Thailand native will open noodle bar in Warner Robins with the help of friends. See inside

Since arriving in the U.S. with her teen daughter on Nov. 2, 2015, Thailand native Saruedolkorn “Spicy” Pathomkrut often worked multiple jobs at once to make ends meet.

She supports herself, her daughter and now granddaughter in Warner Robins. She also supports her mom, dad and sister in Thailand.

Pathomkrut is now opening her own restaurant, Elena’s Noodle Bar, in Warner Robins, with the help of her friends Jim and Gladys Propes.

Elena’s Noodle Bar is a couple of doors down from the Asian Bliss Market in the Parkway Village shopping center at 1806 Russell Parkway.

The backstory

The couple, who own the Asian Bliss Market, are launching the noodle bar by providing the space, furnishings and equipment.

“I wanted to fulfill her dream of being a small business owner,” Gladys Propes said. “She’s a person I always counted on at Asian Bliss.

“I saw her hard work and I went to Thailand to meet her family. I’m always willing to help.”

Pathomkrut first got to know Gladys Propes when she came into the Asian Bliss Market to shop. Propes said she gave her the nickname “Spicy” because she couldn’t pronounce her first name and Pathomkrut was always looking for something spicy to eat.

Propes later hired Pathomkrut to work initially on a part-time basis. Pathomkrut was working in the kitchen of a Thai restaurant and national retail brand store.

Pathomkrut affectionately refers to Propes as “Sister.”

“She’d always push me,” said Pathomkrut as she wiped away tears. “Sister said, ‘You work three jobs. You always work hard. You should do your own business.’“

But Pathomkrut didn’t think her dream of owning a restaurant was achievable. She just didn’t have the startup money needed for such a venture. That’s when Propes stepped in.

The noodle bar

Pathomkrut named the new restaurant after her granddaughter, Elena, who’s nearly 3.

She chose an anime theme for the restaurant because she wanted a kid-friendly place where her granddaughter could come with her friends as she grows up.

Pathomkrut said she wants Elena to know by example that if she works hard, anything is possible.

Asian cuisine

The restaurant is designed to showcase Asian cuisine, said Pathomkrut, who will work in the kitchen. Her daughter, Siri Kaewma will also work at the noodle bar.

The menu features at least one soup dish from the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and China.

Pho, Vietnam’s national dish, is served at the restaurant three ways: pho chicken and meat ball, pho seafood shrimp and squid, and pho beef, which is beef meatball.

The house special is a Japanese noodle dish called Yaki Udon with chicken or tofu, udon noodles, stir fry, Japanese sauce with carrot, mushrooms and scallions.

Manduguk is a Korean dumpling soup with beef broth mixed in soy sauce, sesame oil, Korean chili, topped with green onion, seaweed and sliced carrot.

Pok Pok Noodle, a dish from Thailand, includes chicken broth, chicken legs or thigh with rice noodle, bitter melon topped with green onions, dry garlic and crispy pork belly.

Rice congee is a Chinese dish made with a choice of pork, chicken or beef, according to the menu.

Chicken Mami Noodle Soup is a Filipino dish of fresh egg noodles, chicken broth with chicken mami, scallions bokchoy topped with toasted garlic and boiled egg.

The restaurant also features Vietnamese subs called banhi mi such as lemongrass chicken on a bread roll with mayo, liver pate, pickled veggies, fresh cucumber, cilantro and jalapeno.

Also on the menu are a host of appetizers such as eggrolls, springrolls, dumplings and calamar as well as bubble waffles served four ways, cakes from taro to coffee flavored and other desserts such as banana fritters and sweet sticky rice with mango.

There’s a variety of drink offerings such as Vietnamese coffee frappe, Thai ice tea, fruit smoothies and butterfly pea tea.

The restaurant also has a kids menu and offers an assortment of Japanese candy in keeping with the anime theme.

Anime theme

Anime characters on the walls are the work of Dublin artist Anthony Diaz, a friend of Gladys Propes.

Other anime characters are hung in frames throughout the noodle bar.

The restaurant has a few tables for four and a long bench with chairs for dining in.

There’s a nook for two when first walking inside, and a comfortable bench to wait for takeout.

Grand opening

At the grand opening Sunday, cash prizes provided by Propes will be awarded for the best anime costumes among children and young adults. The prizes are $250 first place, $150 for second place and $100 for third place.

Also, the first 50 guests who are children or young adults will receive a door prize such as a Hello Kitty ceramic bowl with chopsticks.

The noodle house is now serving under its soft opening hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until the grand opening.

Regular operating hours will be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily except Sunday and Tuesday. The noodle bar will be open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday and closed Tuesday.