Meet Hen Thai | Drag Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hen Thai and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hen, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
My initial response to this question is that I am afraid of taking risks. Like everyone else, I have moments where I doubt myself and my ability to succeed, so I fall back on my comfort zone and my routine. My perfectionism can hold me back. The fear of criticism and failure sometimes wins. Other times, when I’m brave, I take that leap, and my life is better because of it.

The first big risk I took was leaving Hawaii and moving to Los Angeles after graduating from high school. I was 17 years old and incredibly naive. I didn’t know how to be an adult. Shortly after I moved, my father was diagnosed with stage-four cancer. After my first year of college, I took another risk. I took a semester off, quit my job, and returned to Hawaii to care for my ailing father. After a few tough months, my dad passed away a day before my 19th birthday. After the funeral, I decided to take another risk. I moved back to Los Angeles despite having just mourned my father and not having any money.

When I returned to LA, I put all of my energy into my academics. I was in college during Trump’s first term, and I was starting to become more politically engaged. After a few history and economics classes, I saw an opportunity to apply for a program at my community college that funded a 2-month internship in Washington, D.C. At the interview panel, they asked me, “What was the hardest thing I’ve had to overcome?” I talked about my experience caring for my father. The entire panel was moved by my vulnerability. I was accepted into the program and interned in Congressman Ted Lieu’s office that summer. Looking back, I was not the best candidate on paper, but I showed them my heart, and they took a chance on me. I know that I was accepted because they empathized with my story, and I’m okay with that. I believe that we are more than just our resumes. I’m so glad I took a chance on myself because I had the most incredible summer in D.C., and the following semester, I transferred to the University of Southern California.

After graduating, I got a job in production at an advertising agency, where I still currently work.. I am grateful for the stability this job has brought to my life. This job is exactly what I wanted to be doing when I was in college. We had a company trip to Las Vegas, where I saw Drag Race Live for the first time. I had always loved drag. I was a makeup artist at Sephora for the five years I was in college, and I grew up attending drag shows in Hawaii. I was 13 years old when I started dressing up in drag. I truly believe that if my father hadn’t passed away, I would’ve started doing drag professionally much sooner. While watching Drag Race Live, my partner turns to me and says, “Yeah, you can do that”. That is no shade to the girls performing, but I agreed, I could do it, and one day I will be on that stage too.

And alas, we took another risk. I had just achieved my dream of graduating from college and got my dream job in entertainment marketing, but I knew if I didn’t take a chance on drag now, I would regret it. I’ve been doing drag now for 2.5 years and just debuted my latest venture/risk, The Hen House Supper Club, a Lao and Thai culinary experience that celebrates queer art, Southeast Asian history + culture, and community.

I am a bigger risk-taker than I like to think. My actions have proved that when I bet on myself, I will succeed. I am learning to turn off those voices in my head, trust my gut, and take more risks moving forward.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Hen Thai is a drag artist, writer, producer, food lover, activist, and community builder.

My Drag name has several overlapping cultural significances to me. Hen Thai is a pun for explicit Japanese manga and anime. As a child, I grew up watching anime in the morning. The animation style, power structures, world-building, character development, and often adult themes have always been so captivating to me, even as an adult. Hen Thai is also inspired by my relationship with my ethnicity. Whenever I tell someone I’m Lao, often unrecognizable to the average person, I would describe Laos’ proximity to Thailand and Thai culture. Laos and Thailand have had bilateral relations and express similar linguistic and cultural similarities. My parents are from the capital city of Laos, Vientiane, which is located east of the Mekong River, bordering Thailand. During the Lao Civil War, also known as the Secret War, my parents escaped to a Thai refugee camp where they met and later immigrated to Hawaii.

