Throughout November 2009, Shanghai 38, Chinese Restaurant at Sofitel Bangkok Silom, offers an innovative selection of healthy Chinese herb dishes, combining the best of local produce with imported special Chinese herbs. Herbs can help to regulate energy, relieve stress, clear heat and toxins, build body strength and are very effective in the prevention of day-to-day illnesses such as the flu and cold.
Master Chef Jacky Chan has created and prepared a mouth-watering menu that features “Traditional Fat Tiew Chiang”, “Double Boiled Sea Conch with Chinese Herbs”, “Double Boiled Hao Chao Hoo Mushrooms with Duck Meat”, “Double Boiled Lamb with Chinese Gin Seng” and many more. Prices start from Baht 280++.
Complete your healthy Chinese herbal meal with a wide choice of alcoholic or non-alcoholic “Seasonal Fruit Cocktails” or one of many splendid Thai wines.
Enjoy a stunning dining experience surrounded by beautiful Chinese Art Deco and the panoramic view of the Chaophraya River from Shanghai 38, Chinese Restaurant on the 38th floor of Solitel Bangkok Silom.
All-You-Can-Eat Dim Sum Lunch
Tuesday – Sunday: only Baht 588++
Weekends: With special item Peking duck at Baht 788++
A la carte and set dinner menu are available.
*Prices subject to service charge and tax.
50% discount for children under 12 years
For reservations of 5 persons or more, a private room can be reserved at no extra cost.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
COLOUR YOUR WORLD WITH RED PORK
We are lucky that the different Chinese ethnic communities who live in Thailand have preserved their cultural heritage so well. They have given us not only a whole spectrum of crafts and artistic styles, but also a wealth of cooking styles that have done much to make Bangkok one of the world's great food cities, and a place that attracts people from all over the world to come for some culinary adventures.
Each of the Chinese language groups has its own cooking specialities. The Cantonese are experts at preparing grilled and roasted dishes like grilled duck and grilled pork and the noodle dishes, like bamee moo daeng ,that are based on them. From the Chinese Hakkas (who are referred to as Jin Khek in Thai), we have the noodle dish called kui tio khek , where rice noodles share the bowl with balls of tofu and pork. Hainanese cooks are famous for their popular chicken-withrice creation, called khao man kai in Thai,as well as phae toon (seasoned, stewed mutton) and the chewy noodles called khanom jeen Hailam . Teochew (Taechew as far as Thais are concerned) kitchens produce excellent simmered and stir-fried dishes.
It isn't definitely known which Chinese ethnic group invented moo daeng (literally "red pork''), but it seems that this reddish roast pork is most likely of Cantonese origin.It is often sold in shops that sell Cantonese grilled and roasted meats like duck and crispy pork.
The moo daeng served in noodle dishes is the same as that used to make khao moo daeng , which is moo daeng with rice and sauce. This is a ubiquitous informal dish in Bangkok, and it consists of red pork, crispy pork, the sweet Chinese sausage called kun chiang and a whole boiled duck egg (but nowadays more likely to be just half an egg)served over hot rice smothered by a generous dash of a special, aromatic sauce. The cook at the restaurant will have all these ingredients ready to serve, so there is no need to heat them up. It is easy to make and to eat.It is also inexpensive, and a single portion will satisfy most people. Its tastiness and convenience have led to such high demand that shops and stalls selling the dish are everywhere.
Most of these eateries prepare the red pork themselves on site. It is easy to whip up - they just take pork, rub a red colouring on it and roast it. The kun chiang is bought from suppliers who make a specialised variety (longer and wider than that intended for household cooking) for the red-pork dish.
The crispy pork is also obtained from an outside party. This item can be bought at most markets, but it is mainly made in the Nakhon Chaisi area of Nakhon Pathom province and in Ratchaburi, where there are many pig farms.
The roasting is usually done after midnight. First, a whole pig is butchered. The head and legs are removed, and the carcass is cut in half lengthwise. The ribs are taken out, and both halves are put inside a big,tall concrete oven. They are lowered in from the top of the oven and suspended inside,traditionally with burning charcoal at the bottom, although nowadays gas is used.
When the meat has been cooked enough to become somewhat dry, it is lifted from the oven and rubbed with salt. The skin is perforated all over with a sharp knife and then the meat is lowered into the oven again and cooked until it is done. When fully cooked, the perforated skin is golden brown and crunchy. The pork halves are then delivered to markets before dawn, where vendors cut them into pieces and sell them to customers by weight.
Since Nakhon Pathom is a major producer of crispy pork, shops that sell khao moo daeng always name themselves after the province. If you buy khao moo daeng in Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai, you'd probably get it at a shop bearing the sign Khao Moo Daeng Nakhon Pathom (Nakhon Pathom Khao Moo Daeng, in English). But that doesn't mean that that eatery's khao moo daeng recipe originated in Nakhon Pathom,because there is no big Cantonese community in Nakhon Pathom. The sign is just to inform customers that the roast pork used to make that restaurant's dish comes from Nakhon Pathom.
But even though the professionallyprepared pork makes up the most substantive portion of the dish after rice, it is the sauce that gives the dish real character. Indeed,the sauce is the true test of the level of the skill in the kitchen. A red-pork-with-rice restaurant worthy of its reputation would have its own recipe for the sauce, but not many shops can concoct good versions of this vital component.
One place in Bangkok that was very famous in the past for its red-pork-withrice sauce was located near the long-gone Nakhon Sanuk cinema on New Road. When the cinema went, the red pork shop shut down too, but one of its Chinese employees went into business for himself to continue selling the dish. There are now two branches - one at Wang Burapha and the other on Worachak Road. Both still use the name Khao Moo Daeng Rong Nang Nakhon Sanuk ("Nakhon Sanuk Cinema Red Pork with Rice'').
Both of these shops pour the sauce over the red-pork-with-rice dish from bottles.This is different from most other shops selling the dish, where the sauce is kept in a pot and ladled over the pork and rice accordingly.
There is another shop that specialises in this dish. Its name is, not surprisingly, Khao Moo Daeng Nakhon Pathom. It is located on Sam Yan Soi 50, near the site of the old,now-demolished Sam Yan market.
Here the sauce, which is very good, is also stored in bottles, and the crispy pork is made on the premises. The meat is first roasted to drain off the fat, and then it is deep-fried so that the skin is not only crispy but flaky, too.
Khao moo daeng is one of the most ordinary of single-dish meals, but even the most routine of dishes can be extraordinary in the hands of a gifted cook who knows how to interpret it in a special way.
If you are looking for a simple, tasty and satisfying bite to satisfy your hunger, and you are in the area, drop in at one of the shops mentioned above and tuck into a memorable meal.
Each of the Chinese language groups has its own cooking specialities. The Cantonese are experts at preparing grilled and roasted dishes like grilled duck and grilled pork and the noodle dishes, like bamee moo daeng ,that are based on them. From the Chinese Hakkas (who are referred to as Jin Khek in Thai), we have the noodle dish called kui tio khek , where rice noodles share the bowl with balls of tofu and pork. Hainanese cooks are famous for their popular chicken-withrice creation, called khao man kai in Thai,as well as phae toon (seasoned, stewed mutton) and the chewy noodles called khanom jeen Hailam . Teochew (Taechew as far as Thais are concerned) kitchens produce excellent simmered and stir-fried dishes.
It isn't definitely known which Chinese ethnic group invented moo daeng (literally "red pork''), but it seems that this reddish roast pork is most likely of Cantonese origin.It is often sold in shops that sell Cantonese grilled and roasted meats like duck and crispy pork.
The moo daeng served in noodle dishes is the same as that used to make khao moo daeng , which is moo daeng with rice and sauce. This is a ubiquitous informal dish in Bangkok, and it consists of red pork, crispy pork, the sweet Chinese sausage called kun chiang and a whole boiled duck egg (but nowadays more likely to be just half an egg)served over hot rice smothered by a generous dash of a special, aromatic sauce. The cook at the restaurant will have all these ingredients ready to serve, so there is no need to heat them up. It is easy to make and to eat.It is also inexpensive, and a single portion will satisfy most people. Its tastiness and convenience have led to such high demand that shops and stalls selling the dish are everywhere.
Most of these eateries prepare the red pork themselves on site. It is easy to whip up - they just take pork, rub a red colouring on it and roast it. The kun chiang is bought from suppliers who make a specialised variety (longer and wider than that intended for household cooking) for the red-pork dish.
The crispy pork is also obtained from an outside party. This item can be bought at most markets, but it is mainly made in the Nakhon Chaisi area of Nakhon Pathom province and in Ratchaburi, where there are many pig farms.
The roasting is usually done after midnight. First, a whole pig is butchered. The head and legs are removed, and the carcass is cut in half lengthwise. The ribs are taken out, and both halves are put inside a big,tall concrete oven. They are lowered in from the top of the oven and suspended inside,traditionally with burning charcoal at the bottom, although nowadays gas is used.
When the meat has been cooked enough to become somewhat dry, it is lifted from the oven and rubbed with salt. The skin is perforated all over with a sharp knife and then the meat is lowered into the oven again and cooked until it is done. When fully cooked, the perforated skin is golden brown and crunchy. The pork halves are then delivered to markets before dawn, where vendors cut them into pieces and sell them to customers by weight.
Since Nakhon Pathom is a major producer of crispy pork, shops that sell khao moo daeng always name themselves after the province. If you buy khao moo daeng in Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai, you'd probably get it at a shop bearing the sign Khao Moo Daeng Nakhon Pathom (Nakhon Pathom Khao Moo Daeng, in English). But that doesn't mean that that eatery's khao moo daeng recipe originated in Nakhon Pathom,because there is no big Cantonese community in Nakhon Pathom. The sign is just to inform customers that the roast pork used to make that restaurant's dish comes from Nakhon Pathom.
But even though the professionallyprepared pork makes up the most substantive portion of the dish after rice, it is the sauce that gives the dish real character. Indeed,the sauce is the true test of the level of the skill in the kitchen. A red-pork-with-rice restaurant worthy of its reputation would have its own recipe for the sauce, but not many shops can concoct good versions of this vital component.
One place in Bangkok that was very famous in the past for its red-pork-withrice sauce was located near the long-gone Nakhon Sanuk cinema on New Road. When the cinema went, the red pork shop shut down too, but one of its Chinese employees went into business for himself to continue selling the dish. There are now two branches - one at Wang Burapha and the other on Worachak Road. Both still use the name Khao Moo Daeng Rong Nang Nakhon Sanuk ("Nakhon Sanuk Cinema Red Pork with Rice'').
Both of these shops pour the sauce over the red-pork-with-rice dish from bottles.This is different from most other shops selling the dish, where the sauce is kept in a pot and ladled over the pork and rice accordingly.
There is another shop that specialises in this dish. Its name is, not surprisingly, Khao Moo Daeng Nakhon Pathom. It is located on Sam Yan Soi 50, near the site of the old,now-demolished Sam Yan market.
Here the sauce, which is very good, is also stored in bottles, and the crispy pork is made on the premises. The meat is first roasted to drain off the fat, and then it is deep-fried so that the skin is not only crispy but flaky, too.
Khao moo daeng is one of the most ordinary of single-dish meals, but even the most routine of dishes can be extraordinary in the hands of a gifted cook who knows how to interpret it in a special way.
If you are looking for a simple, tasty and satisfying bite to satisfy your hunger, and you are in the area, drop in at one of the shops mentioned above and tuck into a memorable meal.
TURNING OVER A FRESH LEAF
Assuggested by the name, the new and humble catery Salad House at Bon Marche off Prachaniwet Road is a clean and green place to enjoy a healthy meal.
Owner Arunee Phoorahong brings fresh red oak, green oak, cos and iceberg lettuces from her own toxic-free hydroponics farm in Pathum Thani to the restaurant everyday. After more than 30 years in the marketing business, she decided to go back to nature, started up her own two-rai vegetable farm and makes sure she consumes healthy food.
"Inner beauty is pivotal. An ever increasing number of people suffering from cancer and intestinal diseases. That's because we are what we eat. I started the farm because I wanted to do something better in life after the stress of workign, Now, after years of cating planted of vegetables, I feel healthier and much happier. Good food has lots of potential in slowing down the ageing process," says Arunee.
She also wanted to share her healthy lifestyle with other people so opened Salad House two weeks ago. The restaurant is decorated simply in white and green and has a floor that's covered with artificial grasses.
The healthy vegetables, naturally enought, taste all the more delicious with the right dressings. Instead of looking them up in a recipe book, Arunee turned to her mother, who now lives in Melbourne, Australia. Mum consulted an Australian friend, a hotel chef and a major fan of Thai foods, who's created six salad dressings that can be adjusted to suit the thai palate.
Customers can pick form in-house, caesar, clam, tuna, thousand island and cream. The in-house dressing combines olive oil and maple syrup and has quickly become the eatery's best seller. The vegetables are fress and crisp and are priced from Bt79 to Bt89 accompanied withyour choice of dressing. Salmon salad can also be ordered at Bt49.
"We've made the dressings a bit of sour to attract customers. Because of that, everyone eats more vegetables," syas arunee.
Soup is priced at Bt59 a bowl and there's a choice of corn, spinach, pumpkin, carrot and mushroom. For customers who want something more substantial, there are also ham and cheese sandwiches made with wholewheat bread.
You shouldn't leave the eatery without trying the baked olive rice, which is deliciously soft and aromatic. the selected jasmine rice is baked with olive oil and various spices like pepper, garlic, coriander roots, ginger and galangal for a day.
"After baking, we also sterilise it with the proper equipment. That means you can take it home and keep in the refrigerator for two weeks," says Arunee.
To olive rice is best eaten with roasted pork ribs, prepared to a sexcret recipe from her mother's chef friend. All Arunee will say is that the meat is roasted with various herbs and it's certainly very tendr. There arfe many choices of lunch sets at prices that range from Bt129 to Bt139. A good selection is the in-house salad with roasted pork ribs and a blowl of soup.
For drinks, there are six healthy smoothies, the names of which suggest the benefits they offer. Dry skin? Then sip on a "Skin Cate" which inelds lychee, guava, lemon, honey, ginseng and guarana. For digestive benefits, opt for "digest Plus"-a combination of banana, apple juice, blue-berry and vanilla yoghurt digestive booster. To keep the doctor away, Arunee suggests the "Doc Off", a combination of watermelon, orange juice and strawberry. Coconut jelly beads come in every glass and the dirnks are priced at Bt59.
"The recipes for the smoothies come from my wet nurse who is now a cook in a Thai restaurnant in Hong Kong. Smoothies are popular over there and she's learned to make various drinks. We've reduced the sweentess though to suit Thai tastes."
