PETALING JAYA, Sept 25 — A mark of an eatery's success is constant change. For the better, of course.

In the case of Lai Thai Market, their core trading business has become overshadowed by their food stall.

Originally, the grocery shop was set up to import fresh produce, sauces and condiments from southern Thailand on a weekly basis.

The owners would spend half of their time commuting between both countries, hence it only opened from Thursday to Sunday.

The small business located at the Happy Mansion flats in Section 17, Petaling Jaya was frequented by Thai restaurants who relied on it as a source for the essential ingredients needed to make authentic Thai dishes.

Homesick Thai immigrants also flocked here to pick up day-to-day items that even included Thai gossip magazines.

In the early years, the food stall that was set up at the front of the shop just served two items; clear pork noodle soup with pork balls, thinly sliced pork and liver, and the ubiquitous papaya salad or som tam.

The Thais who came to pick up their groceries would then stay for a quick meal, chat and watch Thai satellite television. You helped yourself to Thai bottled drinks from their refrigerator, or the desserts like mango with sticky rice that was packed in plastic boxes.

Locals who popped in to grab a meal had to struggle to make conversation as the owners spoke very little English.

As word slowly got around the neighbourhood about its delicious and wallet-friendly Thai street food, more locals flocked here. The owners started to make small changes to the menu.

There was items like green curry, stir-fried flat rice noodles Thai style with soy sauce, and rice topped with fragrant fried pork mince with Thai basil. Even their soup noodles expanded to include a hot and sour broth, or a thicker dark brown broth. There was also larb moo, a tangy Northeastern Thai style pork salad served with sticky rice.

Your bowl of noodles would now be served in small royal blue enamel pots. More tables and chairs also appeared, squeezed in between any available space next to the groceries.

The stall started serving stewed pork leg with rice, which was well received. For those who could not tolerate the tongue tingling food, you could order a shaved ice dessert.

About one month ago, it went through a major change — a new name and look. Now the signboard reads “Kedai Makanan Frame Thai.” The Thai woman owner who also converses in Cantonese was rather tight-lipped when asked about the reason.

Eventually, she said the name change was for feng shui purposes. The whole shop now is filled with tables and chairs including some bright coloured tables and chairs that resemble garden furniture!

The shelves and their groceries like instant noodles, sauces and spices have been moved into a small room at one end. You can still pick up fresh vegetables, drinks, desserts and cured meats from their refrigerators.

The front cooking station still remains, where the noodles are cooked, the stewed pork leg is cut and papaya salad pounded in with the traditional pestle and mortar.

Nearby, there's a proper kitchen with an exhaust hood where the fried items are made. The workers now sport caps or bandannas, a nod towards food hygiene standards perhaps.

The menu is a mix of old favourites and new items. There's a long list of new dishes, such as tom yum soup, green mango salad, stink beans in Thai red curry, acacia omelette, spicy mungbean noodle salad, fish kidney in a thick spicy soup, and Thai chicken leg salad.

Go for the unusual young coconut head shoot fried with prawns — an appetising dish with the slightly crunchy shoots paired with fresh prawns. You can also order drinks, like ice Thai milk tea, or green tea that is housed in recycled beer towers.

The place also boasts longer hours, stretching from the morning to night but very Thursday, the truck still brings in fresh produce from Thailand.

Kedai Makanan Frame Thai, No AG-3, Ground Floor, Block A, Happy Mansion, Jalan 17/13, Section 17, Petaling Jaya. Tel: 03-79544688/016-9813182. Open daily: 10am to 8pm.