This made my day: Thai eatery treats girl and dad to meal after overhearing touching convo

A simple birthday celebration for a young Thai girl turned into a moving one — all because of a conversation between her and her dad.

The pair visited a Japanese hotpot restaurant in Rayong last Saturday (March 19) afternoon, the Bangkok Post reported. 

The girl's birthday wish was to eat shabu shabu, but her dad told her she would have to eat alone as he couldn't afford to pay for two.

A waitress serving at their table overheard the man telling his daughter that he would wait outside the restaurant as she ate.

To his surprise, the girl refused to eat unless her father joined her. 

Hearing this, the waitress informed restaurant owner Panumas Sroitong.

The pair were stopped before leaving the restaurant and told that they would enjoy a meal on the house.

Panumas also instructed her staff to buy the girl a birthday cake from a nearby convenience store. 

The restaurant owner shared her encounter with the father and daughter in a Facebook post with stills from the restaurant's CCTV footage.

In one of the photos, Panumas, dressed in a yellow T-shirt, appeared to be moved to tears after her interaction with the pair. 

Videos of the incident were also shared in a subsequent Facebook post. 

Panumas' Facebook post received overwhelming support from netizens, and has since garnered more than 206,000 reactions and 83,000 shares. 

Many praised her for her generosity towards the man and his daughter, and wished her well. 

"I saw how much he loved his daughter," the restaurant owner told Thai reporters. 

Well-wishes aside, many netizens also offered to provide financial assistance to the man and his daughter. 

However, Panumas said the man declined the offers and added that he did not wish to be interviewed. 

"On behalf of the father and his daughter, thank you for all your offers of help," Panumas wrote in a Facebook post on March 20.

claudiatan@asiaone.com