You can take some fresh vegetables home as Aurnee also sells her hydroponie goodies ready to go. The 100gm vegetable packs cost Bt45 and an eight-ounce bottle of salad dressing is priced at Bt115. the restaurant also a home delivery service, vegetable gift baskets and food catering and is a great place relex after a stressful day in the office.
Owner Arunee Phoorahong brings fresh red oak, green oak, cos and iceberg lettuces from her own toxic-free hydroponics farm in Pathum Thani to the restaurant everyday. After more than 30 years in the marketing business, she decided to go back to nature, started up her own two-rai vegetable farm and makes sure she consumes healthy food.
"Inner beauty is pivotal. An ever increasing number of people suffering from cancer and intestinal diseases. That's because we are what we eat. I started the farm because I wanted to do something better in life after the stress of workign, Now, after years of cating planted of vegetables, I feel healthier and much happier. Good food has lots of potential in slowing down the ageing process," says Arunee.
She also wanted to share her healthy lifestyle with other people so opened Salad House two weeks ago. The restaurant is decorated simply in white and green and has a floor that's covered with artificial grasses.
The healthy vegetables, naturally enought, taste all the more delicious with the right dressings. Instead of looking them up in a recipe book, Arunee turned to her mother, who now lives in Melbourne, Australia. Mum consulted an Australian friend, a hotel chef and a major fan of Thai foods, who's created six salad dressings that can be adjusted to suit the thai palate.
Customers can pick form in-house, caesar, clam, tuna, thousand island and cream. The in-house dressing combines olive oil and maple syrup and has quickly become the eatery's best seller. The vegetables are fress and crisp and are priced from Bt79 to Bt89 accompanied withyour choice of dressing. Salmon salad can also be ordered at Bt49.
"We've made the dressings a bit of sour to attract customers. Because of that, everyone eats more vegetables," syas arunee.
Soup is priced at Bt59 a bowl and there's a choice of corn, spinach, pumpkin, carrot and mushroom. For customers who want something more substantial, there are also ham and cheese sandwiches made with wholewheat bread.
You shouldn't leave the eatery without trying the baked olive rice, which is deliciously soft and aromatic. the selected jasmine rice is baked with olive oil and various spices like pepper, garlic, coriander roots, ginger and galangal for a day.
"After baking, we also sterilise it with the proper equipment. That means you can take it home and keep in the refrigerator for two weeks," says Arunee.
To olive rice is best eaten with roasted pork ribs, prepared to a sexcret recipe from her mother's chef friend. All Arunee will say is that the meat is roasted with various herbs and it's certainly very tendr. There arfe many choices of lunch sets at prices that range from Bt129 to Bt139. A good selection is the in-house salad with roasted pork ribs and a blowl of soup.
For drinks, there are six healthy smoothies, the names of which suggest the benefits they offer. Dry skin? Then sip on a "Skin Cate" which inelds lychee, guava, lemon, honey, ginseng and guarana. For digestive benefits, opt for "digest Plus"-a combination of banana, apple juice, blue-berry and vanilla yoghurt digestive booster. To keep the doctor away, Arunee suggests the "Doc Off", a combination of watermelon, orange juice and strawberry. Coconut jelly beads come in every glass and the dirnks are priced at Bt59.
"The recipes for the smoothies come from my wet nurse who is now a cook in a Thai restaurnant in Hong Kong. Smoothies are popular over there and she's learned to make various drinks. We've reduced the sweentess though to suit Thai tastes."
You can take some fresh vegetables home as Aurnee also sells her hydroponie goodies ready to go. The 100gm vegetable packs cost Bt45 and an eight-ounce bottle of salad dressing is priced at Bt115. the restaurant also a home delivery service, vegetable gift baskets and food catering and is a great place relex after a stressful day in the office.
TIME WE GOT TO WOODSTOCK
Nostalgia's on the menu of this charming shop-cafe in the form of classic dishes and home decor with stories to tell
With Ang Lee's film "Taking Woodstock" currently iin cinemas, this might seem a good time to visit Woodstock the store and cafe, which opened six months ago on the Chao Phraya's Thonburi Shore.
But beyond the retro appeal of the items on sale, the shop in Bang Khunnon district has nothing to do with the American town after which history's first rock festival was named - unless you count the idea of getting back to nature.
The wood in stock at this Woodstock is how the owner, who asked to byidentified only as Kwanvana, wants visitors to regard the world - as a simpler, more natural place.
She has decorated the store with her vintage furniture, boosting th enostalgia quotient with Thai food specialities that are now hard to find elsewhere in Bangkok.
The Sukhothai noodles have freshly roasted peaunts on top. The crispy khao soi noodles have a curry sauce like Mum used to make (at least if you grew up in the North). A bowl of noodlles is Bt30 to Bt40.
Then there are great snacks like deepfried spring rolls and the northern pork sausage moo yor.
The drinks, listed on old sheets of vinyl, include a variety of Thai teas, old-fashioned coffee and expresso and latte. Woodstock isn't easy to find if you don't know the area, and only the No57 bus comes near, but once located, its charm is undeniable, Guests roam around poking in cupboards and studying the individual items on the shelves - old clocks, posters, record players and toys. On weekday the place is peaceful, so take a book or your laptop - there's Internet access.
On Saturdays Woodstock gets busy, with the band Siam Serenade playing timeless favourites from a different era and people bringing their own handmade goods to sell.
Woodstock is open from 9am to 6pm, so there's dinner option as well. The menu includes the fried noodles and shrimp-paste rice called khao kluk kapi and a mixed whole-grain salad.
With Ang Lee's film "Taking Woodstock" currently iin cinemas, this might seem a good time to visit Woodstock the store and cafe, which opened six months ago on the Chao Phraya's Thonburi Shore.
But beyond the retro appeal of the items on sale, the shop in Bang Khunnon district has nothing to do with the American town after which history's first rock festival was named - unless you count the idea of getting back to nature.
The wood in stock at this Woodstock is how the owner, who asked to byidentified only as Kwanvana, wants visitors to regard the world - as a simpler, more natural place.
She has decorated the store with her vintage furniture, boosting th enostalgia quotient with Thai food specialities that are now hard to find elsewhere in Bangkok.
The Sukhothai noodles have freshly roasted peaunts on top. The crispy khao soi noodles have a curry sauce like Mum used to make (at least if you grew up in the North). A bowl of noodlles is Bt30 to Bt40.
Then there are great snacks like deepfried spring rolls and the northern pork sausage moo yor.
The drinks, listed on old sheets of vinyl, include a variety of Thai teas, old-fashioned coffee and expresso and latte. Woodstock isn't easy to find if you don't know the area, and only the No57 bus comes near, but once located, its charm is undeniable, Guests roam around poking in cupboards and studying the individual items on the shelves - old clocks, posters, record players and toys. On weekday the place is peaceful, so take a book or your laptop - there's Internet access.
On Saturdays Woodstock gets busy, with the band Siam Serenade playing timeless favourites from a different era and people bringing their own handmade goods to sell.
Woodstock is open from 9am to 6pm, so there's dinner option as well. The menu includes the fried noodles and shrimp-paste rice called khao kluk kapi and a mixed whole-grain salad.
Friday, October 30, 2009
HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE BATTLE OVER JUNK FOOD
To what extent should a govt interfere in the eating habits of people, even unhealthy ones? The pop beverage and junk food war is simmering in the US as America is caught in the debate on freedom to consume versus responsible eating. Schools are cutting back on campus access to fatty, salty snacks and soft drinks, according to a report released by the US Federal Centre for Disease Control and Prevention early this month. And more measures are being introduced.
USA Today quoted the report on October 6 as saying the states of Mississippi and Tennessee have made the greatest strides. "In Mississippi, the percentage of secondary schools that didn't sell soda or sugary fruit drinks rose from 22 per cent in 2006 to 75 per cent in 2008; in Tennessee, it rose from 27 per cent to 74 per cent".
In New York, billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg is forcing chain restaurants to post calorie counts. "[Bloomberg's] food issue has become New York City's. Although he has described his battle against unhealthy foods as common-sense public policy that will shed pounds (and save lives), many of his targets overlap with his own cravings," the New York Times said last month, followed by Bloomberg's admission that he likes Big Macs, "like everybody else".
At the national level, President Barack Obama is still toying with the idea of taxing calorie-rich soft drink giants to partly fund his healthcare reform.
The junk food/drink industries are fighting back, however. Coca-Cola ran an advertisement in the New York Times insisting that it's cooperating with schools worried about obesity and will even make the calorie level marking more noticeable for consumers.
A fast food advocate calling itself the Centre for Consumer Freedom also ran a full-page ad in The Times earlier this month, claiming that the government views Americans as being "too stupid … to make good personal decisions about foods and beverages".
It attacks Bloomberg for using tax dollars to launch an advertising campaign "to demonise soda".
In a classic debate between right and responsibility, the ad asks: "Food cops and politicians are attacking food and soda choices they don't like. Have they gone too far? It's your food. It's your drink. It's your freedom".
Increasingly, the junk food/drink industry is feeling as if it's being treated more like a pariah - like the tobacco industry with more and more restrictions being thrown up.
America is unique in the sense that one-third of its population is obese and roughly half is overweight.
While people ought to be able to decide, the American public should bear in mind not just the weighty power of the state but also that of the fast food giants. Having the government unilaterally decide everything cannot be politically healthy in the long run. At the same time, unrestricted, harmful for-profit activities should be reigned in.
Youths deserve special attention and protection, however. And how events unfold in the United States may set a precedent for many other parts of the world as the export of American junk food culture has pervaded nations near and far - even those once remote.
USA Today quoted the report on October 6 as saying the states of Mississippi and Tennessee have made the greatest strides. "In Mississippi, the percentage of secondary schools that didn't sell soda or sugary fruit drinks rose from 22 per cent in 2006 to 75 per cent in 2008; in Tennessee, it rose from 27 per cent to 74 per cent".
In New York, billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg is forcing chain restaurants to post calorie counts. "[Bloomberg's] food issue has become New York City's. Although he has described his battle against unhealthy foods as common-sense public policy that will shed pounds (and save lives), many of his targets overlap with his own cravings," the New York Times said last month, followed by Bloomberg's admission that he likes Big Macs, "like everybody else".
At the national level, President Barack Obama is still toying with the idea of taxing calorie-rich soft drink giants to partly fund his healthcare reform.
The junk food/drink industries are fighting back, however. Coca-Cola ran an advertisement in the New York Times insisting that it's cooperating with schools worried about obesity and will even make the calorie level marking more noticeable for consumers.
A fast food advocate calling itself the Centre for Consumer Freedom also ran a full-page ad in The Times earlier this month, claiming that the government views Americans as being "too stupid … to make good personal decisions about foods and beverages".
It attacks Bloomberg for using tax dollars to launch an advertising campaign "to demonise soda".
In a classic debate between right and responsibility, the ad asks: "Food cops and politicians are attacking food and soda choices they don't like. Have they gone too far? It's your food. It's your drink. It's your freedom".
Increasingly, the junk food/drink industry is feeling as if it's being treated more like a pariah - like the tobacco industry with more and more restrictions being thrown up.
America is unique in the sense that one-third of its population is obese and roughly half is overweight.
While people ought to be able to decide, the American public should bear in mind not just the weighty power of the state but also that of the fast food giants. Having the government unilaterally decide everything cannot be politically healthy in the long run. At the same time, unrestricted, harmful for-profit activities should be reigned in.
Youths deserve special attention and protection, however. And how events unfold in the United States may set a precedent for many other parts of the world as the export of American junk food culture has pervaded nations near and far - even those once remote.
Magnificent seven
In the most important, most revered event since the invention of the brontosaurus trap,Microsoft shipped the most incredibly fabulous operating system ever made; the release of Windows 7 also spurred a new generation of personal computers of all sizes at prices well below last month's offers.The top reason Windows 7 does not suck: There is no registered website called Windows7Sucks.com
Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.
Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Catering boosts restaurant's revenue
Shanghai Food, the operator of Chinese restaurant Shanghai Xiao Long Pao, will focus more on expanding its catering and buffet services and setting up food kiosks next year.
The company has returned to aggressive expansion after suspending investment for two years due to the political situation and the economic slowdown.
Patiwat Reonchaidee, chief operating officer, said the company was concentrating on new services to expand its customer base and drive restaurant sales after experiencing a 10-per-cent drop in the first six months of this year due to the economic uncertainty.
He said spending per bill remained steady at Bt400 to Bt500, but the number of customers had dropped.
The company has offered new services to offset the sales drop by adding a buffet service from Friday to Sunday at the restaurant.
Shanghai Food also started its catering services in May and the buffets in the third quarter. Patiwat said both services had received good feedback from clients and would help the company maintain sales revenue of Bt170 million this year, the same figure as last year.
Patiwat said the bright outlook for the catering and buffet services was leading the aggressive plan for next year, in which the company plans to add restaurants at shopping and community malls.
Most of the new outlets will have space for a buffet service.
Patiwat said the company was relaying on the restaurant client base to use the catering service. "Our catering customer base are corporate, seminar and activity organisers," he said.
The company will create quick-service food kiosks style at the malls.
Patiwat said the malls showed how the lifestyles of diners had changed. "As more people prefer dining at community malls, we are considering setting up new restaurants there. And we are considering setting up restaurants at shopping malls in the provinces, such as in Udon Thani and Khon Kaen."
The company plans to increase the marketing budget for next year to 10 per cent of total sales revenue from the current 8 per cent, in line with the aggressive expansion. Patiwat said the company expected 15-per-cent sales growth for next year.
The company has returned to aggressive expansion after suspending investment for two years due to the political situation and the economic slowdown.
Patiwat Reonchaidee, chief operating officer, said the company was concentrating on new services to expand its customer base and drive restaurant sales after experiencing a 10-per-cent drop in the first six months of this year due to the economic uncertainty.
He said spending per bill remained steady at Bt400 to Bt500, but the number of customers had dropped.
The company has offered new services to offset the sales drop by adding a buffet service from Friday to Sunday at the restaurant.
Shanghai Food also started its catering services in May and the buffets in the third quarter. Patiwat said both services had received good feedback from clients and would help the company maintain sales revenue of Bt170 million this year, the same figure as last year.
Patiwat said the bright outlook for the catering and buffet services was leading the aggressive plan for next year, in which the company plans to add restaurants at shopping and community malls.
Most of the new outlets will have space for a buffet service.
Patiwat said the company was relaying on the restaurant client base to use the catering service. "Our catering customer base are corporate, seminar and activity organisers," he said.
