By Sean Rinn

On Geary Boulevard, one of the Richmond District’s most bustling streets, lies a restaurant that is one of a kind, according to its owner, Phornthip Korkiatnun (Ming). The restaurant is called MuuKaTa6395, a Thai charcoal barbecue that taught me Koreans aren’t the only ones to boast an excellent hot pot.

In the Thai language, Muu means pork and Ka Ta means the pan for cooking. It is similar to Korean barbecue, but there is a broth circling a hot grill. Pre-marinated cuts of meat are presented on a platter with vegetables to be cooked on the table-top grill, where flavor from whatever is grilled trickles down into the broth to enhance the taste as the meal progresses. Fresh house-made sauces ranging from spicy to sweet for meat and seafood are star players, pairing perfectly with charred goods fresh off the grill. 

that Thai barbecues like MuuKaTa6395 are on every corner in Thailand, Korkiatnun said, similar to how Americans can find a place with burgers and fries just about anywhere they look. While common in Thailand, Korkiatnun noticed that in America and in San Francisco, her favorite type of restaurant from home was hard to come by. Does anyone even know what MuuKaTa, or mookata, is here? I didn’t until meeting Korkiatnun and her wonderful staff. 

Korkiatnun, who came to San Francisco from Bangkok, Thailand, wanted to simultaneously give America an authentic exposure to her home in Thailand while also starting something fresh in a new culture. 

 “At first, I just wanted to explore the new world, one from outside my country and basically have a fun experience in my life,” Korkiatnun said. “In Asian culture, family always looks out for you and your future, but sometimes it’s like ‘I get that, but I still want something new.’” 

Growing up, Korkiatnun loved to cook, but what she really loved was more than just the process of cooking and creating flavor. She noticed what came with the food was the feeling of hospitality, taking care of people, sharing laughs, stories, drinks and building community over the grill; that was what she enjoyed most about cooking. She knew early on, she wanted to have a place of her own, but her family originally didn’t want her to pursue a career in the food industry. 

“My mom said: ‘Oh, I don’t want you to have the restaurant because it’s a lot of work, it’s too much for you,’” she said. “They are always protecting me. I understand. They are business people (auto shop). They think being a chef is working too hard. It is a lot of work. I have to work 24/7, but I am happy, and I can be with this every day.” 

Taking over the family business where they run an auto shop just didn’t give Korkiatnun the same spark, the passion or the fun that she found in operating a restaurant. Her family understood this is what she wanted to do and pitched in financially to support her starting her dream. With her family’s backing, she bet on herself. 

“I just spent with her (money). If I’m not successful, then I’m gonna go back.” 

Korkiatnun’s husband, a chef who went to culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu, helps her handle the kitchen while she handles the business side of MuuKaTa6395. She also has three other restaurants: Ginza Sushi on Haight and Naya Dessert Cafe on Geary and Octavia. 

With MuuKaTa6395 opening in 2023, she is carrying out her dream to not only run a restaurant, but to share a piece of herself with her new home through authentic Thai cuisine. She wants people to know there is more to Thai food than Pad Thai and Thai Iced Tea, although Pad Thai and Thai iced tea are noteworthy for a reason. MuuKaTa6395’s Thai iced tea is well regarded among Thai customers, according to Korkiatnun, who claim that it is the closest thing to what they can get at home in Thailand. 

I asked Korkiatnun the hardest, most difficult part about the daily grind of having a restaurant in San Francisco, and she said, “I kind of don’t have it, because I fall in love with it. I can just do it every day. And then just fixing it every day. I have fun with it.”

MuuKaTa6395 doesn’t just offer customers hot food and a welcoming environment – including sought-after late-night hours for those who want something to chow down on after having some drinks. What they offer cannot be faked: genuine love and family-like hospitality. 

The feeling that Korkiatnun and her staff capture most is that of close family friends hosting dinner at their house. The atmosphere feels like a place where you can kick off your shoes, stuff yourself until satisfaction and shout across the table laughing with those you hold dear. 

MuuKaTa6395 has a mural in the main dining area linking two characters on bikes common in Thailand which says on their backs “Bangkok” and “San Francisco” in Thai. It is symbolic of Korkiatnum connecting her past to her present, building a bridge between authentic Thai culture with San Franciscans. 

I felt like after meeting Korkiatnum and dining with her, that I understood what made MuuKaTa special to Thai people and why she wanted to introduce it here in San Francisco. 

MuuKaTa being in the name of the restaurant makes sense, but why 6395? Well, according to Korkiatnum, 6395 is sort of what Americans would associate as an angel number. A number that brings good fortune. 

Korkiatnum says it means “me being successful and good luck for people who come eat here. It’s good luck for the business, and it’s good luck for everybody.”

If you want to leave a meal feeling lucky after having eaten like a king, stuffing yourself on charred meats in a light refreshing broth backed by fresh house-made sauces and washing it all down with a Thai iced tea, then give MuuKaTa6395 a try. You may be pleasantly surprised trying something new with the Thai version of hot pot that absolutely holds its weight with its Korean friends and competitors. 

MuuKaTa6395 is located at 4217 Geary Blvd. Learn more at muukata6395.com