Mango Tree branches out (2)

The group is again eyeing China, after its handful of outlets in Shanghai closed in the early 2000s.

"When the property prices went up, the owners thought it was easier to lease it out than to run a restaurant," Phanphensophon says.

Managing director of the group's subsidiary Exquisine System Trevor MacKenzie says: "We're looking at China but the challenge is China already has a (mature) market for Thai food."

So the brand must set itself apart, he says.

And there are cultural obstacles in business approaches.

"Chinese partners want a 400-seat restaurant," MacKenzie says.

"We ask: 'Can we really deliver our experience?' When it gets to 1,000 people, it's a factory."

Phanphensophon's concern with delivering high-end dining experiences around the globe is a world away from when he learned to cook rice as an overseas student in Canada in 1975.

He went to the country as a rebellious 15-year-old.

"My parents thought I wouldn't make it. I asked them: 'You want to bet?'"

Phanphensophon did make it. But he discovered finding food to his taste was a hurdle.

A Hong Kong man Phanphensophon knew cooked rice and Phanphensophon, desperate for a taste of home, asked if he could have some. The "bully" told Phanphensophon he could - if the boy slept on his floor.

"I was at the bully's mercy for a month until I learned so many Chinese restaurants delivered," Phanphensophon says.

He begged his mom to ship him a rice cooker.

"I'd never cooked before," Phanphensophon says.

His friends bought ingredients, and he cooked them.

"You get sick of rice and soy sauce every day," Phanphensophon says.

He added Chinese sausage. Later, he threw in mushrooms.

A cook was born.

"To this day, that's still my favorite dish," Phanphensophon says.

Phanphensophon dreamed of directing film when he was young. But he ended up running the family business when his father passed away.

"There's only one thing I regret. I never got to work with my father. He never got to pass down his wisdom to me," Phanphensophon says.

Phanphensophon works with his kids, who'll take over the business when he retires to become inspecting chef.

His eldest daughter is a nutritionist with a master's in food science.

She influenced Coca to serve healthier options, he says.