Angus An's Fat Mao marks 10 years of Thai noodle success in Vancouver
When Angus An first opened Fat Mao a decade ago, some people were skeptical.
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'It took us a couple of years to really get traction and build a regular clientele,' An said. 'At the time, people saw 'soup noodles' and thought, 'Oh, I can get a $6.99 won ton soup noodles in Chinatown. Why would I come here?' But we believed in the recipes, and we wanted to do something different. Now, with inflation, everything is over $20, and nobody can really say much.'
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In late 2006, he opened Gastropod in Kits. Following the 2008 economic downturn, he pivoted to Thai and reopened as Maenam. For Fat Mao, he wanted to go more street-level than Maenam, which last year earned a spot in the Michelin Guide's Vancouver edition.
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'I was very motivated by the mom-and-pop stores in Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand — you go to a hole-in-the-wall place and they have three noodle dishes on the menu. That's all they serve. As a business model, that made a lot of sense. You don't need to have a huge overhead. I've never been really fond of restaurants with huge menus. And then, we found a nice location in Chinatown.'
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Reaching the 10-year anniversary has been satisfying for An, founder and executive chef of Full House Hospitality. Along with Maenam and two Fat Mao noodle houses, the group's portfolio includes Longtail Kitchen in New West, Sen Pad Thai on Granville Island and Sainam in the West End.
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'I actually eat at Fat Mao more than any of my other restaurants because there are things on the menu you could eat every day. And I often see other chef friends there for lunch before work, or they text me when they're there. That makes me really proud. And obviously, most restaurants don't make it past three to five years, and for a small concept like this to last for 10 years is, for me, is quite special.'
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To celebrate the anniversary, Fat Mao has brought back a couple of fan favourites. The Tom Kha Coconut Mushroom Soup (creamy coconut soup with mushrooms, infused with galangal & lime leaf, aserved with glass vermicelli noodles) is available until Aug. 15 and the Southern Thai Beef Laksa (spicy southern-style laksa, beef shin, peanuts, dried shrimp, won ton egg noodles) from Aug. 16-31. Guests can add a Crispy Lager to any noodle bowl for $5.
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11-08-2025
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Angus An's Fat Mao marks 10 years of Thai noodle success in Vancouver
When Angus An first opened Fat Mao a decade ago, some people were skeptical. 'It took us a couple of years to really get traction and build a regular clientele,' An said. 'At the time, people saw 'soup noodles' and thought, 'Oh, I can get a $6.99 won ton soup noodles in Chinatown. Why would I come here?' But we believed in the recipes, and we wanted to do something different. Now, with inflation, everything is over $20, and nobody can really say much.' An was a French-trained chef from Vancouver who fell in love with the flavours of the Land of Smiles while working in London at Nahm, the first Michelin-starred Thai cuisine restaurant. Discover the best of B.C.'s recipes, restaurants and wine. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of West Coast Table will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'It caught me off guard, and I fell in love with the cuisine. And that's where I met my wife, who is from Thailand. And she moved back with me to Vancouver.' In late 2006, he opened Gastropod in Kits. Following the 2008 economic downturn, he pivoted to Thai and reopened as Maenam. For Fat Mao, he wanted to go more street-level than Maenam, which last year earned a spot in the Michelin Guide's Vancouver edition. 'I was very motivated by the mom-and-pop stores in Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand — you go to a hole-in-the-wall place and they have three noodle dishes on the menu. That's all they serve. As a business model, that made a lot of sense. You don't need to have a huge overhead. I've never been really fond of restaurants with huge menus. And then, we found a nice location in Chinatown.' Reaching the 10-year anniversary has been satisfying for An, founder and executive chef of Full House Hospitality. Along with Maenam and two Fat Mao noodle houses, the group's portfolio includes Longtail Kitchen in New West, Sen Pad Thai on Granville Island and Sainam in the West End. 'I actually eat at Fat Mao more than any of my other restaurants because there are things on the menu you could eat every day. And I often see other chef friends there for lunch before work, or they text me when they're there. That makes me really proud. And obviously, most restaurants don't make it past three to five years, and for a small concept like this to last for 10 years is, for me, is quite special.' To celebrate the anniversary, Fat Mao has brought back a couple of fan favourites. The Tom Kha Coconut Mushroom Soup (creamy coconut soup with mushrooms, infused with galangal & lime leaf, aserved with glass vermicelli noodles) is available until Aug. 15 and the Southern Thai Beef Laksa (spicy southern-style laksa, beef shin, peanuts, dried shrimp, won ton egg noodles) from Aug. 16-31. Guests can add a Crispy Lager to any noodle bowl for $5. 'Every time we change menus, our regular customers often freak out. I know that those two have always been popular, and we haven't brought them back for a long time. Also, we asked on social media what people missed the most, and those two dishes kept coming up.' In addition, regulars can stock up on some limited-edition merchandise. 'Fat Mao has always been cute in its branding,' An said. 'Fat Mao' means 'prosperous cat' in Cantonese. 'We have the cat, so we decided to have our in-house graphic designer come up with cute anniversary T-shirts. A lot of people love our T-shirts, like the 'I Heart Noodles' or the 'Noodle Splatter' T-shirts.' Speaking of noodle splatter, I mention to An that when this writer stopped in for lunch at Fat Mao, our server assured my companion, who was wearing a white shirt, that the restaurant had spot remover on hand. 'Yeah, we've learned that!' An said. 'We use Tide stain remover pens. They're very useful.'
Calgary Herald
11-08-2025
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Angus An's Fat Mao marks 10 years of Thai noodle success in Vancouver
Article content When Angus An first opened Fat Mao a decade ago, some people were skeptical. Article content 'It took us a couple of years to really get traction and build a regular clientele,' An said. 'At the time, people saw 'soup noodles' and thought, 'Oh, I can get a $6.99 won ton soup noodles in Chinatown. Why would I come here?' But we believed in the recipes, and we wanted to do something different. Now, with inflation, everything is over $20, and nobody can really say much.' Article content Article content In late 2006, he opened Gastropod in Kits. Following the 2008 economic downturn, he pivoted to Thai and reopened as Maenam. For Fat Mao, he wanted to go more street-level than Maenam, which last year earned a spot in the Michelin Guide's Vancouver edition. Article content Article content 'I was very motivated by the mom-and-pop stores in Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand — you go to a hole-in-the-wall place and they have three noodle dishes on the menu. That's all they serve. As a business model, that made a lot of sense. You don't need to have a huge overhead. I've never been really fond of restaurants with huge menus. And then, we found a nice location in Chinatown.' Article content Article content Reaching the 10-year anniversary has been satisfying for An, founder and executive chef of Full House Hospitality. Along with Maenam and two Fat Mao noodle houses, the group's portfolio includes Longtail Kitchen in New West, Sen Pad Thai on Granville Island and Sainam in the West End. Article content Article content 'I actually eat at Fat Mao more than any of my other restaurants because there are things on the menu you could eat every day. And I often see other chef friends there for lunch before work, or they text me when they're there. That makes me really proud. And obviously, most restaurants don't make it past three to five years, and for a small concept like this to last for 10 years is, for me, is quite special.' Article content To celebrate the anniversary, Fat Mao has brought back a couple of fan favourites. The Tom Kha Coconut Mushroom Soup (creamy coconut soup with mushrooms, infused with galangal & lime leaf, aserved with glass vermicelli noodles) is available until Aug. 15 and the Southern Thai Beef Laksa (spicy southern-style laksa, beef shin, peanuts, dried shrimp, won ton egg noodles) from Aug. 16-31. Guests can add a Crispy Lager to any noodle bowl for $5.