I like to describe my drag aesthetic as “distorted beauty”, exaggerating societal pressures on beauty and the hyper sexualization of women. Redefining and reclaiming what it means to be beautiful with a dark and sometimes taboo twist. I am inspired by the glamorous pageant drag I grew up watching in the Hawaii drag scene. Marina Del Rey, Princess, Sasha Colby, Bucky Stunguns, and so many Hawaii drag icons have shaped the foundation of my drag style. I am a history nerd, and the pageant-style of drag has paved the way for so many queens before me. This is my way of honoring that legacy despite not being an official pageant queen myself. I take the glamorous aesthetic and put it through my lens, which consists of Thai/Lao culture, anime/hentai, pop stars, lady boys, and a touch of cyberpunk.

When I started going out in drag, I met Bohenne Arreaux, who did my first photoshoot and invited me to their backyard drag show, Faerialand. This is when I started to engage with the community more intimately. Right after my photoshoot at Yuq Studios (Bohenne’s photography business), I did my first drag performance at Queer Liberasian, an AAPI Showcase (100% proceeds donated to community organizations), produced by Andre Menchavez, who is also my drag/queer sibling. After my first drag performance, I started doing drag competitions. For one of my first competitions, I competed in Ongina’s amateur night at Redline. I had a bob, a mini dress, and a dream, and I made a great first impression. I won that night, and for the semi-finals, I did a number to Stronger by Britney Spears, the lip-sync song Ongina was eliminated to. I had a mullet on, and at the climax of the song, I revealed a bald cap head (that was seamlessly blended). Ongina jumped out of her chair, and the entire crowd roared for me. Since then, Ongina began booking me for other shows she produced, including the iconic Boba party, at The Chapel.

While I was starting to be accepted into the AAPI drag scene, I was also competing in a 13-week competition called Dragged Out, hosted by the LA Icon, Billy Francesca. I was an alternate for the main competition but made it to the top 3. I hadn’t even been doing drag for a full year yet, and I was excelling in one of the biggest competitions in Los Angeles. In third place, I received a thousand dollars, and my drag career started to take off. I later competed and won Lip Service at The Abbey, hosted by one of LA’s biggest drag event producers, Andy Santiago. After winning Lip Service, I finally felt like I was making a name for myself in the scene.

Last November, I was cast on a drag political roundtable series on YouTube called Last Week Was A Drag. I was scouted by a casting producer, and after a few auditions, I made it to the main cast. The series only lasted a few episodes, but it was an incredible experience to work on set and be treated so incredibly by the staff at Heart on Fire Studios. We discussed current events, pop culture, and covered the tail end of the 2024 Presidential Election.

I am also proud of hosting the Queer Thai, Lao, and Cambodian New Year Celebration for the last two years in San Diego. The traditional celebrations are amazing, but don’t highlight or celebrate queerness in the way that we might want it to, so Dina, Mimie, and the LAOSD team produced this event and have invited me into their community. I am so lucky to be a part of this historical event and can’t wait to see how much it grows over time.

This past AAPI Heritage Month, I did a drag panel at Pitzer College where we discussed the intersectionality of queerness and our AAPI heritage. I love to, and I am a fantastic performer, but where I shine is in hosting/talking. I have a way of talking about serious topics but making it light-hearted and funny. It may seem that what’s coming out of my mouth is nonsense, but there is intention behind my words. I want to continue to do gigs like these where I get to dive deeper into my thoughts on current events, politics, queerness, and my life experiences.

My latest drag venture is my supper club, The Hen House. I was inspired by the cookouts I attended in Hawaii and the dinners I had with my father, sisters, grandma, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We shared our resources and meals every night. It is culturally important for us to eat as a whole family, but also vital to our survival. This is a way for me to recreate that kind of community in Los Angeles with my queer chosen family and friends. We had an incredible and successful first event, and I can not wait to take my community on this culinary journey to explore the world of Southeast Asian cuisines. The Hen House Supper Club is a love letter to my family, my culture, my community, and to myself. Food is my love language, and I am showing love to my community the best way I know how.