The company will create quick-service food kiosks style at the malls.
Patiwat said the malls showed how the lifestyles of diners had changed. "As more people prefer dining at community malls, we are considering setting up new restaurants there. And we are considering setting up restaurants at shopping malls in the provinces, such as in Udon Thani and Khon Kaen."
The company plans to increase the marketing budget for next year to 10 per cent of total sales revenue from the current 8 per cent, in line with the aggressive expansion. Patiwat said the company expected 15-per-cent sales growth for next year.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
A "French chef" whose appeal doesn't translate well in France
Julia Child may have been the US's best-known "French chef", but here in Paris, few know her fabled cookbooks, let alone her name.
Posters for the movie Julie & Julia were plastered across the city before its release here on Wednesday. But the movie was being anticipated more for Meryl Streep's performance as Child than for any particular interest in Child, the principal author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking , who died in 2004.Child's book - beloved by US cooks for almost 50 years and now a bestseller because of the film - has never been translated into French, said Anne Perrier, a manager at Galignani, an English-language bookshop here."It's the vision of a revisited France, adapted to the American taste, at a time when tastes were lifeless," she said.
In an interview in the French daily newspaper Le Figaro last week, Streep said:"What surprises me is that the French don't know her at all. While for Americans, she was one of the best ambassadors of France ... since Lafayette!"
French food experts are divided about Child and her cooking. Some say she caricatured French cuisine in her book and cooking show, making it seem too heavy and formal. Others believe she demystified it and see her as a role model in France, where cooking shows are rare and cuisine is not necessarily viewed as something anyone can interpret.
"Julia Child's cuisine is academic and bourgeois," said Julie Andrieu, a television personality and cookery book author."It shows that in America, the cliche of beef, baguette and canard farci remains."
For Jean-Claude Ribaut, the food critic at Le Monde , Child was more like "a mediator who promoted the French lifestyle in the United States, but had no influence on restaurateurs".
But some chefs say they hope that the film will rehabilitate French cooking in the US. Gilles Epie, a chef who met Child in Los Angeles at a birthday party for her in the early 1990s, thinks French cooking has been tarnished as stodgy.
"Americans have really slammed French cuisine," Epie said."They think we only eat boeuf bourguignon and rabbit stew, which is wrong."
Before taking over the Citrus Etoile,in the 8th Arrondissement, Epie ran the Los Angeles restaurant L'Orangerie for more than three years. He remembered with distaste the strictness of US health rules about food.
"My fish shop in Santa Monica smelled like a pharmacy" instead of like fresh fish, he said."And when I asked for a three-month-old baby lamb, like you can find here, they thought I was crazy and nearly called the police."
But some French chefs say they believe that Child, through the film, could have an impact on contemporary French cooking, or at least make boeuf bourguignon,a traditional dish currently absent from most French menus, fashionable again.
"She explains her recipes like a housewife, but she knows how to do it and she does it genuinely," said Guy Savoy, owner of the restaurant that bears his name in Paris. He met Child in 1981 in Massachusetts and remembered her as "a real character, gentle and affable".
Andrieu, the cookbook author, said that despite Child's cliched recipes, her style could be defined as a "combination of scientific and empirical virtues" that helped explain why US authors wrote better cookbooks than the French.
"The French think that they are natural-born cooks; they prepare a dish off the top of their heads, without testing it," she said."In France, we rush over explanations."
After watching Julie & Julia , Andrieu said, she felt compelled to go home and make boeuf bourguignon according to Child's recipe."I cut the flour in half,and it turned out to be the best I had ever made," she said.
Epie even thinks that Child's story should encourage the French to discuss their cuisine in a more democratic way.
He is one of the few respected chefs in Paris to offer US food on his menu,including his signature dish: a crab cake a la francaise, prepared with shellfish oil instead of mayonnaise.
"I want to do Julia Child, but Julia Child with real fish, real lobster, with eels to shuck and rabbit to bone," he said."That's my dream."
Posters for the movie Julie & Julia were plastered across the city before its release here on Wednesday. But the movie was being anticipated more for Meryl Streep's performance as Child than for any particular interest in Child, the principal author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking , who died in 2004.Child's book - beloved by US cooks for almost 50 years and now a bestseller because of the film - has never been translated into French, said Anne Perrier, a manager at Galignani, an English-language bookshop here."It's the vision of a revisited France, adapted to the American taste, at a time when tastes were lifeless," she said.
In an interview in the French daily newspaper Le Figaro last week, Streep said:"What surprises me is that the French don't know her at all. While for Americans, she was one of the best ambassadors of France ... since Lafayette!"
French food experts are divided about Child and her cooking. Some say she caricatured French cuisine in her book and cooking show, making it seem too heavy and formal. Others believe she demystified it and see her as a role model in France, where cooking shows are rare and cuisine is not necessarily viewed as something anyone can interpret.
"Julia Child's cuisine is academic and bourgeois," said Julie Andrieu, a television personality and cookery book author."It shows that in America, the cliche of beef, baguette and canard farci remains."
For Jean-Claude Ribaut, the food critic at Le Monde , Child was more like "a mediator who promoted the French lifestyle in the United States, but had no influence on restaurateurs".
But some chefs say they hope that the film will rehabilitate French cooking in the US. Gilles Epie, a chef who met Child in Los Angeles at a birthday party for her in the early 1990s, thinks French cooking has been tarnished as stodgy.
"Americans have really slammed French cuisine," Epie said."They think we only eat boeuf bourguignon and rabbit stew, which is wrong."
Before taking over the Citrus Etoile,in the 8th Arrondissement, Epie ran the Los Angeles restaurant L'Orangerie for more than three years. He remembered with distaste the strictness of US health rules about food.
"My fish shop in Santa Monica smelled like a pharmacy" instead of like fresh fish, he said."And when I asked for a three-month-old baby lamb, like you can find here, they thought I was crazy and nearly called the police."
But some French chefs say they believe that Child, through the film, could have an impact on contemporary French cooking, or at least make boeuf bourguignon,a traditional dish currently absent from most French menus, fashionable again.
"She explains her recipes like a housewife, but she knows how to do it and she does it genuinely," said Guy Savoy, owner of the restaurant that bears his name in Paris. He met Child in 1981 in Massachusetts and remembered her as "a real character, gentle and affable".
Andrieu, the cookbook author, said that despite Child's cliched recipes, her style could be defined as a "combination of scientific and empirical virtues" that helped explain why US authors wrote better cookbooks than the French.
"The French think that they are natural-born cooks; they prepare a dish off the top of their heads, without testing it," she said."In France, we rush over explanations."
After watching Julie & Julia , Andrieu said, she felt compelled to go home and make boeuf bourguignon according to Child's recipe."I cut the flour in half,and it turned out to be the best I had ever made," she said.
Epie even thinks that Child's story should encourage the French to discuss their cuisine in a more democratic way.
He is one of the few respected chefs in Paris to offer US food on his menu,including his signature dish: a crab cake a la francaise, prepared with shellfish oil instead of mayonnaise.
"I want to do Julia Child, but Julia Child with real fish, real lobster, with eels to shuck and rabbit to bone," he said."That's my dream."
Sunday, October 11, 2009
"Tastes Of Italy, Amo L'Italia"
Central Food Retial Company Limited lead by its President, Mr Alistair Taylor, recently launched the Italian Food Festival "Taste Of Italy, Amo L "Italia" in conjuction with The Italian Trade Commission. The event was presided over by HRH Princess Saomsawalli and He Mr Michaelangelo Pipan, The Italian Ambasador and Dr Vicenzo Cali, Italian Trade Commissioner.
The Event at Centralworld, featured a bountiful of Italian products from 5 major cities; rome, Milan, Venice, Florence and Capri. There was also cooking demonstrations by well known chefs and an array of gastronomic programmes.
The Event at Centralworld, featured a bountiful of Italian products from 5 major cities; rome, Milan, Venice, Florence and Capri. There was also cooking demonstrations by well known chefs and an array of gastronomic programmes.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Sleek Burger King revamp aims at an upscale feel
Burger King plans to swap its generic fast-food feel and bland tiles and tabletops for a vibe that's more sit-down than driven-through.
The company will announce a massive effort to overhaul its 12,000 locations worldwide. The sleek interior will include roating red flame chandeliers, brilliant TV-screen menus and industrial-inspired corrugated metal and brick walls.
"I'd call it more contemporary, edgy, futuristic," chairman and CEO John Chidsey told The Associated Press. "it feels to much more like an upscale restaurant."
But that comes with an upscale price: the new look is expected to cost franchisees between US$300,000 (Bt10 million) to #600,000 per restaurant.
The company said the new design, called "20/20" at the Miami-based chain, is already in place at about 60 locations around the world.
So far, remodelled restaurants have seen sales climb about 12 to 15 per cent, while restaurants that are torn down and completely rebuilt a the same location have seen sales climb by as much as 30 per cent, Chidsey sid.
Observers say the hip, urban and masculine elements in the redesign may be a hit with Burger King's most loyal customers - young men who fre-quent the chain known for its signature Whoppers and "steak burgers". But some experts are scaptical about whether sales will grow as much as the company claims and how eager franchise owners will be to part with that kind of cash, particularly in a sour economy.
Chidsey said most franchise owners, who typically own bothy their restaurant's building and the land, won't have trouble obtaining financing.
The transformation might help Burger King - the No 2 burger food chain the United States - stand our from larger rival McDonald's and other competitors as they clamour for a share of the growing burger market that's worth $100 billion in the US.
The company will announce a massive effort to overhaul its 12,000 locations worldwide. The sleek interior will include roating red flame chandeliers, brilliant TV-screen menus and industrial-inspired corrugated metal and brick walls.
"I'd call it more contemporary, edgy, futuristic," chairman and CEO John Chidsey told The Associated Press. "it feels to much more like an upscale restaurant."
But that comes with an upscale price: the new look is expected to cost franchisees between US$300,000 (Bt10 million) to #600,000 per restaurant.
The company said the new design, called "20/20" at the Miami-based chain, is already in place at about 60 locations around the world.
So far, remodelled restaurants have seen sales climb about 12 to 15 per cent, while restaurants that are torn down and completely rebuilt a the same location have seen sales climb by as much as 30 per cent, Chidsey sid.
Observers say the hip, urban and masculine elements in the redesign may be a hit with Burger King's most loyal customers - young men who fre-quent the chain known for its signature Whoppers and "steak burgers". But some experts are scaptical about whether sales will grow as much as the company claims and how eager franchise owners will be to part with that kind of cash, particularly in a sour economy.
Chidsey said most franchise owners, who typically own bothy their restaurant's building and the land, won't have trouble obtaining financing.
The transformation might help Burger King - the No 2 burger food chain the United States - stand our from larger rival McDonald's and other competitors as they clamour for a share of the growing burger market that's worth $100 billion in the US.
Friday, October 2, 2009
A love-hate relationship with food
When Frank Bruni stepped on the scene as the chief restaurant critic for The New York Times more than five years ago,many industry insiders and observers thought the choice was odd.
Bruni had no previous experience reviewing restaurants. He hadn't sweated long hours behind a hot range in a well-regarded kitchen learning his craft. He knew how to shape sentences but what did he know about simmering sauces?
But even odder was Bruni's lovehate relationship with food - something he now acknowledges in his new memoir,Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater .The revelation isn't exactly shocking but it is unusual. Bruni, the man who had volunteered to eat out six nights a week, had obsessed about his weight for most of his life. He had battled bulimia briefly, toyed with laxatives and torpedoed many a diet - all the trimmings for his third book.
"I remember thinking if I look up after a couple of years and I am right,and I have figured out a better way to manage my relationship with food,it's probably a pretty interesting narrative how I got to this point," Bruni says about the moment he decided to take the job.
If waist size is an indicator of success then Bruni, with his close-cropped hair and athletic build, has been wildly successful curbing his prodigious appetite. After ballooning to around 275 pounds and sporting 42-inch pants while covering a presidential campaign in 2000, Bruni can now take a moment to brag.
He wears size 34 jeans and doesn't look round anymore - despite eating his way through approximately 700 restaurants in New York alone during his stint as critic that came officially to an end last month.
"I like eating, and I prefer eating in great volume to eating in minor volume," Bruni,44, said in an interview at a wine bar on Manhattan's Upper West Side near his home."No question.Having been through everything I describe in the book, I am fully aware and I struggle to remain conscious of the consequences."
The consequences have plagued Bruni throughout his life but they came to a head when he decided in April 2004 to leave his post as Rome correspondent and tackle restaurant reviewing in New York, perhaps the most important dining city in the world and one filled with know-it-all foodies.
For Bruni, danger loomed. A sea of calories awaited him. He took the plunge - one that has local restaurateurs now scratching their heads since learning Bruni's anguish over food.
"It's like an alcoholic becoming a winemaker," says John Fraser, whose New York restaurant Dovetail faired exceptionally well under Bruni's withering gaze, earning three stars.
Bruni knew the task ahead of him was great. He adjusted and learned on the job. He "ate more widely and in a much more inquisitive and thoughtful manner." He developed a "frame of reference" that was "extremely broad and unusual."
He not only wrote about places in New York but he also ventured across America and Europe, alerting readers to gems such as Alinea in Chicago.Bruni could at times be snarky in his reviews but he was mostly right when he decided to bring out the knives,according to chefs.
Sometimes, restaurants caught him;sometimes they did not. A well-worn picture floating around of a heftier Bruni aided his cause to slip into restaurants unnoticed.
"We had the fat picture. You would never guess that's the same person,"Fraser said about Bruni's most current photograph posted on the food blog Eater.com and the one found inside the cover of his book.
His style of writing attracted many followers. Not everybody loved him but they definitely talked about him.As Bruni evolved, people noticed, chatting about him at cocktail parties, said Jennifer Baum, an influential restaurant publicist who has never met Bruni but had about a dozen of her restaurants reviewed by him.
"It stepped beyond the walls of the industry," Baum said, referring to his reviews. Baum, like other food publicists, kept a wary eye on Bruni,who once slapped around one of her celebrity chef clients, Bobby Flay, taking a star away from Mesa Grill in Manhattan. Baum wouldn't comment about her client's reaction to Bruni's takedown, but she said he was fair and honest.
"There are some restaurants that opened where people didn't pay attention and those restaurants should be shouted out," she said."He went into the venerable restaurants and made sure they were paying attention."
And the weight? Not only did Bruni beat back the calories through rigorous exercise and moderation, he also beat back the doubters in a city filled with them. Bruni, according to some of the toughest critics in town, prevailed.
