Another Thai night market is sprouting up in Los Angeles. Named after Thailand’s famous floating market, the Damnoen Saduak night market debuts on Friday, March 29, and comes from the producers behind the “Thai Town Check In” YouTube series. The night market will run every Friday through Sunday from 6 p.m. to midnight in the parking lot of Lax-C, also known as Thai Costco.

Chinnakrit “Oak” Soonthornwan, the media manager for Damnoen Saduak, has been working on establishing the night market for over a year. “Night market ideas are always on the mind because all Thai people want is to have street food,” says Soonthorwan. He and his team — which includes CEO Mile Ruangsri, CFO Worrapat “Bright” Attasawat, and COO Titinun “Jane” Jungudomcharoen — reached out to the mostly unpermitted vendors selling food on Sunset Boulevard in Thai Town and recruited them to vend at Damnoen Saduak.

Damnoen Saduak arrives on the heels of another new night market, At Siam, which debuted in Hollywood in October 2023 and has continuously grown in popularity. Some critics of the Damnoen Saduak night market include members of the local Thai community who feel unnerved by the increased competition, but Soonthorwan brushes any critical comments aside. “We see it as making the community bigger,” he says. “There are so many people that cook good food and we want to help them.”

Damnoen Saduak

There are currently 35 vendors signed up to participate at Damnoen Saduak, and Soonthorwan estimates that 80 percent of them are Thai. In addition to Thai food, the night market will also celebrate other Asian cuisines including Burmese and Cantonese foods, and flavorful fusion dishes like Thai interpretations of Korean marinated crabs and fish-shaped taiyaki stuffed with seafood tom yum.

“Because there are so many vendors and it’s competitive, people get really creative,” Soonthorwan says. Other dishes to be on the lookout for are deep-fried baby octopus smothered in chile-lime sauce, flaky roti drizzled with condensed milk, khao soi served with giant river prawns, mochi-like sweet potato balls, and Mae Ting’s famous kanom krok (coconut pudding pancakes). Cha Tra Mue, one of Thailand’s most well-known Thai tea chains with a location in the Lax-C plaza, will be open during the night market.

In addition to nearly three dozen food vendors, Damnoen Saduak will include businesses selling arts and crafts, and vintage wares. Special events including a fashion show on the grand opening night and a beauty pageant for the upcoming Songkran (Thai New Year) are also on the docket.

As with the Thai Town YouTube series, which was created in response to the COVID pandemic, Soonthorwan’s goal has always been to build community and support the vast culinary talent of Thai Angelenos. Damnoen Saduak serves as a physical — and hunger-inducing — manifestation of this mission.

Damnoen Saduak is located at 1100 N. Main Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, and will be open Friday through Sunday from 6 p.m. to midnight.