Thai Mixed Plate was born of a chat among friends after dinner one evening.

“Somebody said, ‘Well, we make good food; why don’t we open a restaurant?’” said co-owner William Ridgway.

Twenty-four years later the eatery is still serving delicious Thai food.

The business: Thai Mixed Plate opened with 10 owners in 1992. Only Ridgway and Kanjana Puranabimba remain. Puranabimba creates the recipes and handles day-to-day chores while Ridgway is “pretty handy at fixing things,” so only makes an appearance when called.

The plan was to open 100 restaurants, but when their second restaurant in Wahiawa closed after 9/11 and half of the owners moved back to Bangkok, those plans were thwarted.

“We’ve hung on through the slow economy and the rail construction,” Ridgway said, “but we’re still going.”

What to order: Five Spices Chicken is the top seller. Puranabimba created the dish, which starts with marinated, bite-size pieces of chicken thighs. The pieces are fried and coated with a secret house sauce. “You can’t find this anywhere else,” Puranabimba said.

You’ll also find pumpkin chicken, tom yum soup, basil chicken, eggplant with tofu, spicy bamboo shoots and the usual Thai delicacies: pad Thai, several curries, green papaya salad and spring rolls. On Saturdays they sometimes carry a vegetarian stir-fried long rice.

The menu hasn’t changed much since the beginning, but Puranabimba continues to create new dishes.

“I use my taste (buds) to replicate the dishes my mother used to make,” she said. She’s working on a couple of recipes that might make their way onto the menu.

The restaurant also serves Thai iced coffee and tea — “we make it ourselves,” Puranabimba said — and a variety of canned and bottled drinks ranging from $1.25 to $5.

Party trays are also available but must be ordered in advance.

How to order: All the dishes, except the papaya salad, rest in warmers along the counter. A one-entree plate is $6.25; two entrees, $7.92; three, $10.32; and four, $12.96. All come with white or brown rice. Sticky rice is an extra 96 cents. Just tell Puranabimba or her daughter Ana Larwandsuk what you’d like on your plate, pay at the end of the line and enjoy. Credit cards are accepted with a $5 minimum purchase.

Grab and go: Thai Mixed Plate is located in the food court at the top of the escalators, toward the middle of the center (the Pearl Highlands Stadium 12 theaters anchor the east end, and INspiration Interiors the opposite side). There’s plenty of seating within the food court. Parking usually isn’t a problem.