Culture and Community Meet at the DS Night Market

If you make your way to Chinatown in downtown Los Angeles on any given weekend night, you will find a lively night market called the DS Night Market. Different vendors offer Thai cuisine and sell art while upbeat music plays throughout the market. 

Oak Soonthornwan founded the DS Night Market with his family a year and a half ago in Chinatown in the hopes that it would become a third space for people to meet new friends.    

Since moving to Los Angeles with his mother 15 years ago from Bangkok, Thailand,

Soonthornwan has worked in restaurants and entertainment. He said he uses his past experience to make the DS Night Market a “place to bring the community together†and to “inspire others to do what they're passionate about.â€Â 

Soonthornwan has become a prominent figure within the Thai community. He has hosted mini concerts, created a 5K run club, and helped organize Thai New Year LA, a festival that occupied over five blocks of Thai Town in Hollywood. In April 2026, the 17th annual event set a Guinness World Records record for the most Pad Thai bought and eaten in one hour, breaking the previous record of 1,200 by serving 1,337 bowls.

At the Night Market, Soonthornwan splits his time between Thai Rodeo BBQ, where he works as the executive chef, and introducing DJs and singing karaoke from the stage next to it. Soonthornwan also mingles throughout the market, filming videos for social media. 

People from various areas shop for art and crafts, try new foods, and meet others. The market features many different booths, such as Mama Bear, where Patty Sookkao mixes fresh papaya salad in a giant mortar and pestle while her family helps take orders. A few booths down, mother-and-daughter duo Rosa and Sophia Echeverria operate Lemonade Delights, selling fresh lemonade with add-ons such as popping boba and fresh strawberries. 

Near the DJ booth is a stand for Tanghulu, a type of crunchy, sugar-coated fruit. Soonthornwan personally recommends the soft, warm coconut cakes at Paa Ma Coconut Cake. 

The DS Night Market is a place where community and culture meet. Yet like other small businesses in Los Angeles, financial struggles led to it nearly closing down last year. Fortunately, Soonthornwan said, the community and surrounding businesses in Chinatown fought to keep it alive. 

More information about the DS Night Market can be found on its Instagram page.

Corsair staff photographer Gregory Davis contributed to this report.