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1,200 plates of pad Thai in 1 hour — that's the Guinness World Record challenge Sunday in Thai Town
Dishes such as the shrimp Pad Thai dish at Miya Thai in Altadena.
(
Cathy Chaplin
/
LAist
)
What screams Thai more than pad Thai? Nothing. And on Sunday, the utilitarian stir-fried noodles will be the main character in an attempt to break a Guinness World Record.
The challenge? To serve and sell 1,200 plates of the stuff in 60 minutes. The headline-grabbing gambit is part of 17th Thai New Year Festival happening Sunday in Hollywood Thai Town.
Thai New Year 2026 | Songkran Festival
Sunday, April 26
8 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Hollywood Thai Town, Los Angeles
Free for all ages
Pad Thai Guinness World Record
Sunday, April 26
Gates open: 9 a.m.
Challenge: 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Ticket: $38, including a plate of Pad Thai as part of the record-breaking attempt
Chinnakrit Soonthornwan (he said you can just call him Oak) came up with the idea to break the old Guinness record of around 1,000 plates. As of Thursday, the team already has received about 700 orders from participants.
"I think it [is] very possible," Oak said of their chances to make history. "It is going to be epic."
Also epic is the setting of this record-breaking attempt.
"It's all outside," Oak said. " There will be 35 restaurants working at the same time with big woks — like, gigantic woks."
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Not to mention the 1,200 (or more) people chowing down on said noodles.
Pad Thai wasn't the first dish of choice. The team first landed on mango sticky rice.
"It seemed like everyone can eat it. It's vegan," he said.
But the popular dessert is difficult to make, and Oak added, "It's Thai, but the name is not Thai."
Again, what screams Thai cuisine more than pad Thai?
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"This is Thai. This is how we do it together," he said. "This is how we do world history."
Oak is also a co-founder of DS Night Market, a weekly Thai gathering proffering music and food taking place in Chinatown for the past couple years. He said his team has been regular attendees of the New Year festival and those born-and-raised in Thai Town have always wanted to help out.
"And we were like, 'We not gonna do something like they had done for 16 years,'" Oak said. "So we pitched them the pad Thai world record thing."
The bigger goal is to shed a spotlight on the community and to support the mom-and-pops. The pad Thai challenge is just one of the highlights. The all-day Sunday New Year celebration includes five stages focusing on food, music, a beer garden and even boxing.
"We want to drive the business sales and bring more good vibes to Thai business owners," he said.
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