"When he started out, Frank famously knew almost nothing about restaurant criticism, and it showed,"GQmagazine food critic Alan Richman said."He was saved by his writing which is exuberant and charming, by his indefatigable work ethic and by his instinctive ability to write brilliant criticisms of restaurants that he either hated or loved. I'm not sure if any restaurant critic has been better at praise."
Richman, who once eviscerated one of the most famous chefs alive, JeanGeorges Vongerichten, in a scathing article for his magazine, said it's too bad Bruni is giving up his reign as most feared critic in New York.
"What I regret about him leaving now is that he finally has that skill,something that comes with scrutinising thousands of plates of food," Richman said."He's at his peak."
Bruni isn't sorry. He can finally exhale after crafting about 270 reviews - visiting some spots more than once - for the newspaper that could turn a restaurant into a massive hit or major flop. He decided to end his run as critic because his "energy would fade or was fading."
Bruni says his old gig wasn't just about eating. It was also about coordinating the meals - all the time. He always dictated the schedule, calling himself a "bully."
Bruni had no previous experience reviewing restaurants. He hadn't sweated long hours behind a hot range in a well-regarded kitchen learning his craft. He knew how to shape sentences but what did he know about simmering sauces?
But even odder was Bruni's lovehate relationship with food - something he now acknowledges in his new memoir,Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater .The revelation isn't exactly shocking but it is unusual. Bruni, the man who had volunteered to eat out six nights a week, had obsessed about his weight for most of his life. He had battled bulimia briefly, toyed with laxatives and torpedoed many a diet - all the trimmings for his third book.
"I remember thinking if I look up after a couple of years and I am right,and I have figured out a better way to manage my relationship with food,it's probably a pretty interesting narrative how I got to this point," Bruni says about the moment he decided to take the job.
If waist size is an indicator of success then Bruni, with his close-cropped hair and athletic build, has been wildly successful curbing his prodigious appetite. After ballooning to around 275 pounds and sporting 42-inch pants while covering a presidential campaign in 2000, Bruni can now take a moment to brag.
He wears size 34 jeans and doesn't look round anymore - despite eating his way through approximately 700 restaurants in New York alone during his stint as critic that came officially to an end last month.
"I like eating, and I prefer eating in great volume to eating in minor volume," Bruni,44, said in an interview at a wine bar on Manhattan's Upper West Side near his home."No question.Having been through everything I describe in the book, I am fully aware and I struggle to remain conscious of the consequences."
The consequences have plagued Bruni throughout his life but they came to a head when he decided in April 2004 to leave his post as Rome correspondent and tackle restaurant reviewing in New York, perhaps the most important dining city in the world and one filled with know-it-all foodies.
For Bruni, danger loomed. A sea of calories awaited him. He took the plunge - one that has local restaurateurs now scratching their heads since learning Bruni's anguish over food.
"It's like an alcoholic becoming a winemaker," says John Fraser, whose New York restaurant Dovetail faired exceptionally well under Bruni's withering gaze, earning three stars.
Bruni knew the task ahead of him was great. He adjusted and learned on the job. He "ate more widely and in a much more inquisitive and thoughtful manner." He developed a "frame of reference" that was "extremely broad and unusual."
He not only wrote about places in New York but he also ventured across America and Europe, alerting readers to gems such as Alinea in Chicago.Bruni could at times be snarky in his reviews but he was mostly right when he decided to bring out the knives,according to chefs.
Sometimes, restaurants caught him;sometimes they did not. A well-worn picture floating around of a heftier Bruni aided his cause to slip into restaurants unnoticed.
"We had the fat picture. You would never guess that's the same person,"Fraser said about Bruni's most current photograph posted on the food blog Eater.com and the one found inside the cover of his book.
His style of writing attracted many followers. Not everybody loved him but they definitely talked about him.As Bruni evolved, people noticed, chatting about him at cocktail parties, said Jennifer Baum, an influential restaurant publicist who has never met Bruni but had about a dozen of her restaurants reviewed by him.
"It stepped beyond the walls of the industry," Baum said, referring to his reviews. Baum, like other food publicists, kept a wary eye on Bruni,who once slapped around one of her celebrity chef clients, Bobby Flay, taking a star away from Mesa Grill in Manhattan. Baum wouldn't comment about her client's reaction to Bruni's takedown, but she said he was fair and honest.
"There are some restaurants that opened where people didn't pay attention and those restaurants should be shouted out," she said."He went into the venerable restaurants and made sure they were paying attention."
And the weight? Not only did Bruni beat back the calories through rigorous exercise and moderation, he also beat back the doubters in a city filled with them. Bruni, according to some of the toughest critics in town, prevailed.
"When he started out, Frank famously knew almost nothing about restaurant criticism, and it showed,"GQmagazine food critic Alan Richman said."He was saved by his writing which is exuberant and charming, by his indefatigable work ethic and by his instinctive ability to write brilliant criticisms of restaurants that he either hated or loved. I'm not sure if any restaurant critic has been better at praise."
Richman, who once eviscerated one of the most famous chefs alive, JeanGeorges Vongerichten, in a scathing article for his magazine, said it's too bad Bruni is giving up his reign as most feared critic in New York.
"What I regret about him leaving now is that he finally has that skill,something that comes with scrutinising thousands of plates of food," Richman said."He's at his peak."
Bruni isn't sorry. He can finally exhale after crafting about 270 reviews - visiting some spots more than once - for the newspaper that could turn a restaurant into a massive hit or major flop. He decided to end his run as critic because his "energy would fade or was fading."
Bruni says his old gig wasn't just about eating. It was also about coordinating the meals - all the time. He always dictated the schedule, calling himself a "bully."
A feast for THE SENSES
Inspired by the flavours of Alsace, Champagne, the Mediterranean and Tokyo,
seven chefs conspire to create an excitingly sensual food festival
Gastronomes, epicures and food connoisseurs will have a golden opportunity to enjoy the splendours of the Gallic cuisine once again when "All Senses A Gastronomic Odyssey" raises its curtain at the Dusit Thani Bangkok next week.
The six-day culinary festival, from Tuesday, October 6 to Sunday, October 11, will feature a series of lunches and dinners as well as afternoon high tea,cooking classes and workshop by seven highly-respected chefs. They are led by the internationally-renowned twin chefs Jacques and Laurent Pourcel of the twoMichelin-starred Le Jardin des Sens in Montpellier,and award-winning Japanese-French chef Kotaro Hasegawa of the twins' Sens & Saveurs, Japan.
The three guest chefs will join Dusit International's corporate executive chef Erwin Eberharter, executive sous chef Philippe Keller, D'Sens's chef de cuisine Julien Lavigne and executive pastry chef Slawek Golaszewski, to whip up more than 100 culinary creations. Especially at dinner, dishes will be paired with fine French wine presented by top French sommelier Yannis Kherachi, who will fly in as a special guest.
With the hotel's D'Sens French restaurant as the festival's main venue, the celebration will open at noon on Tuesday,October 6 with the "Sense of Champagne Region" lunch (1,500 baht), a four-course meal presented by the brothers Pourcel and the restaurant's chef de cuisine Julian Lavigne. Cream soup of frog's legs,roasted angler fish with champagne sauce and pan-fried guinea fowl will be among the items on the menu.
That evening, there will be a six-course wine-pairing dinner (2,900 baht) that also represents the Champagne region.Among the selections are crunchy pastry of rabbit with foie gras, grilled seabream fillet with paimpol beans fricassee and grilled beef tenderloin.
On Wednesday, October 7 the festival continues with the "Sense of Tokyo"four-course lunch (1,500 baht) by chef Kotaro and a seven-course dinner (3,000 baht) for which the Japanese chef will be joined by the Pourcel twins. Highlight dishes will include Hokkaido scallop carpaccio, lobster sliced with caramelised onions and pan-fried duck fillet.
Thursday, October 8 will be the day for the "Sense of Mediterranee" lunch (1,500 baht), which will be presented by Jacques and Laurent Pourcel, as is the six-course tasting dinner (2,800 baht or 3,700 baht with cheese and wine). Representing the cuisine of southern France,home of the brothers Pourcel, are green pea cappuccino, seared lobster medallion
with light onion and potato foam, roasted rack of lamb and crunchy meringue with peach sherbet.
The Pourcel twins will be joined by the hotel's executive sous chef Philippe Keller, for "Sense of Alsace", a six-course tasting menu dinner (2,900 baht) on Friday, October 9. The menu includes terrine of eel and crayfish, steamed pike in open ravioli, seared foie gras with turnip sauerkraut and roasted saddle of rabbit with seasonal mushrooms.
On Saturday, October 10 the festival introduces a "Sense of Autumn" at its four-course lunch (1,600 baht) by chefs Jacques and Laurent. Terrine of porcini mushroom with parmesan croquette and butternut squash soup with duck foie gras are some of the glorious autumnal offerings.
Saturday evening is the time for "A Gala for All Senses"(6,000 baht), an eight-course wine-pairing dinner in which all the participating chefs have taken a hand. Among the dishes you'll find on the menu are eel terrine and duck liver combination, seared Maine lobster with crispy zucchini flower and duo of veal with vegetable lasagna.
The festival will be wrapped up in fine still with the "Ultimate Champagne Brunch"(1,800 baht) on Sunday, October 11- a superb three-course meal with cheese and dessert buffet and a free flow of champagne.
"All Senses - A Gastronomic Odyssey",October 6-11, Dusit Thani Bangkok, Rama IV Road. For more information or to reserve a table, please call the hotel at 02-200-9000.
seven chefs conspire to create an excitingly sensual food festival
Gastronomes, epicures and food connoisseurs will have a golden opportunity to enjoy the splendours of the Gallic cuisine once again when "All Senses A Gastronomic Odyssey" raises its curtain at the Dusit Thani Bangkok next week.
The six-day culinary festival, from Tuesday, October 6 to Sunday, October 11, will feature a series of lunches and dinners as well as afternoon high tea,cooking classes and workshop by seven highly-respected chefs. They are led by the internationally-renowned twin chefs Jacques and Laurent Pourcel of the twoMichelin-starred Le Jardin des Sens in Montpellier,and award-winning Japanese-French chef Kotaro Hasegawa of the twins' Sens & Saveurs, Japan.
The three guest chefs will join Dusit International's corporate executive chef Erwin Eberharter, executive sous chef Philippe Keller, D'Sens's chef de cuisine Julien Lavigne and executive pastry chef Slawek Golaszewski, to whip up more than 100 culinary creations. Especially at dinner, dishes will be paired with fine French wine presented by top French sommelier Yannis Kherachi, who will fly in as a special guest.
With the hotel's D'Sens French restaurant as the festival's main venue, the celebration will open at noon on Tuesday,October 6 with the "Sense of Champagne Region" lunch (1,500 baht), a four-course meal presented by the brothers Pourcel and the restaurant's chef de cuisine Julian Lavigne. Cream soup of frog's legs,roasted angler fish with champagne sauce and pan-fried guinea fowl will be among the items on the menu.
That evening, there will be a six-course wine-pairing dinner (2,900 baht) that also represents the Champagne region.Among the selections are crunchy pastry of rabbit with foie gras, grilled seabream fillet with paimpol beans fricassee and grilled beef tenderloin.
On Wednesday, October 7 the festival continues with the "Sense of Tokyo"four-course lunch (1,500 baht) by chef Kotaro and a seven-course dinner (3,000 baht) for which the Japanese chef will be joined by the Pourcel twins. Highlight dishes will include Hokkaido scallop carpaccio, lobster sliced with caramelised onions and pan-fried duck fillet.
Thursday, October 8 will be the day for the "Sense of Mediterranee" lunch (1,500 baht), which will be presented by Jacques and Laurent Pourcel, as is the six-course tasting dinner (2,800 baht or 3,700 baht with cheese and wine). Representing the cuisine of southern France,home of the brothers Pourcel, are green pea cappuccino, seared lobster medallion
with light onion and potato foam, roasted rack of lamb and crunchy meringue with peach sherbet.
The Pourcel twins will be joined by the hotel's executive sous chef Philippe Keller, for "Sense of Alsace", a six-course tasting menu dinner (2,900 baht) on Friday, October 9. The menu includes terrine of eel and crayfish, steamed pike in open ravioli, seared foie gras with turnip sauerkraut and roasted saddle of rabbit with seasonal mushrooms.
On Saturday, October 10 the festival introduces a "Sense of Autumn" at its four-course lunch (1,600 baht) by chefs Jacques and Laurent. Terrine of porcini mushroom with parmesan croquette and butternut squash soup with duck foie gras are some of the glorious autumnal offerings.
Saturday evening is the time for "A Gala for All Senses"(6,000 baht), an eight-course wine-pairing dinner in which all the participating chefs have taken a hand. Among the dishes you'll find on the menu are eel terrine and duck liver combination, seared Maine lobster with crispy zucchini flower and duo of veal with vegetable lasagna.
The festival will be wrapped up in fine still with the "Ultimate Champagne Brunch"(1,800 baht) on Sunday, October 11- a superb three-course meal with cheese and dessert buffet and a free flow of champagne.
"All Senses - A Gastronomic Odyssey",October 6-11, Dusit Thani Bangkok, Rama IV Road. For more information or to reserve a table, please call the hotel at 02-200-9000.
CREDIT WHERE IT'S DUE
Grab your Citi credit card and enjoy Samui to the max. The Citi Choose Your Passion campaign (Citi Phone Banking on 1588,www.citibank.co.th/chooseyourpassion,www.dining.citibank.th)spoils cardholders with dining and accommodation deals at the island's hotspots.Popular eateries and hotels like Krao Chaobaan,Olivio Italian Cuisine Restaurant, Red Snapper Bar & Grill, Dining on the Rock, Bakubung,The Page @ The Library, Samui Seafood Restaurant, The Pier, Melati Beach Resort and Spa and Le Bayburi The Sea Samui offer irresistible discounts and benefits.
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO EATING BIRYANI
One thing I've discovered about Bangkok over my relatively short lifespan is that it's a really busy place.I wake up and barely have time to write something insulting on my Facebook page to annoy my friend's over-sensitive girlfriend before having to dress and begin my daily commute to the office. With this in mind,a scenario from the inaptly named The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy (there are five books) comes to mind.
A man is said to have hitchhiked across the universe in just a few days. His trip is described as being so fast that he would have missed a few things along the way.Since distance and time are both relative to the person who experiences them, it is not that difficult to relate the hitchhiker's trip to our lives.
Due to the distances and traffic jams involved, it's not so easy for busy people to discover new restaurants in this city. Thankfully, you have guys like me to venture out to the unpublicised areas of town to save you time.
