Thai / Vietnamese / Southeast Asian Conversion Inspection Manual

WHERE THIS CUISINE QUIETLY COSTS YOU MONEY

Thai / Vietnamese / Southeast Asian-specific conversion gotchas

• 01 · Stock-pot range BTU + hood capture

  A pho or tom yum stock-pot range runs two 80K–120K BTU burners under 60-quart pots for 18+ hours a day. That's a sustained 200K BTU heat load directly under the hood — different from a sauté line's peaks. Hood capture velocity, MUA, and even the gas-meter sizing belong in the design conversation early.

• 02 · Wok station alongside stock pots

  Thai stir-fry needs a 100K+ BTU wok burner. Co-locating wok + stock pots under one hood is fine IF the hood is sized for both worst cases combined. Many inherited hoods were sized for the previous tenant's sandwich grill — the gap can be 1,500–3,000 CFM. Plan for a full hood replacement budget if you're re-tenanting.

• 03 · Fresh-herb + produce cold prep

  Cilantro, Thai basil, bean sprouts, mint, lime — heavy daily produce volume that lives 3–5 days max. A single small reach-in won't hold the par. Plan a 6×8 walk-in minimum with a dedicated produce shelf, and prep tables with built-in refrigerated rails for the make-line.

• 04 · Fish sauce + neighbor odor

  Bulk fish sauce, fermented shrimp paste, and aged tamarind have aggressive odor signatures. A shared HVAC return between kitchen and dining room (or worse, a shared exhaust with a neighboring tenant) creates lease-violation complaints. Specify negative-pressure kitchen and zero return-air sharing.

• 05 · Boba / Thai-tea sweetener handling

  If the menu includes Thai tea or boba, you're also handling sticky sweetener syrups and tapioca pearls — which dump organic load into floor drains and clog them within months. Run separate floor drains in the beverage station, not shared with the main kitchen drain, and budget for jetting.