Bringing the flavours of Thailand to Melbourne: Nisa’s Thai Street Food

Nisa’s Thai Street Food began with a passion for sharing authentic Thai street food that captures the true flavours of Thailand. Located in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, the restaurant quickly grew into a local favourite, serving dishes that transport customers to the bustling streets of Bangkok.

We sat down with owner Mai Nguyen to learn how SilverChef played a vital role in helping her bring this vision to life, turning her dream of owning a Thai restaurant into a reality, and how Nisa's Thai Street Food is bringing people together through the love of food.

The hospitality dream

For Mai, Nisa Thai Street Food is more than a business – it’s a way to share her love of Thai cuisine with the people of Melbourne. Coming from a family rooted in the restaurant industry, including her husband’s family, who ran Thai restaurants in Bangkok, Mai’s passion for food was instilled early. She wanted to bring the joy of sharing authentic Thai meals to her community.

Her vision was to create a space where people could experience the flavours of Thailand. But like many small business owners, Mai faced challenges, especially around financing and securing the right equipment to make her dream a reality.

"SilverChef has helped us to bring our dream faster. They helped us choose the proper equipment, introduced us to the right trades, and helped us to build our business."

 

SilverChef’s hospitality equipment funding

One of the biggest challenges Mai faced when starting Nisa Thai Street Food was getting the right equipment for her kitchen. With limited capital, the upfront costs were daunting, and finding a solution to get the business running quickly was crucial.

SilverChef’s Rent-Try-Buy program became the key to getting things off the ground. Mai was able to secure the equipment she needed without large upfront payments. The flexibility allowed her to get started quickly and test the equipment for 6–12 months before deciding whether to buy. This made setting up the restaurant faster and easier than she had anticipated, letting her focus on opening the business and bringing her vision to life.

"At the beginning, it took just a quick phone call, and then SilverChef helped us with everything we needed. The process was very quick, and after some simple paperwork, it was done. With other options, it might have taken double the time, but with SilverChef, it happened so much faster."

As her business grew, Mai upgraded key equipment, including moving from a convection oven to a combi oven, greatly improving the efficiency and quality of Nisa’s dishes.

What’s next?

Located near a university, Nisa Thai Street Food has built a loyal following. Regular customers visit daily for the friendly service and popular dishes like fish with three-flavour sauce and Pad Thai. Mai also introduces family recipes, like her mother’s suki hot pot, keeping the menu fresh and authentic.

Mai dreams of expanding to more locations across Melbourne. With SilverChef’s support, she’s confident her business will continue to grow.

“We want to keep growing – bigger and better – and SilverChef will always be part of that journey,” she says.

If you have a hospitality dream, let's talk about how SilverChef funding can help make it reality! Read more here or get in touch with one of our Hospitality Finance Experts today.