The day started as usual; a quick Facebook check,followed by the insertion of an ironic or stupid status update. I tried to squeeze in some Defence of the Ancients on the computer but there was no time for a 50-minute game so off I went to CooCurry for a heavy lunch that would definitely be impinging on my colleagues' airspace when the morning digestion kicked in.
CooCurry is in a small, unnamed street just off Narathiwat Ratchanakharin Road. The name is a pun on the word "cookery" and the restaurant has an Arabian Nights theme. The walls have those windows you see in Disney's Aladdin , hollowed out and with various Arab-themed memorabilia placed in them, as well as a pair of African tribal warrior figurines. Guess they were going for the "United Colours of Benetton" look.
The theme of the food is Middle Eastern, with several Western entrees for friends who can't handle aroma. The highlight is definitely the Biryani (chicken B140, mutton B170), a dish that takes the chef five hours to prepare.
He only makes two pots at a time, about twice a day, with roughly 24 servings in total. With workers from nearby offices pre-ordering the dish it runs out faster than condoms on an Annabel Chong movie set.
The Biryani tastes just the way it should, fragrant and rich in every bite. You also get a whole chicken thigh,complete with drumstick and accompanied by a chicken broth to make a complete meal.
With only one chef here the menu is kept small and manageable. Added to the Biryani the only other main courses are Yellow Thai chicken curry (B140) and an authentic Mutton curry (B170), which is served with a very hard baguette or an Indian roti (go for roti, you'll be happier).
There is also a monthly Western menu with ThaiFrench beef steaks and Australian lamb chops (B350).Homemade sweets of the day include Tiramisu (B85),Oreo cakes and Chocolate fudge cake. With every purchase of over B800 diners receive a complimentary Chocolate fudge cake until October 15. And yes, I totally sent that fudge packing down my mouth because it was so good.
CooCurry is the kind of place you go to enjoy a flavourful Biryani and some Mutton curry. It's a little oasis of flavour with an easy-going atmosphere. Tucked away in an otherwise bland location with nothing but offices for company, you may feel you're eating in a restaurant at the end of the universe. However, make sure you reserve some Biryani over the phone or else some local office worker will help himself to the last serving.
A man is said to have hitchhiked across the universe in just a few days. His trip is described as being so fast that he would have missed a few things along the way.Since distance and time are both relative to the person who experiences them, it is not that difficult to relate the hitchhiker's trip to our lives.
Due to the distances and traffic jams involved, it's not so easy for busy people to discover new restaurants in this city. Thankfully, you have guys like me to venture out to the unpublicised areas of town to save you time.
The day started as usual; a quick Facebook check,followed by the insertion of an ironic or stupid status update. I tried to squeeze in some Defence of the Ancients on the computer but there was no time for a 50-minute game so off I went to CooCurry for a heavy lunch that would definitely be impinging on my colleagues' airspace when the morning digestion kicked in.
CooCurry is in a small, unnamed street just off Narathiwat Ratchanakharin Road. The name is a pun on the word "cookery" and the restaurant has an Arabian Nights theme. The walls have those windows you see in Disney's Aladdin , hollowed out and with various Arab-themed memorabilia placed in them, as well as a pair of African tribal warrior figurines. Guess they were going for the "United Colours of Benetton" look.
The theme of the food is Middle Eastern, with several Western entrees for friends who can't handle aroma. The highlight is definitely the Biryani (chicken B140, mutton B170), a dish that takes the chef five hours to prepare.
He only makes two pots at a time, about twice a day, with roughly 24 servings in total. With workers from nearby offices pre-ordering the dish it runs out faster than condoms on an Annabel Chong movie set.
The Biryani tastes just the way it should, fragrant and rich in every bite. You also get a whole chicken thigh,complete with drumstick and accompanied by a chicken broth to make a complete meal.
With only one chef here the menu is kept small and manageable. Added to the Biryani the only other main courses are Yellow Thai chicken curry (B140) and an authentic Mutton curry (B170), which is served with a very hard baguette or an Indian roti (go for roti, you'll be happier).
There is also a monthly Western menu with ThaiFrench beef steaks and Australian lamb chops (B350).Homemade sweets of the day include Tiramisu (B85),Oreo cakes and Chocolate fudge cake. With every purchase of over B800 diners receive a complimentary Chocolate fudge cake until October 15. And yes, I totally sent that fudge packing down my mouth because it was so good.
CooCurry is the kind of place you go to enjoy a flavourful Biryani and some Mutton curry. It's a little oasis of flavour with an easy-going atmosphere. Tucked away in an otherwise bland location with nothing but offices for company, you may feel you're eating in a restaurant at the end of the universe. However, make sure you reserve some Biryani over the phone or else some local office worker will help himself to the last serving.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Celebrating Rosh Hashana, circa 1919
Sholom aleichem!" said Shiva Shapiro in a heavy Yiddish accent to her visitors.As she deftly stuffed cabbage leaves with rice and stewed tomatoes, and displayed other dishes she has made on her 1900 Beauty Hub coal stove, Shapiro drew her guests into her life.
"This is 1919," she said."Last year was the end of the influenza epidemic and the end of the war to end all wars. We're a Jewish family and we're keeping kosher in our home. I don't read English, only Yiddish and Hebrew. My daughter Mollie learned about bananas at school. I think that bananas are mushy, but I take her to buy a hand of bananas for 25 cents."
Shapiro is actually Barbara Ann Paster, one of the actors here at the Strawbery Banke restoration, a living museum in which over 350 years of Portsmouth homes,stores, churches and history have been preserved. It is in Puddle Dock, which was a decrepit neighbourhood destined to be razed under urban renewal until a campaign in the 1950s and '60s led by the town librarian saved 42 houses on 10 acres to create the museum.
The area was first settled in 1695 by the English,who found a profusion of strawberries there. By the turn of the 20th century Italians, Irish, English, FrenchCanadians and East European Jews had come here to find work. Although most immigrants at that time settled in large cities, some settled directly in smaller towns like Portsmouth. By 1919, 152 Russian Jews made up about a quarter of the immigrant population of Puddle Dock and 18 of them were Shapiro relatives,according to the museum.
As Shapiro, the wife of a pawnbroker with a 9-yearold daughter, Paster cooks dishes that follow the rhythm of the seasons, and the Jewish calendar.
She may make strawberry jam for her strudel in June, or pickle cucumbers with dill from her garden,or put up Reliance peaches with brandy in August.
For Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, she excitedly pinched rolled-out strips of pasta dough into bowtie noodles to use with leftover kasha stuffing from her roast chicken, and made traditional honey and poppy seed cakes.
Paster,61, has been portraying Shapiro since the Shapiro house opened in 1997."My entire life was made for this job," Paster said with a laugh."I married an Orthodox man. I'm Jewish from Russia, so I know the rules of kashrut and family purity. I am also a storyteller."
The real Mrs Shapiro immigrated from Anapol,Ukraine, in 1904 with other family members to meet her future husband, Abraham, also from Anapol, in Portsmouth, where he went to work in a shoe factory and later became the president of Portsmouth's synagogue, Temple of Israel.
At Strawbery Banke, visitors encounter Shiva Shapiro as a 34-year-old woman whose time is spent in her kosher kitchen with its coal stove and icebox."I get 50 pounds [23kg] of ice for 25 cents [8 baht] every other day and I can keep kosher meat for up to three days,"she said."There is hardly a time when I would need to keep it so long as there are two kosher butchers with delivery: Jacob Segal in a horse and buggy and Harry Liberson, who came here from an advertisement looking for a butcher in The Jewish Messenger out of New York and has stayed for 65 years."
Holidays were at the centre of the Shapiro family's life, and the museum staff took great pains to ensure the historical accuracy of the foods prepared and the items the family had available.
"To authenticate the Shapiro house," said Michelle Moon, director of education for the museum,"the curatorial staff interviewed 30 people from the neighbourhood and took pollen and seed analyses to determine what grew and was eaten in their home."
Shapiro's grandson, Burt Wolf,75, recalls picking seed pods for poppy seed cake or filling for his grandmother's holiday strudel.
In 1919 it was still too early for standard East European ingredients like kasha, poppy seeds and kale to be in mainstream cookbooks like "Fanny Farmer", which Mollie translated for her mother. Even Florence Greenbaum's International Jewish Cookbook (1918)had only one recipe for mohn (poppy seed) roly polys and none for kale or kasha.
But immigrants brought seeds of their traditional foods, like yellow Ukrainian carrots, kale and parsnips.Shapiro bought harder-to-save seeds like beets in Jackson's hardware store.
"Mr Wolf and many older immigrants told us that they ate yellow Ukrainian tomatoes, which we know Mrs Shapiro was growing in her garden," said John Forti, curator of culinary historic landscape for the museum. The red tomatoes were canned.
Forti found a Reliance peach tree growing out of the compost pile in the Shapiro's garden. Seed catalogues from that time included climbing Russian cucumbers and Zubrinski yellow potatoes, which are planted there now.
Stoneware crock shards found in the yard were a clue for the staff."Mrs Shapiro was putting up the food in the old style as well as using canning jars," he said."We found kale seeds in the walls of another immigrant's house."
Jewish truck farmers in the neighbouring town of Greenland grew buckwheat for kasha, an East European staple, used at that time in America only for buckwheat pancakes.
Recipes were handed down orally, at least in the East European immigrant communities, and they also travelled between neighbours."Whenever Camilla Pento comes to the house she points to the mandelbrot and says 'biscotti'," Shapiro said."She came to my house one day to show me how to make her biscotti. Nothing wrong with her recipe but in order for my family to eat it, we need to make it here so it's kosher. I made my mandelbrot and poppy seed cake and she her biscotti and pizzelles with a brand new pizzelle iron."
The Sabbath and holidays were the center of Shapiro's world and they also meant a lot of work for the Shapiro matriarch. Visiting just before Rosh Hashana, the first in the Jewish High Holy Days, I spoke with Elaine Kraskar, Shapiro's great-niece,82, who was a prominent Democratic state legislator for 16 years. Kraskar remembers going with her grandparents to farms to get chickens for holidays and the Sabbath.
"We would put them in a burlap sack and bring them to be ritually slaughtered by Mr Liberson," she said."My grandmother would singe the feathers, pluck and clean out the chickens. Everything was used. The intestines were cleaned and stuffed. We roasted chicken stuffed with kasha. Rosh Hashana was a special time,a time for families to be together."
Although Kraskar gave the museum her grandfather's safe, a Victrola with Yiddish records, and a nightie her grandmother made for her, she couldn't give up her rolling pin or scrub board.
"I put the scrub board up on the wall in my laundry room," she said,"to remind me how hard life was for her and how much easier it is today."NYT NEWS SERVICE
CRISPY KALE Time:
Adapted from the Strawbery Banke Museum 20 minutes / Serves 6 to 8 as a finger food, snack or side dish Ingredients: Preparation:
1bunch of kale,(about 450g), cored, leaves rinsed and thoroughly dried 3 to 4 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced Kosher salt, to taste 1. Preheat oven 260กC. Meanwhile, flatten kale leaves and use the point of a knife to remove tough center ribs. Stack leaves and roll them together, then slice crosswise into chiffonade strips 1in. to 1in. wide.2. Place kale in a medium bowl. Toss with olive oil, garlic and salt, making sure leaves are well coated with oil. Spread evenly across a large baking sheet.3. Bake, tossing once or twice, until leaves are crispy but not burned, about 5 minutes.Serve as is as a finger food or snack, or top with poached eggs as a breakfast or lunch dish.
KASHA-STUFFED ROAST CHICKEN Adapted from Elaine Kraskar Time:2 hours / Serves 6 to 8Ingredients: Preparation: 4 Tbsp chicken fat or vegetable oil, plus additional for greasing pan 3onions,1 diced and 2 coarsely chopped 1large egg 1cup dry kasha 2cups chicken broth or water 12cup diced celery 1cup sliced mushrooms, optional 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh sage 1roasting chicken,1.8kg to 2kg 3cloves garlic, minced 450g whole, unpeeled,small potatoes 3tart apples, quartered and cored 4carrots, peeled and cut into 3- to 4in.chunks 4parsnips, peeled and cut into 3- to 4in.chunks 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1. Preheat oven to 190กC. Grease a roasting pan and set aside. In a skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of chicken fat or oil,and saute diced onion until golden. Remove from heat and set aside.2. In a small mixing bowl, beat egg lightly and stir in kasha. Mix well to coat all grains.Place a dry heavy skillet over high heat.When it is hot, add egg-coated kasha and stir with a wooden spoon to flatten it and break up any lumps. Continue to stir until egg has dried and kernels are browned and mostly separated. Add broth or water, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil.Add cooked onions, celery, mushrooms (if using), parsley and sage. Simmer, covered,stirring occasionally, until kasha is tender,about 15 minutes.3. Rub exterior of chicken with 1 tablespoon of remaining chicken fat or oil and garlic.Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stuff both cavities of chicken with kasha mixture.(Excess kasha may be baked in an ovenproof dish, during last 30 minutes of roasting time.)4. In bottom of roasting pan, combine potatoes,apples, carrots, parsnips and chopped onions.Add remaining 1 tablespoon chicken fat or oil, and rosemary, and toss well to coat.Gently place chicken on top of vegetables and bake until golden and cooked through,about 11
2hours. To serve, carve chicken as desired and serve each portion with some of vegetables and apples.
POPPY SEED CAKE Adapted from Strawbery Banke Museum
Time:90 minutes / Serves 12 Ingredients: Preparation:
1cup poppy seeds 1cup milk or soy milk 1cup (225g) unsalted butter or pareve margarine, plus more for greasing pan 2cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting pan 2cups sugar 3large eggs, separated 2 Tsp vanilla extract 12tsp salt 21
2tsp baking powder Confectioners sugar, for dusting 1. In a small saucepan, combine the poppy seeds and milk. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and allow to rest until cool, about 20 minutes.2. Preheat oven to 176กC and prepare a large loaf or tube pan by greasing it with margarine and lightly flouring the inside of the pan.3. In bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together butter or margarine and sugar. Add egg yolks, vanilla, and poppy seed-milk mixture, and beat until smooth. Gradually add 2 cups flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well; remove bowl from mixer and set aside.4. Place a clean bowl in mixer, with a whisk attachment, and whisk egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gently fold into batter. Scrape into pan, and bake until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool on a rack. When cool, dust cake with confectioners sugar.
"This is 1919," she said."Last year was the end of the influenza epidemic and the end of the war to end all wars. We're a Jewish family and we're keeping kosher in our home. I don't read English, only Yiddish and Hebrew. My daughter Mollie learned about bananas at school. I think that bananas are mushy, but I take her to buy a hand of bananas for 25 cents."
