out and smiles, acknowledging the heat. When Alex tastes the dish, he says it’s got to be added to the menu. As if they weren’t busy enough, the Martins are testing recipes for dishes to add this summer. Changing things up is complex. The menu is structured around three regions of Thailand. The couple work to find the balance of those dishes, while also ensuring a cohesive menu. Currently, Lom Wong has six dishes on the menu that use different housemade curry pastes. But Martin is revisiting the Moklen curry that was on Lom Wong’s menu four years ago, when the restaurant was a nascent pop-up. They’d like to bring it back. At first bite, the curry imparts a delicate citrus note, followed by the slow, buzzing burn of pepper- corn and Thai chile. “You get the hit of two types of pepper,” Alex says. “So it creates a little bit more complexity.” Martin has also been testing a strawberry salad for the summer menu. When the couple visited Thailand this spring, they noticed northern Thai-grown strawberry salads popping up at restaurants. The dish, still in the works, will have herbaceous, spicy and savory notes from mint and the toasted chile jam called nam prik pao. Changing the menu is a team effort. “We have to test everything out together,” Martin says. Sitting in the dining room over the pork curry, Martin lights up when talking about food, the Lom Wong team and her family. She shares stories of her son helping her shop. At just 3 years old, he’ll remind her when there’s an ingredient missing from her cart. Alex, 39, says he’s in awe of watching his wife balance parenting, running two vibrant restaurants and balancing the added interest from the James Beard award. He recalled special moments that happen every day, like Martin enter- taining their toddler while shred- ding mango. “She’s never once said it’s too much,” he says. As self-described quiet people who don’t seek the spotlight, the pair acknowledges the added pressure that comes with national accolades. They prefer to talk about the people and parts of Thailand that they love. “It gives us a platform to tell our story,” Alex says. “Getting that platform is some- thing that is really nice. But it’s intense, too.” A JAMES BEARD MEDAL, KARAOKE AND HOT DOGS Before heading to Chicago, Martin decided she’d be ready if she received a medal at the James Beard awards. She wrote and timed out two minutes of remarks “just in case.” At the ceremony, the couple was joined by two members of the Lom Wong team and Alex’s parents. They also had a fellow Phoenician in the mix. Valentine’s Crystal Kass was a finalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Martin and her husband Alex cooked alongside the Valentine team for a local James Beard “Taste America” event in March. Because she handled dessert, Kass got to watch some of the dinner service in action. “Seeing Sunny behind the line here was pretty incredible,” the pastry chef says. Sitting at the awards and hearing her name called, Martin realized she’d need the notes she prepared. With her time on stage, she wanted to “share who we truly are,” Alex said, translating for Martin the day after the awards. In front of a room packed with media, top chefs and industry professionals, Martin highlighted her journey from growing up in northern Thailand to building Lom Wong with Alex. The Martins met in Thailand in 2011 and moved to the United States in 2017 at the suggestion of Alex’s father. While Alex was a bit resistant to the idea, Martin was inter- ested in the prospect of being closer to Alex’s family and getting to know a new place. The pair initially lived in Washington, where they hosted mookata pop-ups, and moved to Phoenix in 2018. On the stage in Chicago, Martin shared how Lom Wong evolved from a pop-up at their home to the celebrated downtown Phoenix restaurant it is today. She described the restaurant’s community-driven model and thanked their staff, family and chosen family in Thailand for their support. “Lom Wong is a reflection on our love for each other and our family,” she said. With the title of Best Chef - Southwest, Martin joins Bacanora’s Andrade and a rari- fied group of Valley chefs that includes FnB’s Charleen Badman and Hai Noon’s Nobuo Fukuda. The last time two Arizona women were finalists for the awards was 2020, when Barrio Cafe chef-owner Silvana Salcido Esparza and Rancho Pinot chef-owner Chrysa Robertson were nomi- nees for Best Chef Southwest. The couple say they’re going to keep doing what they’ve always done. “Regardless of this award… we’ve always been who we are,” Alex says, translating their thoughts after conferring with his wife in Thai. “We’re incredibly happy to get this national recognition.” To celebrate, they did something that was personally meaningful: sing karaoke. The couple hit The Wiener’s Circle for hot dogs and then headed to Alice’s Lounge, a neigh- borhood bar. It’s a spot “we’ve been going to for as long as we were legally allowed,” says Alex, who is originally from Chicago. They also visited Alice’s when they were in town for their American wedding. Standing together on the stage at Alice’s, a space anchored by a sunburst of moody lights, the couple sang Keith Sweat’s “Twisted” together. Martin was still in her black dress, and Alex in the cream suit he had worn to the prestigious event earlier that night. The Martins made the most of their trip — their last window to travel before their daughter is born. “Lom Wong has allowed us to grow our family. Our son has grown up in our restau- rant and our daughter will, too,” Martin said during her acceptance speech. Now, with the buzz of the James Beard awards, they’re unlikely to get much down- time. The couple offered an invitation to diners who visit either Lom Wong or the couple’s sibling spot, Mr. Baan’s. “For people who are learning about us from this, come to our restaurant because you want to experience food that comes from the heart and the side of the cooking of Thailand that means the most to us,” Alex said. In summing up what the recognition means for them and their restaurants, the Martins finished each other’s sentences. “We’re going to continue to —” Alex began. “— do what we love,” Martin said. LOM WONG 218 E. Portland St. Chu Bai Kiew Prik Ba Buey is a spicy pork curry that the Martins first served when Lom Wong was a pop-up. Lom Wong’s chile pastes and coconut milk are both handmade. The chef holds the pestle to her nose to check the strength of the spice in the paste while she makes it. ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACOB TYLER DUNN Lom Wong uses around 80 quarts of its housemade coconut milk per day.
