Find your new fusion favorites at Infused Thai Kitchen

A yellow curry fried chicken sando isn’t common on the menu at most Thai restaurants, but it’s one of the most popular choices at Morro Bay’s Infused Thai Kitchen. Thai curry seasons hunks of Korean-style fried chicken, sitting with coleslaw in between thick slices of white bread. Hot french fries line up on the side.

“If you look at our menu, you can see that it’s different,” co-owner Tom Poonsopin told New Times. “For the most part, it’s different than any Thai restaurant.”

Around a year and a half ago, Poonsopin and his wife, Yui, opened Infused Thai Kitchen. She’s the head chef, and he manages operations. Their menu brings Thai, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and American food under one roof. Yui invented 90 percent of the dishes herself.

“We focus on a small menu, and we want each and every dish to be tasty and have quality,” Poonsopin said. “Ninety percent [of the menu] is something that she created to kind of stand out and be different.” 

Another entrée with its own “fan base” is a tribute to the burger shack that occupied the space before Infused moved in, he added. The chili basil burger is a spin on pad krapow. Traditionally, it’s ground beef served with a fried egg over rice.

“What we’ve done is taken that ground beef, and we formed it into a patty,” Poonsopin explained. “Then, instead of serving it with rice, we have a bun. So, it’s actually a Thai dish with the Thai flavors, but in a form of a burger.”

Guests will also find options like a satay chicken or tofu sandwich, curry roti, a chicken katsu curry bowl, and stir-fried noodles, which can be washed down with beer, sake, Thai teas, or soft drinks. 

The couple’s idea to open a fusion restaurant was rooted in their family life. Growing up in a Thai household, Poonsopin ate the cuisine a lot as a kid. So did his wife, who grew up in Thailand, but sometimes they crave something different.

“Thai people are always eating Thai food. Whether they go to Vegas or they go in the middle of nowhere, like in Nebraska or something, they’re going to find a Thai restaurant,” he said. “You know, we also like our burgers. We also like Italian food and pizza, and so on.”

In Southern California, where Poonsopin was born, there was a diverse food scene. When he moved to the Central Coast with his wife, they realized Asian options were slim.

Yui started experimenting with different flavors in the kitchen at their Atascadero home. She dreamed of opening her own restaurant and learned the ropes of operating one from her in-laws, who’ve owned multiple Thai restaurants.

‘Ninety percent [of the menu] is something that she created to kind of stand out and be different.’
—Tom Poonsopin, Infused Thai Kitchen co-owner

Around six months after opening, Poonsopin left his engineering job to work full-time at Infused, a transition he never expected to make.

“The funny thing is for the longest time, I was against opening a restaurant because I saw how hard my family had to work, how little time they had for themselves, how little time they had for vacation and family time,” Poonsopin said.

His perspective changed after meeting his wife. Poonsopin wanted to do something for himself, and one thing he always liked about owning a restaurant is making his own schedule. He was excited for the opportunity to continue his family’s legacy in the industry.

“I remember my family were always ones that, even though they didn’t have much time, they were able to call the shots on when to work and when not to work,” Poonsopin said. “The biggest thing that I took away from that is that whatever amount of hard work you put in, you will see the fruits of your labor directly.”

He and his wife pour everything into the business. Coming from a typical 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. routine, Poonsopin said his schedule “has gone out the window.” The couple is always on call if something goes wrong or a team member can’t make it in.

Plus, selling Asian food in an area where it’s not too common presents its own challenges.

“Your inventory can run out, so you’re running out to get stuff. And especially because we’re Thai food, Asian food, those things are sometimes scarce to find around here,” Poonsopin explained. “Or, even if you find them around here, it’s not commercial enough, or the quantity is not a commercial quantity.”

Buying ingredients from local stores would get expensive quickly, so sometimes the owner must drive to LA for emergency shopping. He and his wife try to source the best ingredients possible.

As tiring as it is, Poonsopin is glad to do the work in the background because it means his wife gets to live out her dream.

“When you think of a restaurant, you think of the food, so she’s handling the staples or the main things that run the show. That motivates me to get up and do everything else, as far as like advertising or figuring out all the documentation we need,” Poonsopin said.

“Whenever I see her creating a new dish, it just refuels me, I’ll say, and keeps me going,” he added. 

It was a challenge to get people through the doors at first because of the fusion concept, but once they get their hands on the food, the founder said, customers “get hooked.” The Poonsopins are proud of how far they’ve come since opening Infused.

“It’s like our child, I guess, because we don’t have any children, but the restaurant is like our child,” Poonsopin said. “When it first was born, we didn’t really know what we were doing, so it was hectic, and then now, we are slowly adjusting to all its needs.” ∆ 

Sun Staff Writer Madison White, from New Times’ sister paper, is excited to try Infused Thai Kitchen’s tofu satay sando. Get in touch at mwhite@santamariasun.com.

This article appears in Nov 5-12, 2026.