Shapiro is actually Barbara Ann Paster, one of the actors here at the Strawbery Banke restoration, a living museum in which over 350 years of Portsmouth homes,stores, churches and history have been preserved. It is in Puddle Dock, which was a decrepit neighbourhood destined to be razed under urban renewal until a campaign in the 1950s and '60s led by the town librarian saved 42 houses on 10 acres to create the museum.
The area was first settled in 1695 by the English,who found a profusion of strawberries there. By the turn of the 20th century Italians, Irish, English, FrenchCanadians and East European Jews had come here to find work. Although most immigrants at that time settled in large cities, some settled directly in smaller towns like Portsmouth. By 1919, 152 Russian Jews made up about a quarter of the immigrant population of Puddle Dock and 18 of them were Shapiro relatives,according to the museum.
As Shapiro, the wife of a pawnbroker with a 9-yearold daughter, Paster cooks dishes that follow the rhythm of the seasons, and the Jewish calendar.
She may make strawberry jam for her strudel in June, or pickle cucumbers with dill from her garden,or put up Reliance peaches with brandy in August.
For Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, she excitedly pinched rolled-out strips of pasta dough into bowtie noodles to use with leftover kasha stuffing from her roast chicken, and made traditional honey and poppy seed cakes.
Paster,61, has been portraying Shapiro since the Shapiro house opened in 1997."My entire life was made for this job," Paster said with a laugh."I married an Orthodox man. I'm Jewish from Russia, so I know the rules of kashrut and family purity. I am also a storyteller."
The real Mrs Shapiro immigrated from Anapol,Ukraine, in 1904 with other family members to meet her future husband, Abraham, also from Anapol, in Portsmouth, where he went to work in a shoe factory and later became the president of Portsmouth's synagogue, Temple of Israel.
At Strawbery Banke, visitors encounter Shiva Shapiro as a 34-year-old woman whose time is spent in her kosher kitchen with its coal stove and icebox."I get 50 pounds [23kg] of ice for 25 cents [8 baht] every other day and I can keep kosher meat for up to three days,"she said."There is hardly a time when I would need to keep it so long as there are two kosher butchers with delivery: Jacob Segal in a horse and buggy and Harry Liberson, who came here from an advertisement looking for a butcher in The Jewish Messenger out of New York and has stayed for 65 years."
Holidays were at the centre of the Shapiro family's life, and the museum staff took great pains to ensure the historical accuracy of the foods prepared and the items the family had available.
"To authenticate the Shapiro house," said Michelle Moon, director of education for the museum,"the curatorial staff interviewed 30 people from the neighbourhood and took pollen and seed analyses to determine what grew and was eaten in their home."
Shapiro's grandson, Burt Wolf,75, recalls picking seed pods for poppy seed cake or filling for his grandmother's holiday strudel.
In 1919 it was still too early for standard East European ingredients like kasha, poppy seeds and kale to be in mainstream cookbooks like "Fanny Farmer", which Mollie translated for her mother. Even Florence Greenbaum's International Jewish Cookbook (1918)had only one recipe for mohn (poppy seed) roly polys and none for kale or kasha.
But immigrants brought seeds of their traditional foods, like yellow Ukrainian carrots, kale and parsnips.Shapiro bought harder-to-save seeds like beets in Jackson's hardware store.
"Mr Wolf and many older immigrants told us that they ate yellow Ukrainian tomatoes, which we know Mrs Shapiro was growing in her garden," said John Forti, curator of culinary historic landscape for the museum. The red tomatoes were canned.
Forti found a Reliance peach tree growing out of the compost pile in the Shapiro's garden. Seed catalogues from that time included climbing Russian cucumbers and Zubrinski yellow potatoes, which are planted there now.
Stoneware crock shards found in the yard were a clue for the staff."Mrs Shapiro was putting up the food in the old style as well as using canning jars," he said."We found kale seeds in the walls of another immigrant's house."
Jewish truck farmers in the neighbouring town of Greenland grew buckwheat for kasha, an East European staple, used at that time in America only for buckwheat pancakes.
Recipes were handed down orally, at least in the East European immigrant communities, and they also travelled between neighbours."Whenever Camilla Pento comes to the house she points to the mandelbrot and says 'biscotti'," Shapiro said."She came to my house one day to show me how to make her biscotti. Nothing wrong with her recipe but in order for my family to eat it, we need to make it here so it's kosher. I made my mandelbrot and poppy seed cake and she her biscotti and pizzelles with a brand new pizzelle iron."
The Sabbath and holidays were the center of Shapiro's world and they also meant a lot of work for the Shapiro matriarch. Visiting just before Rosh Hashana, the first in the Jewish High Holy Days, I spoke with Elaine Kraskar, Shapiro's great-niece,82, who was a prominent Democratic state legislator for 16 years. Kraskar remembers going with her grandparents to farms to get chickens for holidays and the Sabbath.
"We would put them in a burlap sack and bring them to be ritually slaughtered by Mr Liberson," she said."My grandmother would singe the feathers, pluck and clean out the chickens. Everything was used. The intestines were cleaned and stuffed. We roasted chicken stuffed with kasha. Rosh Hashana was a special time,a time for families to be together."
Although Kraskar gave the museum her grandfather's safe, a Victrola with Yiddish records, and a nightie her grandmother made for her, she couldn't give up her rolling pin or scrub board.
"I put the scrub board up on the wall in my laundry room," she said,"to remind me how hard life was for her and how much easier it is today."NYT NEWS SERVICE
CRISPY KALE Time:
Adapted from the Strawbery Banke Museum 20 minutes / Serves 6 to 8 as a finger food, snack or side dish Ingredients: Preparation:
1bunch of kale,(about 450g), cored, leaves rinsed and thoroughly dried 3 to 4 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced Kosher salt, to taste 1. Preheat oven 260กC. Meanwhile, flatten kale leaves and use the point of a knife to remove tough center ribs. Stack leaves and roll them together, then slice crosswise into chiffonade strips 1in. to 1in. wide.2. Place kale in a medium bowl. Toss with olive oil, garlic and salt, making sure leaves are well coated with oil. Spread evenly across a large baking sheet.3. Bake, tossing once or twice, until leaves are crispy but not burned, about 5 minutes.Serve as is as a finger food or snack, or top with poached eggs as a breakfast or lunch dish.
KASHA-STUFFED ROAST CHICKEN Adapted from Elaine Kraskar Time:2 hours / Serves 6 to 8Ingredients: Preparation: 4 Tbsp chicken fat or vegetable oil, plus additional for greasing pan 3onions,1 diced and 2 coarsely chopped 1large egg 1cup dry kasha 2cups chicken broth or water 12cup diced celery 1cup sliced mushrooms, optional 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh sage 1roasting chicken,1.8kg to 2kg 3cloves garlic, minced 450g whole, unpeeled,small potatoes 3tart apples, quartered and cored 4carrots, peeled and cut into 3- to 4in.chunks 4parsnips, peeled and cut into 3- to 4in.chunks 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1. Preheat oven to 190กC. Grease a roasting pan and set aside. In a skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of chicken fat or oil,and saute diced onion until golden. Remove from heat and set aside.2. In a small mixing bowl, beat egg lightly and stir in kasha. Mix well to coat all grains.Place a dry heavy skillet over high heat.When it is hot, add egg-coated kasha and stir with a wooden spoon to flatten it and break up any lumps. Continue to stir until egg has dried and kernels are browned and mostly separated. Add broth or water, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil.Add cooked onions, celery, mushrooms (if using), parsley and sage. Simmer, covered,stirring occasionally, until kasha is tender,about 15 minutes.3. Rub exterior of chicken with 1 tablespoon of remaining chicken fat or oil and garlic.Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stuff both cavities of chicken with kasha mixture.(Excess kasha may be baked in an ovenproof dish, during last 30 minutes of roasting time.)4. In bottom of roasting pan, combine potatoes,apples, carrots, parsnips and chopped onions.Add remaining 1 tablespoon chicken fat or oil, and rosemary, and toss well to coat.Gently place chicken on top of vegetables and bake until golden and cooked through,about 11
2hours. To serve, carve chicken as desired and serve each portion with some of vegetables and apples.
POPPY SEED CAKE Adapted from Strawbery Banke Museum
Time:90 minutes / Serves 12 Ingredients: Preparation:
1cup poppy seeds 1cup milk or soy milk 1cup (225g) unsalted butter or pareve margarine, plus more for greasing pan 2cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting pan 2cups sugar 3large eggs, separated 2 Tsp vanilla extract 12tsp salt 21
2tsp baking powder Confectioners sugar, for dusting 1. In a small saucepan, combine the poppy seeds and milk. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and allow to rest until cool, about 20 minutes.2. Preheat oven to 176กC and prepare a large loaf or tube pan by greasing it with margarine and lightly flouring the inside of the pan.3. In bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together butter or margarine and sugar. Add egg yolks, vanilla, and poppy seed-milk mixture, and beat until smooth. Gradually add 2 cups flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well; remove bowl from mixer and set aside.4. Place a clean bowl in mixer, with a whisk attachment, and whisk egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gently fold into batter. Scrape into pan, and bake until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool on a rack. When cool, dust cake with confectioners sugar.
Pub fire blamed on firework
A police investigation has concluded the Santika pub fire was sparked by a firework that ignited a flammable ceiling.
A firework was lit as part of stage effects shortly after the turn of the 2009 new year.
The fire spread so quickly that within about two minutes the crowded pub was completely in flames, Metropolitan Police Bureau deputy chief Likit Klinauan yesterday said after a high-level police meeting to conclude the cause of the inferno.
Pol Maj Gen Likit cited the explana-tion of an expert from the Royal Thai Army Chemical Department on how a firework works before a final conclusion was made.
Witnesses at the pub said they saw Sarawut Ariya, lead singer of the band Burn, holding a firework on the stage before the fire erupted.
"We will meet the team investigating the disaster again before forwarding our findings to the court by the end of the month," Pol Maj Gen Likit said.
The tragedy left 66 people dead and scores of other revellers injured.
A firework was lit as part of stage effects shortly after the turn of the 2009 new year.
The fire spread so quickly that within about two minutes the crowded pub was completely in flames, Metropolitan Police Bureau deputy chief Likit Klinauan yesterday said after a high-level police meeting to conclude the cause of the inferno.
Pol Maj Gen Likit cited the explana-tion of an expert from the Royal Thai Army Chemical Department on how a firework works before a final conclusion was made.
Witnesses at the pub said they saw Sarawut Ariya, lead singer of the band Burn, holding a firework on the stage before the fire erupted.
"We will meet the team investigating the disaster again before forwarding our findings to the court by the end of the month," Pol Maj Gen Likit said.
The tragedy left 66 people dead and scores of other revellers injured.
SANTIKA INFERNO PROBE READY FOR PROSECUTOR
The Metropolitan Police are ready to submit to the public prosecutor details of the Santika Pub's New Year Eve inferno, in which 66 people died and over 200 were injured.
The prosecution is expected to take action against a number of accused, including the pub's major shareholder Wisuk Setsawat and Burn band's lead singer Saravuth Ariya.
After the investigating team met for the final time yesterday, Metropolitan Police deputy chief Pol Maj General Likhit Klinouan said investigators' had now completed their findings on the suspects and their alleged offences.
Among the people initially charged were Wisuk, Suriya Ritrabeu managing director of White and Brothers Co which ran the club, and the singer Saravuth. He said Suriya, who remains on the run, was a nominee of Wisuk.
Likhit said that fireworks and special effects experts joined the meeting to examine the security camera footage on the night before the tragic incident. "The visual details the investigators had were in line with the camera footage on the day obtained from Justice Ministry's Forensic Science Institute chief Porntip Rojanasunan.
"The investigators also considered whether Saravuth started the fire as accused, studying evidence backing their claims to ensure justice for the suspects and those who died in the fire," he said.
Likhit said the case investigation and evidence gathering was nearly 100 per cent complete and police had strong evidence that could be explained transparently so they could take legal action against the accused.
The prosecution is expected to take action against a number of accused, including the pub's major shareholder Wisuk Setsawat and Burn band's lead singer Saravuth Ariya.
After the investigating team met for the final time yesterday, Metropolitan Police deputy chief Pol Maj General Likhit Klinouan said investigators' had now completed their findings on the suspects and their alleged offences.
Among the people initially charged were Wisuk, Suriya Ritrabeu managing director of White and Brothers Co which ran the club, and the singer Saravuth. He said Suriya, who remains on the run, was a nominee of Wisuk.
Likhit said that fireworks and special effects experts joined the meeting to examine the security camera footage on the night before the tragic incident. "The visual details the investigators had were in line with the camera footage on the day obtained from Justice Ministry's Forensic Science Institute chief Porntip Rojanasunan.
"The investigators also considered whether Saravuth started the fire as accused, studying evidence backing their claims to ensure justice for the suspects and those who died in the fire," he said.
Likhit said the case investigation and evidence gathering was nearly 100 per cent complete and police had strong evidence that could be explained transparently so they could take legal action against the accused.
OISHI MD TAN MAKES A SPLASH IN REAL ESTATE
Tan Passakornnatee, Oishi Group managing director, plans several major investments in property and hospitality projects in the coming year.
A condominium projects on Sukhumvit Road worth Bt2.5 billion will be his first investment next year, following an investment of Bt450 million to develop a luxury hotel, Villa Maroc, in Pranburi district of Prachuab Khiri Khan province three years ago. Villa Maroc will have its grand opening on Jan 1.
Tan said he began investing his own money in property three years ago, spending between Bt2 billion and Bt3 billion to collect undeveloped land in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Lopburi land Pranburi district.
He said that after collecting more land, he plans to developed residences and hospitality projects from next year until 2012.
The first project will be a condominium block worth Bt2.5 billion. Tan is in negotiations with strategic partners to develop this project.
He has also joined with Siam Future Development to develop unused land in Chang Mai as a community mall. Investment will begin next year. Among other plans are the development of land in Lopburi province as a weekend market.
Meanwhile, land owned by Tan on Ploenchit Road, which currently houses a Caltex petrol station, will be developed into a hotel when the petrol station's lease expires in three or four years.
Tan also has 12 rai of land on Soi Thong Lor. Currently it is being used as a soccer field but Tan thinks it has potential for development.
"When we decided to invest in the property business, we saw a business opportunity that was different from the kind that lures others investors, who are often drawn to in stocks or gold, or deposit their money in the bank," he said. While the returns on bank deposits are currently lower than inflation, he said, investment in land makems sense in the long term.
