In 1989 the original Baitong started as a small restaurant near the SeaTac airport by the former Thai airways flight attendant, Chanpen Lapangkura. She called her restaurant Bai-Tong, which means for banana leaf in Thai. The main purpose was to cater to the Thai airways crew members. She brought in some top restaurant chefs from Bangkok and fed the flight crews meals like the ones they ate back home. Her business grew, and she relocated to a former root-beer restaurant and drive-in by the airport's north end. Unfortunately, due to the lease expiration in 2006, Baitong had to relocate once again to the new Tukwila location. We have been serving Thai food for almost 2 decades and we are committed to keeping Thai food as authentic as possible.