Mise en Place: Chef Kay Pee thinks of Laos House as a laboratory for his ever-flowing ideas

Chef Kay Pee // Photo by Tommy Vean

When I asked Chef Kay Pee how he relaxes, he said he just doesn’t. Well, sometimes he’ll sit down. But the ideas never stop flowing.

Kay Pee is no longer denying the part of himself that loves cooking, and now that the tap has opened, it doesn’t turn off. With event pop-ups, the Laos House spot in Iron District, catering, and expansion plans, it takes a lot of Lao-ritos to fuel Kay Pee’s go-getter energy. (And coffee. Sometimes a few coffee shop visits a day. Respect.)

After seeing the long lines at Laos House event tents, including at the annual AANHPI Festival, I knew I had to try it on my next Iron District visit. My first, ridiculously filling, meal of crab rangoon rice balls and a Lao-rito carved out a spot in my memory forever.

The Pitch: Tell us about yourself.

Chef Kay Pee: I’m Chef Kay Pee. I became a chef by mistake. I always loved cooking, but I actually refused to be a chef, telling myself it’s not something I want to do. But deep down inside, I knew I was really good at it. 

I always tried to deny it. I was always told you have to be an engineer, you have to be a doctor, etc. It’s Asian culture. When they came to America, they think children are supposed to do certain things. That wasn’t me. So I tried to do everything else. 

My first restaurant was by mistake. I was working in a factory and eventually realized I couldn’t do this forever. I got an opportunity to buy a Chinese restaurant, and I was like, I don’t see why not, so my business partner and I took it over. Straight up with a wok and everything, learning the basics, and the rest is history.

What’s your earliest memory of cooking?

Maybe a toddler? I was always helping, but really, I was not allowed to cook.  But my siblings and I had to stay home a lot by ourselves or with an aunt, and we didn’t like the food available so at like six or seven years old I started making full meals, sauces, everything. One time we heard a door open, threw everything in the fridge, and ran to pretend we were asleep. The whole family came over and they thought my aunt made the food. She covered for me. I should have known then.

What improvements have you made after your first year at Iron District?

Just adapting to the crowd, making it more presentable for a Midwestern palate. It was very spicy at first, like, four times hotter. Customers loved it, but I would see people turn red. But also service. From the time someone orders, it’s got to be ready in a reasonable time. I also worked on portions but tried not to overdo it. I get a lot of good feedback. That’s the best feeling in the world. People either say it looks just like our pictures or ‘It’s amazing, I never had anything like this.’ 

Thinking of the food industry as a whole, if you could fix one issue with a snap, what would it be? 

Going outside the box, especially around here. If you travel to the East and West Coast, they’ve tried everything. We’re behind on a lot of things. I’m not saying I’m the first to do what I’m doing now, and I won’t be the last, but I’m trying something different. I mean, we’re a melting pot, right? So I don’t see why somebody can’t take traditional food and make it their own, invent a new item, take the same flavors and just come in with something different. I don’t see why that’s not allowed, but in our culture, it’s illegal. Do you know the story behind the Loas House name? 

No, please tell me. 

I was like, How can I get somebody to pronounce Laos the correct way? It rhymes with house, so I put Laos House. When I started Iron District, I was trying to change the name, and everyone’s like, No, don’t do it. But because I’m not doing traditional food, I don’t want people coming up to me saying, oh, where’s the “real” Laos food. But I’m glad I stuck to it.

What do you consider to be a signature dish at Laos House?

The Laorito. It started in 2014 at a big event where we had a pop-up tent, working with hot dogs, simple stuff. And then I was like, You know what? Let me start introducing real food, and I did. I had tortillas, and was shoving everything in a burrito–meat, fries, etc., and that’s how the Laorito was born.

Laorito // Photo by Tommy Vean

What do you wish more people, specifically in Kansas City, knew about Lao culture?

I wish they knew the difference between Lao and Thai food because a lot of restaurants, when they first open, are not brave enough to be like, Oh, this is Lao food. Everything: the marinade, the sauces, it’s all different but similar. 

(Chef turns to his wife, Thuy-Vi Tran, for her take on Lao flavor.)

Tran: Thai flavors may be sweeter, while Lao is more savory and bold, like in your face. 

Describe your perfect day of eating in KC.

Oh, we do food adventures all the time, but we have a big problem with over-ordering even though we intend to just order a little at each spot. We just go here, there, around the city all day. We start here at Cafe Ca Phe, and then sometimes we’ll walk to Opera House and get coffee again, or a smoothie, then walk around City Market. We love to get the pita at Habashi House. Next, we’ll get Muni before taking the train–go all the way down, just anywhere. At the end of the day, we always end up at some type of Asian spot, like New Peking in Westport, ABC Cafe, etc.

Laos House is in the Iron District at 1599 Iron St, Suite D, North Kansas City, MO 64116.