"We aren't concerned solely about high return on investment. Our priorities are that our investments," he said.
When he started to develop Villa Maroc in Pranburi, Tan spent Bt450 million on just 15 rooms. That is not a recipe for a high return on investment. But he believed in taking the long-term view that the more important goal was creating an attractive tourist destination in Pranburi district. "When tourists visit Pranburi, they have to visit Villa Maroc," was the goal.
For his condominium project on Sukhumvit, Than is nekgotiating with a strategic partner.
His future projects will also find require strategic partners, due to Tan's philosophyj that when it comes to business, he does not know everything.
Tan built the Oishi Group, which manages Japanese restaurants and produces and distributes green tea under the Oishi brand, then sold a stake to beverage tycoon Charoen Siriwattanabhakdi. He still holds a stake in Oishi and remains its managing director.
A condominium projects on Sukhumvit Road worth Bt2.5 billion will be his first investment next year, following an investment of Bt450 million to develop a luxury hotel, Villa Maroc, in Pranburi district of Prachuab Khiri Khan province three years ago. Villa Maroc will have its grand opening on Jan 1.
Tan said he began investing his own money in property three years ago, spending between Bt2 billion and Bt3 billion to collect undeveloped land in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Lopburi land Pranburi district.
He said that after collecting more land, he plans to developed residences and hospitality projects from next year until 2012.
The first project will be a condominium block worth Bt2.5 billion. Tan is in negotiations with strategic partners to develop this project.
He has also joined with Siam Future Development to develop unused land in Chang Mai as a community mall. Investment will begin next year. Among other plans are the development of land in Lopburi province as a weekend market.
Meanwhile, land owned by Tan on Ploenchit Road, which currently houses a Caltex petrol station, will be developed into a hotel when the petrol station's lease expires in three or four years.
Tan also has 12 rai of land on Soi Thong Lor. Currently it is being used as a soccer field but Tan thinks it has potential for development.
"When we decided to invest in the property business, we saw a business opportunity that was different from the kind that lures others investors, who are often drawn to in stocks or gold, or deposit their money in the bank," he said. While the returns on bank deposits are currently lower than inflation, he said, investment in land makems sense in the long term.
"We aren't concerned solely about high return on investment. Our priorities are that our investments," he said.
When he started to develop Villa Maroc in Pranburi, Tan spent Bt450 million on just 15 rooms. That is not a recipe for a high return on investment. But he believed in taking the long-term view that the more important goal was creating an attractive tourist destination in Pranburi district. "When tourists visit Pranburi, they have to visit Villa Maroc," was the goal.
For his condominium project on Sukhumvit, Than is nekgotiating with a strategic partner.
His future projects will also find require strategic partners, due to Tan's philosophyj that when it comes to business, he does not know everything.
Tan built the Oishi Group, which manages Japanese restaurants and produces and distributes green tea under the Oishi brand, then sold a stake to beverage tycoon Charoen Siriwattanabhakdi. He still holds a stake in Oishi and remains its managing director.
Green Days are coming again
To encourage the public to be aware of the target of 20 percent emissions reduction by 2020, the EU is organising activities during EU Green Days at different venues around Bangkok from October 1 to 10.
The activities include exhibitions,concerts, workshops and talks. Artists such as Tata Young, Tattoo Colour,Richman Toy and Yarinda Bunnag will perform in "What on Earth!" concerts, held at Club Culture on October 2 and Zen CentralWorld on October 3.Children's workshops on how to tackle climate change will be held at TK Park on October 3.
A talk on "Towards Copenhagen:View on the Global Climate Negotiations' will be held on October 6 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and "Climate Change and Disasters: How to reduce risk?" will be held on October 7 at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand."Green Business and Effects in Supply Chains" for business entrepreneurs will be held on October 8 at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel.
Climate change exhibitions will be held at CentralWorld throughout the event.
Most of the activities are free of charge,but some talks are by invitation only.Visit www.eugreendays.com.
The activities include exhibitions,concerts, workshops and talks. Artists such as Tata Young, Tattoo Colour,Richman Toy and Yarinda Bunnag will perform in "What on Earth!" concerts, held at Club Culture on October 2 and Zen CentralWorld on October 3.Children's workshops on how to tackle climate change will be held at TK Park on October 3.
A talk on "Towards Copenhagen:View on the Global Climate Negotiations' will be held on October 6 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and "Climate Change and Disasters: How to reduce risk?" will be held on October 7 at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand."Green Business and Effects in Supply Chains" for business entrepreneurs will be held on October 8 at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel.
Climate change exhibitions will be held at CentralWorld throughout the event.
Most of the activities are free of charge,but some talks are by invitation only.Visit www.eugreendays.com.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
WHERE TO FIND FABULOUS FOOD
Thailand's Eastern coast is dotted with vacation spots that everyone knows - for example, Pattaya, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Koh Chang in Trat province. When you decide to head to one of them for some time at the beach, the usual practice is to stick to the main roads and waste no time so you can get there in a hurry.
SHELL GAME: A vendor sells fresh crabs at Nong Mon market, clockwise from above, local ‘seekoon’ fish, ‘khao tom pla’, and fresh shrimp pickled in ‘nam pla’, or fish sauce.
But if it is food rather than beach time you are interested in, there is no need to go so far, and you can take your time.
A leisurely drive to Chon Buri followed by some exploring along the smaller back roads and inside Ang Sila will turn up plenty of interesting delicacies.
Today, I would like to focus just on fresh and dried foods and other edibles that are available not far from Bang Saen. Let's start with the route leading into Bang Saen.
Before you arrive at Chon Buri city, you will come to a major intersection with traffic lights, the Bang Sai three-way intersection. Take a right turn there onto the road that leads to Bang Saen, a narrow and windy one. After driving for about one kilometre, you will come to a marketplace, with ample parking space available, on the left. It is an old market, but renovation is now underway, although goods are still being sold on the sidewalks in front of and along the perimeter of it.
The first interesting sight you will encounter there is a stand selling jaeng lawn, a local speciality sold in seaside provinces (it can also be found not only in Chon Buri but also in towns on the western coast like Hua Hin and Cha-am). It is made of finely chopped fish meat, mixed with fresh curry paste and ground coconut, and seasoned to make it salty and slightly sweet with a chilli bite. Shredded kaffir lime leaf is scattered on the mixture, which is then shaped into pieces that are put on skewers for grilling. Vendors cook them on a grill in the early morning and keep selling them until they run out around noon. This snack is not all that easy to find, so when you do find it, buy.
Nearby is a stand that sells semi-dried rays. The type sold there are called pla krabane nok, ("bird ray"), and are rather small, about 30.5-cm in diameter. The reason behind its name is that it likes to leap above the surface of the seawater and glide along for short distances. The meat of the "wings" (the pectoral fins) of the fish is tender although rather dark in colour, and people who live near the sea like it very much. They cut it into pieces, then dry it in the sun for a day. It is delicious when fried and eaten with rice, and it is inexpensive. Half a kilogramme costs only 100 baht and is enough for several days' consumption.
On the soi next to the market, fresh and dried fish as well as fresh shrimp and prawns are sold. One particularly interesting item is fresh shrimp pickled in nam pla (fish sauce). The old woman who sells it is an expert at pickling shrimp this way, and makes them specially for sale. In the old days, Thais liked to eat them with steaming-hot khao tom, or rice soup.
About 300 metres away from the market, across from the nearby pier, is a small store where a grandmotherly-looking woman sells nam pla from Rayong. The brand name is Erawan, and the product comes from a small factory that still makes the condiment the old-fashioned way, a process that takes eight months. It smells delicious, and costs only 30 baht a bottle.
This is only the briefest sampling of what is available in the area of this Chon Buri market.
A market that is best to visit in the late afternoon or evening is Nong Mon market, on the main road to Pattaya. The fresh produce area is deep inside the market, far from the road. Late in the day, in front of the fresh market area, meaty crabs of the type called poo ma (horse crab) are sold. They are kept in big basins, the water in which is oxygenated by means of pumps working continuously to keep the crabs alive.
These ubiquitous crabs are available in many sizes and price ranges, with the cheapest ones going for 280 baht a kilogramme. Customers can eat them right away, because there is a steaming service that cooks the crabs on the premises and serves them with a spicy dipping sauce. They are certainly fresh, but sometimes the meat isn't too firm, because after being kept for even a day it becomes a little soft, unlike meat from crabs fresh from the sea.
Around the sides of Nong Mon market are interesting stalls selling different kinds of fish just brought in from the sea by fishermen. Buyers can never be sure that the kind of fish they want is there, because not all types are caught every day, but they will probably not be disappointed if they are looking for pla seekoon, a mackerel species similar to the popular pla thoo, but bigger. Its tasty, firm meat is perfect for frying and topping with nam pla or chilli sauce.
On their lucky days, buyers may find pla chome ngahm and/or pla nuan jan, both of which are scaleless types of fish with succulent meat that makes good kaeng som or kaeng pa, or which can be fried and served with chilli sauce poured over it. When people are fortunate enough to find these fish, they don't haggle over the price but buy a plastic box and some ice from a vendor, pack the fish inside, and rush it home.
Around the sidelines of the market are vendors selling sweets and special local dishes. The khao tom with fried shellfish is definitely worth a try.
Early in the morning, beginning at about half past seven, in a different part of Nong Mon market's wet market section is an area where dried seafood is sold along with breakfast foods that include curry and rice, kui tio pla (noodles with fish), khao tom, coffee and sweet snacks and desserts.
The prepared foods, which include curries and stir-fries, are really good, as can be seen from the large numbers of people who come to buy them and the lengths of time they are willing to wait to be served (there are tables and chairs set out for diners). Right nearby is a vendor whose pork noodles are tasty enough to be a true must, and in the middle of the market is a shop that sells khao tom pla (literally, fish in rice soup) made in the style typical of eateries in seaside areas. The rice grains are still firm rather than soft and mushy, and customers can choose between fresh fish, shrimp or squid.
Mae Nit has been selling her hor moke (fish meat steamed in a spicy, curried coconut sauce together with herbs and takes the form of a custard packed in a smallish banana-leaf cup) in this market for more than 30 years. Seaside-style hor moke tends to be sweeter and softer than the versions sold in Bangkok and other places in the Central Region.
Coffee, brewed the old-fashioned way with a long cloth bag, is available for those who want to start the day off with a glass or two. These two markets are only two among the many that inhabit Chon Buri, each with its own, individual selection of good stuff to eat that includes local dishes not found elsewhere.
If you decide to do some exploring, you won't have to drive far, and a choice culinary adventure is guaranteed.
SHELL GAME: A vendor sells fresh crabs at Nong Mon market, clockwise from above, local ‘seekoon’ fish, ‘khao tom pla’, and fresh shrimp pickled in ‘nam pla’, or fish sauce.
But if it is food rather than beach time you are interested in, there is no need to go so far, and you can take your time.
A leisurely drive to Chon Buri followed by some exploring along the smaller back roads and inside Ang Sila will turn up plenty of interesting delicacies.
Today, I would like to focus just on fresh and dried foods and other edibles that are available not far from Bang Saen. Let's start with the route leading into Bang Saen.
Before you arrive at Chon Buri city, you will come to a major intersection with traffic lights, the Bang Sai three-way intersection. Take a right turn there onto the road that leads to Bang Saen, a narrow and windy one. After driving for about one kilometre, you will come to a marketplace, with ample parking space available, on the left. It is an old market, but renovation is now underway, although goods are still being sold on the sidewalks in front of and along the perimeter of it.
The first interesting sight you will encounter there is a stand selling jaeng lawn, a local speciality sold in seaside provinces (it can also be found not only in Chon Buri but also in towns on the western coast like Hua Hin and Cha-am). It is made of finely chopped fish meat, mixed with fresh curry paste and ground coconut, and seasoned to make it salty and slightly sweet with a chilli bite. Shredded kaffir lime leaf is scattered on the mixture, which is then shaped into pieces that are put on skewers for grilling. Vendors cook them on a grill in the early morning and keep selling them until they run out around noon. This snack is not all that easy to find, so when you do find it, buy.
Nearby is a stand that sells semi-dried rays. The type sold there are called pla krabane nok, ("bird ray"), and are rather small, about 30.5-cm in diameter. The reason behind its name is that it likes to leap above the surface of the seawater and glide along for short distances. The meat of the "wings" (the pectoral fins) of the fish is tender although rather dark in colour, and people who live near the sea like it very much. They cut it into pieces, then dry it in the sun for a day. It is delicious when fried and eaten with rice, and it is inexpensive. Half a kilogramme costs only 100 baht and is enough for several days' consumption.
On the soi next to the market, fresh and dried fish as well as fresh shrimp and prawns are sold. One particularly interesting item is fresh shrimp pickled in nam pla (fish sauce). The old woman who sells it is an expert at pickling shrimp this way, and makes them specially for sale. In the old days, Thais liked to eat them with steaming-hot khao tom, or rice soup.
About 300 metres away from the market, across from the nearby pier, is a small store where a grandmotherly-looking woman sells nam pla from Rayong. The brand name is Erawan, and the product comes from a small factory that still makes the condiment the old-fashioned way, a process that takes eight months. It smells delicious, and costs only 30 baht a bottle.
This is only the briefest sampling of what is available in the area of this Chon Buri market.
A market that is best to visit in the late afternoon or evening is Nong Mon market, on the main road to Pattaya. The fresh produce area is deep inside the market, far from the road. Late in the day, in front of the fresh market area, meaty crabs of the type called poo ma (horse crab) are sold. They are kept in big basins, the water in which is oxygenated by means of pumps working continuously to keep the crabs alive.
These ubiquitous crabs are available in many sizes and price ranges, with the cheapest ones going for 280 baht a kilogramme. Customers can eat them right away, because there is a steaming service that cooks the crabs on the premises and serves them with a spicy dipping sauce. They are certainly fresh, but sometimes the meat isn't too firm, because after being kept for even a day it becomes a little soft, unlike meat from crabs fresh from the sea.
Around the sides of Nong Mon market are interesting stalls selling different kinds of fish just brought in from the sea by fishermen. Buyers can never be sure that the kind of fish they want is there, because not all types are caught every day, but they will probably not be disappointed if they are looking for pla seekoon, a mackerel species similar to the popular pla thoo, but bigger. Its tasty, firm meat is perfect for frying and topping with nam pla or chilli sauce.
On their lucky days, buyers may find pla chome ngahm and/or pla nuan jan, both of which are scaleless types of fish with succulent meat that makes good kaeng som or kaeng pa, or which can be fried and served with chilli sauce poured over it. When people are fortunate enough to find these fish, they don't haggle over the price but buy a plastic box and some ice from a vendor, pack the fish inside, and rush it home.
