Rim Talay Restaurant: An American Success Story

To escape her Communist homeland, Phimphone Somchith, who could not swim, inflated balloons in hopes of using them to float across the mighty Mekong River to freedom.

She is now Ponie Hyman, co-owner of Rim Talay restaurant in downtown Oceanside.

Hyman credits a friend—who could swim and also was fleeing—for helping her cross the river from her native Laos to her mother’s home country, Thailand.

She was placed in a refugee camp and came to the United States for political asylum.

“That’s really the story,” her husband and business partner, Sam Hyman said. “What she went through to get here She’s an immigrant who risked her life to get here.”

Over here, mostly in the Los Angeles area, she worked in both business and the restaurant trade before coming to Oceanside, where she spent five years as a library assistant, especially helping people in the Community Computer Center.

But when the economy tanked and the city closed the library’s computer center, Hyman found herself out of a job. 

Her co-workers had loved the Thai dishes, made from her mother’s and aunts’ recipes, that Ponie would bring to potluck gatherings, so she decided to open a restaurant only a block from City Hall.

The restaurant, her husband said, is a tribute to her “courage and dedication.”

Rim talay means “by the sea” in Thai, and the name reflects the restaurant’s location a few blocks from the ocean with a view from the outside tables.

“The size is perfect,” Ponie Hyman said, “nine tables inside and four outside.”

So sometimes, on a busy Saturday night, for instance, there can be a wait for a table, but the staff is quite solicitous of anyone waiting.

The waitresses also aim to please.

Allergic to the fish sauce often used in pad Thai (a noodle dish)?  No problem, the waitress said, “We’ll make it any way you want.”

The same is true of the degree of spice in the food.

On the menu are 10 appetizer choices, 10 soups or salads, a dozen curry or noodle entrees and 11 items categorized as rice or stir-fry. Options of chicken, beef, pork, tofu, shrimp or mixed seafood are offered on most entrees, which cost in the $8 to $14 range, depending upon the meat selected.

The side orders include brown or sticky rice and peanut sauce; coconut ice cream heads the dessert list; and beverages include Thai iced tea, coffee or lemonade.

“She has fused all Thailand,” Sam Hyman said, with healthy food from north, south and the Bangkok region.  “We're very excited to offer a healthy lifestyle,” he said.

And, he said, his wife makes a small offering to the Buddha at the back of the restaurant—a Thai tradition—before serving the food.

The Buddha head is only part of the exotic décor, which includes twisted-twig artwork and a waterfall that cascades down the wall between the dining room and the kitchen of what used to be a taco shop and, previous to that, a Greek restaurant.

In March, Rim Talay will celebrate its second anniversary, having opened, Sam Hyman said, “right at the depth of the recession.”

The first two years are the hardest to survive for a new restaurant, he said, and he credited some of Rim Talay’s success to his and his wife’s combination of skills: “She’s the creative side. I’m more the management side.”

He’s a former executive with Frazee Paint, with some restaurant background as well.

Ponie Hyman’s cousin, Lita Dahar, also is a partner in the business, located at 508 Mission Ave., and open for lunch and dinner and in-between from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Article and photos by Lola Sherman. Additional photos by Dave Thomas.