Suriya Coffee

Suriya Coffee สุริยากาแฟ
Restaurant information
Established	1918 1942 (officially)
Owner(s)	Winai "Chai" Lertthaninwanit

Suriya Coffee (Thai: สุริยากาแฟ) is a traditional coffeehouse in a kopitiam style in Bangkok's Thonburi side. Considered an old coffee shop with a history of more than 100 years.

History

It was founded by Ngow Sae-lim (林五) Teochew immigrants in 1918, starting as a street vendor in Talat Phlu area and later opened as a shophouse in the current location of Wat Klang Market around 1942. His café was locally known as "Ngow Jak Coffee Shop" (ร้านกาแฟโหงวเจ็ก, "uncle Ngow's café"). After his death in 1954, his two sons took over the business.

In 1965, the Wat Klang Market was renovated, so the coffee shop moved to its current location, which was the first branch, under the Ratchadaphisek bridge.

The reason for using the name "Suriya" was because at that time it was a tradition for Talat Phlu folks to organize a tour during the Chinese New Year festival according to ancient Chinese tradition. The two brothers who owned and run the coffee shop, Wichai "Tue" and Winai "Chai" Lertthaninwanit, were the leaders of the tour group, using the name "Suriya Tour".

Branch

At present, Suriya Coffee has three branches as follows:

• Under the Ratchadaphisek bridge in Talat Phlu, the first branch
• Inside the Wat Klang Market by the Khlong Bangkok Yai, second branch opened in 2003
• On the Charoen Rat road next to defunct movie theatre Hawaii near Wongwian Yai

References

General references

• "สุริยากาแฟ" [Suriya Coffee]. ประตูสู่เศรษฐี (Pratu Su Setthi) (in Thai). 22 August 2017. PPTV HD 36.
• "สุริยากาแฟ 100 ปี ตลาดพลู" [Suriya Coffee, 100 years, Talat Phlu]. ชีพจรลงพุง (Longpung) (in Thai). 17 March 2020. Amarin TV.