online.

2024 Thai film How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (หลานม่า) in Pittsburgh, September 20 and 21.

The 2024 Thai film How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (หลานม่า) will play in Pittsburgh on September 20 and 21.

After his grandmother is diagnosed with cancer, a scheming young man moves in to care for her, motivated by a desire to secure her fortune for himself. Unfortunately for him, it turns out that winning Grandma’s favor is no easy feat.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online.

Smile Thai & Sushi coming soon to Oakland.

Signage is now up for Smile Thai & Sushi, coming soon to Oakland in the spot long occupied by Spice Island Tea House. The new spot was hinted at in Spice Island's online goodbye message back in July, excerpted below:

We have vacated Atwood Street in Oakland, and new owners with a new Thai concept have taken over the space. Since we closed regular service back in September last year, we’ve been looking for a fitting restauranteur to take over the space so that Atwood Street would remain an interesting and diverse food destination in Oakland. We wish the new owners much success, and we hope that you will support them once they open for business.

Smile Thai & Sushi will be located at 253 Atwood St. (map).

More signage up for Breakfast With Tiffany in Fox Chapel.

More signage has gone up at 1034 Freeport Road in Fox Chapel (map), where Breakfast With Tiffany will be coming soon. It is next in a long line of Thai places in this spot, and replaces The98 Contemporary Thai Cuisine, which occupied the location for a few months in 2023. It is from the same head chef as Squirrel Hill's Took Took 98, who also ran The98.

Thai Tamarind in Glenshaw holding soft opening Thursday, August 15.

Thai Tamarind is soft opening its second location on Thursday, August 15, located at 2909 Mt. Royal Blvd. (map) in Glenshaw, in a building previously Le Thai Cafe. The original Thai Tamarind opened in Bellevue in August 2015. The new spot's soft opening will start at 4:00 pm.

New Thai place Breakfast With Tiffany coming soon to Fox Chapel.

A banner has gone up at 1034 Freeport Road in Fox Chapel (map), where Breakfast With Tiffany will be coming soon. It is next in a long line of Thai places in this spot, and replaces The98 Contemporary Thai Cuisine, which occupied the location for a few months in 2023. It is from the same head chef as Squirrel Hill's Took Took 98, who also ran The98.

Grapow Asian Street Food opening July 17.

Grapow Asian Street Food will be opening in Oakland on July 17. Signage first went up in early June at 411 S. Craig St. (map) in what was briefly and most recently the neighborhood's second Chick'n. It will be open 11 am to 9 pm. Grapow is the name of a Thai street food dish, and sneak peeks at the menu are available on the restaurant's Instagram.

Itamae Thai & Sushi Bar now open in Mt. Lebanon.

Itamae Thai & Sushi Bar has recently opened in Mt. Lebanon, holding its Grand Opening on July 5. Mt. Lebanon Magazine profiled the restaurant on May 10 when it was still in the works:

Hungry for sushi? A new restaurant called Itamae is coming soon to 193 Castle Shannon Boulevard, replacing Yum Yum Asian Cuisine, which closed in February.

Itamae is Japanese for chef, or someone who works behind a cutting board. The new concept will be Thai and sushi. The decor will be Asian/Japanese.

Indonesian-born Vick Oktavian and his wife, Katie Kaewwangworn, are self-proclaimed foodies with years of culinary experience. “We love checking out different restaurants and trying different cuisine. We are firm believers that in order to make good food, we must train our taste buds by eating good food,” said Oktavian.

It is located at 193 Castle Shannon Blvd. (map).

Spice Island Tea House holding its final take-out offer through 3 pm today, June 25.

Spice Island Tea House, the longtime Oakland restaurant that closed its doors on September 30, will hold its final take-out event through 3:00 pm today, June 25. The restaurant has been holding occasional pop-up events since the fall. Supplies and quantities are limited, but orders may be placed via their Squarespace site.

Bellevue's Thai Tamarind to open second location in Glenshaw.

A second Thai Tamarind location is coming soon to Glenshaw. It will be located at 2909 Mt. Royal Blvd. (map) in what is currently Le Thai Cafe. Expansion was foreshadowed by a new Thai Tamarind Noodle & Rice LLC created last month. Updates will be posted on its newly-created Instagram page.

Grapow Asian Street Food coming soon to Pittsburgh.

Signage went up recently for Grapow Asian Street Food, a new restaurant coming soon to Pittsburgh. It will be located at 411 S. Craig St. in Oakland (map), most recently and for a very brief time the home of Oakland's second Chick'n location, for which the painted chickens on the facade are a temporary reminder. Grapow is the name of a Thai street food dish, but details about the menu are not yet available.

Asian Festival Night, May 19 at Carnegie Mellon.

The Organization of Chinese Americans and Win-Win Kung Fu Cultural Center will present Asian Festival Night on May 19.