My drag journey is just beginning, and I have been blessed with incredible opportunities at such an early stage of my career. I have one of the most beautiful faces in drag, dark intellectual comedy, monstrous star power, and a heart of gold. My magnetic personality draws people to me, and even after just meeting me once, people recognize that I have something special.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love this question because I’m incredibly type A and always plan the itinerary for trips, and my friends like to joke that I project manage our hangouts. I would break this down like a real itinerary, but no one wants to read all of that, so here is a menu of options I would give my guests:

A Thai Town neighborhood tour is a must for me. I would probably take them back multiple times because there are so many great places to eat. Thai Town is a second home to me. I’ve never lived there, but over the last 9 years, I’ve been coming to this neighborhood to feel closer to my family and my culture. I would start with a Filipino Iced Coffee at Obet & Del’s Coffee Shop. It’s an ube and condensed milk flavored coffee, and the perfect way to start the day. They also have amazing pastries and sometimes have banana lumpias that sell out quickly. Some of my favorite places to eat in Thai Town are:

1. Heng Heng Chicken and Rice — They have the best Hainanese-style poached chicken, and that sauce is perfection! Their fried chicken and crispy fried zaap are also highlights from the menu.

2. Lacha Somtum — Before I got my mortar and pestle, I would go here all of the time to eat their Lao-style papaya salad. They have so many papaya salad variations that no other restaurant can even compete with. We also love their Mama Sue Hot Pot and Steak Lao!

3. Saap Coffee — The pioneers of modern Thai Town! My friends and I always go there and love the homey vibe. They also love the queers. They hired me for a spicy papaya salad eating contest for Thai New Year, and we had the best time.

4. Bhan Kanom Thai — My favorite place for Thai street desserts. Their banana + taro sweet sticky rice dessert is my go-to after eating at one of the places above.

5. Mae Malai Thai House of Noodles — They are newer to Thai Town, but food lovers and critics love it here. Their boat noodle is my absolute favorite out of all the restaurants in LA! It’s small but mighty, and their spice levels are no joke! Their medium kicks my butt, and I can eat spice!

My other favorite Thai restaurants that are a little more upscale are Luv2Eat Thai Bistro and Night + Market. Luv2Eat if you want a bigger menu and want to eat down. Night + Market if you want something more lively. I have their cookbook, and it has taken my cooking skills to another level.

Koreatown is another neighborhood I find myself coming back to at least twice a month. I love a good H Mart shopping trip to pick up marinated galbi, spicy pork belly, banchans, soju, and asian snacks before we hit up a friend’s pool in the neighborhood. My favorite restaurants in Koreatown are:

1. Pigya — Korean BBQ lovers, pork lovers, and people who don’t want to cook their own meat will love this spot. They aren’t all you can eat, but their set menus are more than enough food. The quality of their meat is top-notch, and they finish you off with kimchi fried rice and ramyun.

2. Dan Sung Sa — I’ve never been to South Korea, but I like to think that this place is exactly where business professionals would go after a long day of work to eat skewers and drink a lot of soju. We love celebrating birthdays here, then going across the street to Oakobing for Korean shaved ice, and if we are feeling crazy, there’s a karaoke spot in the same plaza as DSS.

3. Quarters Korean BBQ — Before I found Pigya, this was my go-to spot whenever I had visitors. It’s a classic. The wait is long, but they have a bar outside where you can order drinks while you wait, and if you are a real eater, we are smoking a few joints before we get i,n so it is never that bad. There’s also a cute asian beauty store called Shibuyala in the same plaza that we always check out.

4. Bumsan Organic Milk Bar — No matter where we eat in Koreatown, we almost always find ourselves coming back to Bumsan. Their soft serve is perfect. As us Asians like to say, it’s not too sweet. Fast service, cute seating, and very Instagramable.

And finally, my favorite places in West Hollywood:

1. For food: Phorage, Le Pho, Pisces Poke, India’s Tandoori Hollywood, JoJo’s Mediterranean Grill, Ocean Sushi, Tasty Donuts, and Sweets Talk are places that I frequent nearby. If we don’t want to go all the way to Koreatown or Thai Town, these are all solid places I’d take us for an easy meal.

