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At new Palo Alto restaurant HolyShred, every order is packed with a funny work-related saying, such as “You put the ‘pro’ in procrastination,” or “Your ability to nod sagely during Zoom calls will take you far in this organization.”
The fast-casual Thai restaurant opened Aug. 8 along El Camino Real in the former Siam Fine Thai space. Created by Pearadet “Pete” Mukyangkoon, Thanat “Jackie” Jatuphattharachat and Stanford alum Jinny Akkaratatta, HolyShred debuted its first brick-and-mortar store in San Francisco in October. The restaurant’s founders aim to make HolyShred the first fast-casual Thai chain in the United States.
“There are, I think, over 10,000 Thai restaurants in the U.S. There’s literally no chain,” Mukyangkoon said. “I think we plan to expand quite aggressively in the next 12 to 18 months.”
At HolyShred, most dishes have at least 40 grams of protein and are priced at $13.50-$16.25. With “proteinmaxxing” all the rage and costs continue to rise, HolyShred’s founders are hoping to appeal to office workers looking for an affordable, healthy option that keeps them full throughout the day.
Shredded chicken noodles ($13.50) is the most popular menu item and the inspiration for the “Shred” in HolyShred. A popular dish in Bangkok, it’s made with vermicelli noodles, housemade tangy-savory sauce, shredded chicken breast, Romaine lettuce and crispy spicy chicharron. Jatuphattharachat, a former software engineer, developed HolyShred’s recipes with help from chefs in Thailand.
All sauces at HolyShred (with the exception of Thai sweet chili sauce) are made in-house. Its spicy grilled pepper sauce is inspired by the Nam Prik Nhum from the Lanna Region in the North, its smoky chilli jaew sauce is from the Isan region of Thailand and its king of curry mayo is inspired by Massaman, a South Thai dish that’s creamy, warm, nutty and mildly spiced. Even mayonnaise is made in-house.
Mukyangkoon said HolyShred’s menu is ever-evolving to better suit customer demand. For example, the charcoal-grilled barbecue chicken rice ($15.20) was originally made with pork, a nod to the popular Thai breakfast of grilled pork skewers with sticky rice. The dish wasn’t selling well, so the founders substituted the pork for chicken thigh, and suddenly it became a top seller.
“When I ask customers, ‘Why do you like this?’, they believe it’s a different take on chicken teriyaki in their opinion,” he said.
All three HolyShred founders grew up in Thailand, with Mukyangkoon and Akkaratatta hailing from Bangkok and Jatuphattharachat from Chiang Mai. Mukyangkoon was an education technology founder in Thailand, and Akkaratatta was his first intern before she attended Stanford University. Stanford University is also where HolyShred soft launched about a year ago before moving operations to a commercial kitchen in San Francisco.
HolyShred’s Palo Alto outpost has about 50 seats, although parking can be difficult with only four designated parking spots for the restaurant.
HolyShred, 3924 El Camino Real, Palo Alto; 650-223-9737, Instagram: @holyshred.thai. Open Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4:30-9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m.
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