OCA Pittsburgh and Win Win Kung Fu invite you to Asian Festival Night on May 19th, 4-6pm at:

CMU McConomy Auditorium

Jared L. Cohon University Center

5032 Forbes Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Enjoy cultural performances from Asian American groups in our community: OCA Performance Ensemble, Win Win Kung Fu, BCAP, FAAP, Geeta Tahiliani-Bolly Rangeela, PAPAGP, Pittsburgh Taiko, Silk Elephant, Zang Taekwondo. Sponsored by CMU Chinese Studies Program, Dept of LCAL.

Tickets are $5 flat rate

Join us in three week to spend the Asian Festival Night!!!

It runs from 4:00 to 6:00 pm at McConomy Auditorium in the second floor of the Jared L. Cohon University Center on the Carnegie Mellon University campus (map).  

Asia Pop Lecture Series: Dr. Thomas Baudinette, March 20 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Dr. Thomas Baudinette for the next installment of its Asia Pop Lecture Series on March 20.

Dr. Thomas Baudinette is Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies and International Studies at Macquarie University. A cultural anthropologist, his research primarily explores how popular media and fandom culture inform knowledge about gender and sexuality across East and Southeast Asia. He is the author of Regimes of Desire: Young Gay Men, Media, Masculinity in Tokyo (University of Michigan Press, 2021) and Boys Love Media in Thailand: Celebrity, Fans, and Transnational Asian Queer Popular Culture (Bloomsbury, 2023). He i currently working on his third book, tentatively titled Queer Fantasies of Asia: Japanese and Korean Media Fandom in the Philippines.

The event starts at 6:00 pm in 202 Frick Fine Arts (map).

New Thai restaurant coming soon to Fox Chapel.

A new Thai restaurant is coming soon to Fox Chapel, next in line in a series of former Thai places. New ownership has purchased the former The98 spot at 1034 Freeport Rd. (map), which was previously the longtime home of Thai Place, and added a new paint job. Management said the new restaurant, which does not yet have a name, may keep some menu items from The98, which was a new venture from the Took Took 98 team in operation from January to summer 2023.

Noodles of Burma Pop-Up Event, from Spice Island Tea House team, October 20-21.

The team behind Spice Island Tea House in Oakland is putting on a Noodles of Burma Pop-Up Event on October 20 and 21.

[W]e hope your love of noodles remain strong to join us on Oct 20 and 21! So save the dates! This is a dine-in only event, so no take-out will be available. No reservations. No BYOB. No rice. Just noodles.

Spice Island Tea House was a long-standing restaurant in Oakland that closed on September 30.  The storefront is located at 253 Atwood St. (map).

Spice Island Tea House closing September 30; last day of dine-in service September 28.

Spice Island Tea House in Oakland announced today it will close on September 30, with the last day of dine-in service on September 28.

On a more bittersweet note, we will be ending our 28-year run as Spice Island Tea House this week. Our last day of Dine-in Service will be Thursday, Sept 28, and last day for Take-Out Service will be Saturday, Sept 30. We are grateful to have had the pleasure of serving you throughout the years. When we first opened in 1995, never in our wildest dreams did we think we would go on this long. Admittedly, the last few years have been the hardest we’ve ever faced. And thanks to you, our customers, for the enduring support that have kept us going for as long as we have. But now is the time to ride this ship into the sunset. Although we will no longer be operating as Spice Island, we are exploring the possibility of other culinary endeavors through a series of Pop-ups and events. So stay tuned and follow us on Instagram and Facebook for upcoming events! Thank you, Spicefans! It has been a lovely venture!

The restaurant is located at 253 Atwood St. (map).

The98 Contemporary Thai Cuisine in Fox Chapel for sale.

The98 Contemporary Thai Cuisine in Fox Chapel is for sale. From a listing online:

Turn Key restaurant for sale in Fox Chapel Prime. This place has been recently remodeled inside and the front of building as well. Owner is asking $150,000 and will finance $50,000 for qualified buyer. Please call Phil for showing, 412-628-6154

The restaurant opened in January at 1034 Freeport Rd. (map), from the team behind Squirrel Hill's TOOK TOOK 98.

2023 Lunar New Year Parade, February 25 in Squirrel Hill.

Pittsburgh's Lunar New Year Parade will return in 2023 on February 25, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm in Squirrel Hill.

We're back! Come celebrate the Year of the Rabbit @Squirrel Hill with the biggest gathering of Pittsburgh's Pan Asian Community Organizations and Friends!

And "We proudly honor Pittsburgh's Buddhist Tzu Chi Organization as our 2023 Grand Marshal for their invaluable work assisting our Asian immigrant community members!" The parade will start at Teppan BBQ, 2209 Murray Ave., and progress up Murray Hill to the intersection of Murray and Forbes (map).