By LEAH WEATHERSBY

There is probably more than one banker in the world who has dreamed of chucking the finance career in favor of something a little more creative - maybe owning one of those neighborhood restaurants so many people dream of opening but so few can actually make a go of.

At Thai Pearl, located at 12319 Roosevelt Way NE in the Haller Lake neighborhood, diners will find two entrepreneurs who made that restaurant dream a reality.

Thai Pearl's co-owners, Panya "Ben" Chaveeungkab, 43, and Tawn "Tony" Sengkyo, 38, both moved to the United States over 10 years ago to study business.

Chaveeungkab, who had been working as a banker in Bangkok, Thailand, moved to Tampa, Fla., in 1988 to attend the University of Tampa. In 1990, he completed his master's degree in marketing.

After graduating, Chaveeungkab moved to Seattle where some friends were living and started taking jobs in Thai restaurants, including the Royal Palm Thai in the Roosevelt neighborhood, finding that his out-going personality made him well-suited to the business. In 1992, Chaveeungkab teamed up with some other partners to open a restaurant called Pailin Thai ("pailin" is Thai for sapphire) in West Seattle.

While Chaveeungkab enjoyed the experience, he decided to sell his share in the restaurant and move back to Thailand in 1996.

His plan was to work at a computer parts manufacturer and be near his parents. However, the job didn't pan out and Chaveeungkab missed America. He came back to Seattle only a few months later and returned to his career as a banker, working as an auditor at Washington Mutual.

Sengkyo followed a somewhat similar path. Originally from Laos, he moved to Seattle in 1985 to study business at the now-defunct Griffin College. After graduating, he embarked on a career in banking which was to last 12 years. During that time he worked for several different companies and in many different departments - from data entry to accounting.

Sengkyo was also moonlighting as a waiter at Bangkok Thai on Capitol Hill until accepting a job in banking in Los Angeles in the late 1990s. He soon discovered that he didn't like living in L.A. - especially when it came to the heavy traffic and long commutes. Fortunately, help, in the form of a call from his old friend and former roommate, Chaveeungkab, was on the way. Chaveeungkab, who he hadn't enjoyed his return to banking, asked Sengkyo if he would be interested in returning to Seattle to help him open a new restaurant.

Sengkyo said yes.

"I like to get to know more people," said Chaveeungkab. "That's my personality."

He said he had long thought of opening a new restaurant - perhaps with a "jewel" name similar to his old restaurant in West Seattle. When Chaveeungkab and Sengkyo learned that a restaurant space was available just north of the Northgate area, they jumped at the opportunity to lease it. Thai Pearl held its grand opening in February.

The restaurant's recipes - which include popular Thai fare such as Phad Thai (a fried noodle dish with ground peanuts and dried tofu), and an array of curry dishes - come courtesy of Chaveeungkab. Thai Pearl also offers a few Laotian treats as well, including black sticky rice pudding, barbecue chicken and papaya salad.

So far, the partners have split most of their restaurant duties evenly, though Chaveeungkab does most of the accounting. Both say they are glad to be out of banking and into a workplace where they can be their own boss. b