Thai Dang
Thai Dang is executive chef of HaiSous Vietnamese Kitchen in Chicago.[1]
His West Loop, Chicago restaurant Embeya was an Esquire magazine best new restaurant winner.[2] Embeya closed in 2015 after his business partner committed a $300,000 embezzlement and fled the country to Spain.[3][4] In 2020 a federal judge sentenced Attila Gyulai to three years of probation after he pled guilty to wire fraud following his arrest and extradition from Spain.[5]
Dang's next restaurant HaiSous opened in 2017 in Pilsen, Chicago,[6] and reached the semi-final for the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant. In 2022, Dang’s restaurants Dang Good Wings and Cà Phê Đá opened on campus at the University of Chicago.[7] In 2024 Dang continued collaborating with Black Sheep Restaurants in Hong Kong at their Vietnamese concepts Le Garçon Saigon and Chôm Chôm.[8] Dang was a finalist for best chef Great Lakes at the 2025 James Beard Awards.[9][10][11][12] Crying Tiger in River North is Dang’s first restaurant concept with Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises.[13][14]
Dang cites Laurent Gras of L2O among his culinary influences.[6]
Personal life
[edit]Dang was born in Dong Nai province, the youngest child among six brothers and three sisters.[15] In 1989, the family fled Vietnam as refugees to Bataan, the Philippines, and later Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.[15]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ HaiSous
- ^ Gerzina, Daniel (October 7, 2013). "Carriage House and Embeya Make Esquire's Best New Restaurants List". Eater.
- ^ Freeman, Sarah (June 23, 2016). "Embeya, A Former Best New Restaurant, Shuttered Suddenly Over The Weekend". Eater.
- ^ "His partner fled with their money. Now he runs one of Chicago's hottest restaurants". Crain’s Chicago Business. September 16, 2024.
- ^ Selvam, Ashok (February 25, 2020). "Former Fugitive Restaurateur Who Cheated $300K from Chef Sentenced to Probation". Eater.
- ^ a b Kaye, David. "HaiSous Restaurant: Thai and Danielle Dang's Chicago Comeback". Vietcetera.
- ^ Chang, Sabrina. "Award-Winning Chef Thai Dang Brings Vietnamese Cuisine to UChicago". Chicago Maroon. University of Chicago.
- ^ CHEF THAI DANG RETURNS Black Sheep Restaurants
- ^ "Chicago restaurants, chefs among 2025 James Beard Award nominees". ABC7. April 2, 2025.
- ^ Here Are Chicago’s 2025 James Beard Award Finalists Leen Yassine, Block Club Chicago, April 2, 2025
- ^ The 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Award Nominees April 2, 2025
- ^ Here are Chicago’s 5 James Beard nominees Chicago Tribune, Zareen Syed, April 3, 2025
- ^ REPANICH, Jeremy (January 14, 2025). "The 20 Most Anticipated Restaurant Openings in the U.S. This Year". Robb Report.
- ^ The 12 Most Anticipated Chicago Restaurant Openings Of 2025 Modern Luxury, Fiona Good-Sirota, March 31, 2025
- ^ a b Chan, Bernice (29 March 2019). "From Vietnamese refugee to co-owner of acclaimed Chicago restaurant HaiSous". South China Morning Post.
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