2. Las Perlas Mezcal Bar — Tequila and Mezcal drinkers love it here. They have food pop-ups in the back room, and I believe we can smoke cigarettes there, too. I’m sorry, call me old-fashioned, but I love smoking, drinking, and eating indoors, and not many places will allow that.

3. Or Bar — If you want drinks that taste good in WEHO, Or Bar is the perfect spot. The blueberry martini gets me together every single time. They also have this hostess named Constance, she is my idol, and curates the absolute best vibe.

4. Fan Girl Cafe — A relatively new lesbian owned pop-star themed cafe. They have a wall of photographs of your favorite pop divas. The decor is a sapphic dream. They have coffee and other food/beverage items on the menu named after pop songs. I adore this place and work from there for hours and hours. I always see a friend come in whenever I work at Fan Girl, and it is the perfect 3rd space for queers in the neighborhood.

Now I know I said no one wants to read all that and then mentioned a million places, but LA is a huge city. There is so much to do here, and there is truly something for everyone

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My first shoutout is to my mom, Phonephet. She came to the U.S. as a war refugee and has spent the last 30+ years working tirelessly to achieve the American Dream. My mom owns a restaurant in Oahu called New Spicy House. Bretman Rock has said it is his favorite Thai restaurant on the west side. My mother also works at farmers’ markets and provides meals to the sick and elderly in the Waianae community. She works 10-12 hours a day, 7 days a week. My mom is my biggest inspiration and has given me the world. My confidence, work ethic, passion for cooking, beauty obsession, cutthroat personality, and my sensitive heart all come from my mom.

I’d also like to shout out Simon Court and Long Tran, my mentors and my gay dads. Simon was there for me when I struggled to find a place to live, taught me financial literacy, and supported me through my grief. I come from humble beginnings, and Simon has shown me not just kindness but opportunities and a lifestyle that I never knew existed. He has taught me taste, class, professionalism, and how to be a successful adult. I am beyond grateful for his mentorship, and he is someone who has truly changed my life. Long is Simon’s husband, and they live in Palm Springs (duh!). Long referred me for a position at the agency where he worked after I graduated from college. Yes, I am a nepo baby, but it’s a chosen family, so it’s a little different. Long has helped me tremendously in my professional career, but also in my drag career. He designs all of my flyers and logos, and helps me with the creative direction for my supper club, The Hen House.

My last shoutout is to my partner, Austen Villacis. We have been dating for 3 years, and he is a huge reason why I started drag. He gave me the courage to finally pursue drag after loving the craft since I was 13. Austen has supported me throughout my entire drag journey; there are drag boyfriends, and then there is Austen. He has supported me through Dragged Out, a 13-week drag competition, driven me all around Southern California for gigs, and is the sous chef for The Hen House Supper Club. He truly believes in me, my art, and my vision, and I could not ask for a better life partner. Austen is an art archivist, master gardener, and future curator. Austen does not just believe in but actively supports me as an artist.

Okay, last ones for real, shoutout to my chosen family in Los Angeles who have also been my biggest supporters in this new chapter of my life. Ari Naimon, Alexis Maarte, Andre Menchavez, Empress Lychi, Aiana Shaw, Apple Aday, Joella, Cheryl Trade, Ophelia Belle, Bohenne Arreaux, Calla Faeria, and Thai Teaze. Sorry, can’t name you all, but it truly takes a village, a community of people to succeed, and I am in love with my life and the people that I surround myself with.

Instagram: henthaiqueen

Twitter: henthaiqueen

Other: TikTok: henthaiqueen69
Supper Club IG: thehenhousesupperclub
Last Week Was A Drag YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@LastWeekWasADrag/videos

Image Credits
Yuq Studios – Bohenne Arreaux