Around the sidelines of the market are vendors selling sweets and special local dishes. The khao tom with fried shellfish is definitely worth a try.
Early in the morning, beginning at about half past seven, in a different part of Nong Mon market's wet market section is an area where dried seafood is sold along with breakfast foods that include curry and rice, kui tio pla (noodles with fish), khao tom, coffee and sweet snacks and desserts.
The prepared foods, which include curries and stir-fries, are really good, as can be seen from the large numbers of people who come to buy them and the lengths of time they are willing to wait to be served (there are tables and chairs set out for diners). Right nearby is a vendor whose pork noodles are tasty enough to be a true must, and in the middle of the market is a shop that sells khao tom pla (literally, fish in rice soup) made in the style typical of eateries in seaside areas. The rice grains are still firm rather than soft and mushy, and customers can choose between fresh fish, shrimp or squid.
Mae Nit has been selling her hor moke (fish meat steamed in a spicy, curried coconut sauce together with herbs and takes the form of a custard packed in a smallish banana-leaf cup) in this market for more than 30 years. Seaside-style hor moke tends to be sweeter and softer than the versions sold in Bangkok and other places in the Central Region.
Coffee, brewed the old-fashioned way with a long cloth bag, is available for those who want to start the day off with a glass or two. These two markets are only two among the many that inhabit Chon Buri, each with its own, individual selection of good stuff to eat that includes local dishes not found elsewhere.
If you decide to do some exploring, you won't have to drive far, and a choice culinary adventure is guaranteed.
GOBBLING DOWN SAMUI
Beyond sand and surf and new hotels across the lowlands and atop the hills, Koh Samui is also a good place for a tummy-challenging tour of the culinary world.
Thanks to Citibank, I had a chance to try the food journey throughout the island, from local dishes and fusion to Mediterranean, Italian, creatively designed refreshments and sweet treats.
Throughout the three-day trek through seven eateries, you require the ability to sample at least eight dishes per venue.
Is it totally fun? Yes-with the help of digestive pills.
Ideally, you'll able to spend time at each place, enjoying a lazy pace and the stunning sea views and welldesigned sea views and well designed decor while savourig good food.
It's recommended to start with the local dishes at Krua Chao Baan on Bang Naam Jued Beach. In business for nearly 20 years, the seaside, openair restaurant is presented simply with atap-thatched shelters, but the delicious food is second to none and the prices are reasonable.
The menu is extensive. Among the mouth-watering dishes are kaeng som pla kapong(sour soup with white snapper) , the Krua Chao Baan puffy omelette stuffed with minced shrimp, crab, squied and mushroom and wai phad sapparod(stir-fried octopus with pineapple).
But those prove to be just warmups for the rest of the tour. For more seafood and Thai cuisine in a fine-dining experience with Thai classical music, there's Samui Seafood at the Muang Samui Spa Resort.
Done up in Thai-style decor with wood predominant, its Thai dishes are prepared under the supervision of Amintra Sukarawan, the founder of the Royal Thai Culinary Centre.
She's inherited the exquisite royal Thai cuisine and food carvings from her grandmother, ML Puang Tinakorn.
Its thod mun koong (deep-fried shrimp patties) are formed in ring shape and skewered with lemongrass, to go well with mango and sesame dip.
The most stunning dish, however, is gai satay(chicked satay with peanut sauce), where the sticks of checkens are served in a small, elephant-shaped terracotta stove filled with charcoal. If you want to take the terracotta elephant home, it's Bt1,200.
After the heavy meals, take a break with afternoon tea and eleverly designed canapes at the design hotel Library on Chaweng Beach.
At the cube-shaped inn with its spacious green lawn is the minimalist restaurant The Page, where you can sit in the air-conditioned area, in the open air or on a terrace overlooking the sea and an unusual swimming pool of red mosaic.
I can recommed the smoked salmon with cantaloupe, tuna ricotta cheese, prawn cake ball, toasted bread with N'duja and the fruit skewer.
Six Senses Hideaway Samui has been praised for its breathtaking views of the gulf and outlying islands. It's best to try refreshments while enjoying the sunset at Dining on the Rocks, located at the tip of the headland with a 270-degree view.
Among the creations are hamachi sushi, lamb somtam, smoked salmon with pickled cucumber and hot lime ice cream.
If you yearn for Italian cuisine in a romantic seaside setting, Olivio at the Baan Haad Ngam Resort is where most people go.
Italian chef Luigi Fadda warmly welcomed us with a mixed starter of antipasto. Among the signature dishes are fettuccine seafood, salmon steak, baked snowfish with rosemary and garlic asd ink risotto with prawn and seafood.
You should save room for dessert, because his tiramisu in a cup of coffee is terrific.
Another option for a fantastic dinner is the Pier, right at the pier at Fisherman's Village. The two-storey, loft-style eatery was designed by noted architect Duangrit Bunnag and serves both Thai and European dished with nice presentations.
After running the Mangrove restaurant next to Samui airport for seven years, French chef Yannick Tirbois and his wife Ilse Dumont joined with the Thai businessman who owns the Karmakamet Aromatic Hotel. They took over the Pier, adding more European dishes in the menu.
The mixed seafood starter is a must, with laab gai(spicy chicked salad) , pad thai(stir-fried Thai noodles), deep fried herbed pork ribs and crispy softshell crab with curry powder.
When night falls, up your beat at the Red Snapper Bar & Grill at the Chaweng Regent Beach Resort, which boasts live Latin music.
The menu here focuses on Mediterranean cuisine, and of course, red snapper in an herbed crust is the signature dish.
For starters, opt for grilled chichked on bamboo marinated in Moroccan spices or tuna carpaccio with balsamic and olive oil dressing. The roast duck breast with red wine sauce is also terrific.
BE VERY, VERY HUNGRY
Krua Chao Baan at Hua Thanon near Wat Sila-ngu is open daily from 10am to 10pm. Call(077)418 589 or (089) 009 5560.
Samui Seafood Restaurant at the Muang Samui Spa Resort is open daily from 11am to midnight. Call(077)429 700 or visit www.MuangSamui.com.
The Page at the Library Hotel is open daily from 6:30am to 11pm. Call(077) 422 767-8 or visit www.TheLibrary.name.
Dining on the Rocks at the Six Senses Hideaway Samui is open daily from 6.30pm to 10.30pm. Call(077) 245 678 or visit www.SixSenses.com.
Olivio at the Baan Haad Ngam Resort is open daily from 11am to 10.30pm. Call(077) 231 500-8 visit www.BaanHaadNgam.com.
The Pier at Fisherman's Village is open daily from 11am to midnight. Call(077) 430 680.
The Red Snapper Bar&Grill at the Chaweng Regent Beach Resort is is open daily from 5pm to 1am. Call(077) 422 008 or visit www.ChawengRegent.com
Thanks to Citibank, I had a chance to try the food journey throughout the island, from local dishes and fusion to Mediterranean, Italian, creatively designed refreshments and sweet treats.
Throughout the three-day trek through seven eateries, you require the ability to sample at least eight dishes per venue.
Is it totally fun? Yes-with the help of digestive pills.
Ideally, you'll able to spend time at each place, enjoying a lazy pace and the stunning sea views and welldesigned sea views and well designed decor while savourig good food.
It's recommended to start with the local dishes at Krua Chao Baan on Bang Naam Jued Beach. In business for nearly 20 years, the seaside, openair restaurant is presented simply with atap-thatched shelters, but the delicious food is second to none and the prices are reasonable.
The menu is extensive. Among the mouth-watering dishes are kaeng som pla kapong(sour soup with white snapper) , the Krua Chao Baan puffy omelette stuffed with minced shrimp, crab, squied and mushroom and wai phad sapparod(stir-fried octopus with pineapple).
But those prove to be just warmups for the rest of the tour. For more seafood and Thai cuisine in a fine-dining experience with Thai classical music, there's Samui Seafood at the Muang Samui Spa Resort.
Done up in Thai-style decor with wood predominant, its Thai dishes are prepared under the supervision of Amintra Sukarawan, the founder of the Royal Thai Culinary Centre.
She's inherited the exquisite royal Thai cuisine and food carvings from her grandmother, ML Puang Tinakorn.
Its thod mun koong (deep-fried shrimp patties) are formed in ring shape and skewered with lemongrass, to go well with mango and sesame dip.
The most stunning dish, however, is gai satay(chicked satay with peanut sauce), where the sticks of checkens are served in a small, elephant-shaped terracotta stove filled with charcoal. If you want to take the terracotta elephant home, it's Bt1,200.
After the heavy meals, take a break with afternoon tea and eleverly designed canapes at the design hotel Library on Chaweng Beach.
At the cube-shaped inn with its spacious green lawn is the minimalist restaurant The Page, where you can sit in the air-conditioned area, in the open air or on a terrace overlooking the sea and an unusual swimming pool of red mosaic.
I can recommed the smoked salmon with cantaloupe, tuna ricotta cheese, prawn cake ball, toasted bread with N'duja and the fruit skewer.
Six Senses Hideaway Samui has been praised for its breathtaking views of the gulf and outlying islands. It's best to try refreshments while enjoying the sunset at Dining on the Rocks, located at the tip of the headland with a 270-degree view.
Among the creations are hamachi sushi, lamb somtam, smoked salmon with pickled cucumber and hot lime ice cream.
If you yearn for Italian cuisine in a romantic seaside setting, Olivio at the Baan Haad Ngam Resort is where most people go.
Italian chef Luigi Fadda warmly welcomed us with a mixed starter of antipasto. Among the signature dishes are fettuccine seafood, salmon steak, baked snowfish with rosemary and garlic asd ink risotto with prawn and seafood.
You should save room for dessert, because his tiramisu in a cup of coffee is terrific.
Another option for a fantastic dinner is the Pier, right at the pier at Fisherman's Village. The two-storey, loft-style eatery was designed by noted architect Duangrit Bunnag and serves both Thai and European dished with nice presentations.
After running the Mangrove restaurant next to Samui airport for seven years, French chef Yannick Tirbois and his wife Ilse Dumont joined with the Thai businessman who owns the Karmakamet Aromatic Hotel. They took over the Pier, adding more European dishes in the menu.
The mixed seafood starter is a must, with laab gai(spicy chicked salad) , pad thai(stir-fried Thai noodles), deep fried herbed pork ribs and crispy softshell crab with curry powder.
When night falls, up your beat at the Red Snapper Bar & Grill at the Chaweng Regent Beach Resort, which boasts live Latin music.
The menu here focuses on Mediterranean cuisine, and of course, red snapper in an herbed crust is the signature dish.
For starters, opt for grilled chichked on bamboo marinated in Moroccan spices or tuna carpaccio with balsamic and olive oil dressing. The roast duck breast with red wine sauce is also terrific.
BE VERY, VERY HUNGRY
Krua Chao Baan at Hua Thanon near Wat Sila-ngu is open daily from 10am to 10pm. Call(077)418 589 or (089) 009 5560.
Samui Seafood Restaurant at the Muang Samui Spa Resort is open daily from 11am to midnight. Call(077)429 700 or visit www.MuangSamui.com.
The Page at the Library Hotel is open daily from 6:30am to 11pm. Call(077) 422 767-8 or visit www.TheLibrary.name.
Dining on the Rocks at the Six Senses Hideaway Samui is open daily from 6.30pm to 10.30pm. Call(077) 245 678 or visit www.SixSenses.com.
Olivio at the Baan Haad Ngam Resort is open daily from 11am to 10.30pm. Call(077) 231 500-8 visit www.BaanHaadNgam.com.
The Pier at Fisherman's Village is open daily from 11am to midnight. Call(077) 430 680.
The Red Snapper Bar&Grill at the Chaweng Regent Beach Resort is is open daily from 5pm to 1am. Call(077) 422 008 or visit www.ChawengRegent.com
MALAYSIA MINISTER PROTECTS LOCAL DISHES
Malaysia will lay claim to its signature dishes like laksa and chicken rice which are being "hijacked" by other countries, the tourism minis6ter said according to a recent report.
Those on the list include the fragrant coconut milk rich 'nasi lemak', spicy soup noodle 'laksa' and pork ribs herbal soup 'bak kut teh', Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen said according to the Star newspaper.
"We caanot continue to let other countries hijack our food. Chili crab is Malaysian. We have to lay claim to our food," she was quoted as saying.
"In the next three months, we will identify certain key dishes [to declare as Malaysian]. We have identified laksa...all types of laksa, nasi lemak and bak kut teh," she added. Ng said her ministry would announce a strategy on how to brand the dishes as Malaysian.
"That is Part Two. We cannot reveal it yet, but we will let you know soon," she said.
Ng did not name which countries were hijacking the dishes, which are popular around the world and particularly in neighbouring Singapore and Indonesia.
Her comments came amid a diplomatic row with Indonesia, where protecters have accused Malaysia of stealing its cultural heritage.
The dispute erupted in Indonesia in August after erroneous reports emerged that Malaysia had screened that Malaysia had screened tourism advertisements featuring the traditional "pendet" dance of Indonesia's Hindu-majority Bali island.
The ad was actually a promotion for a Discovery Channel programme, but despite an apology from the network, protesters vowing to "crush Malaysia" have burned national flags and thrown rotten eggs at the embassy in Jakarta.
The comments cameamid a diplomatic row with Indonesia where protesters have accused Malaysia of stealing its cultural heritage.
Those on the list include the fragrant coconut milk rich 'nasi lemak', spicy soup noodle 'laksa' and pork ribs herbal soup 'bak kut teh', Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen said according to the Star newspaper.
"We caanot continue to let other countries hijack our food. Chili crab is Malaysian. We have to lay claim to our food," she was quoted as saying.
"In the next three months, we will identify certain key dishes [to declare as Malaysian]. We have identified laksa...all types of laksa, nasi lemak and bak kut teh," she added. Ng said her ministry would announce a strategy on how to brand the dishes as Malaysian.
"That is Part Two. We cannot reveal it yet, but we will let you know soon," she said.
Ng did not name which countries were hijacking the dishes, which are popular around the world and particularly in neighbouring Singapore and Indonesia.
Her comments came amid a diplomatic row with Indonesia, where protecters have accused Malaysia of stealing its cultural heritage.
The dispute erupted in Indonesia in August after erroneous reports emerged that Malaysia had screened that Malaysia had screened tourism advertisements featuring the traditional "pendet" dance of Indonesia's Hindu-majority Bali island.
The ad was actually a promotion for a Discovery Channel programme, but despite an apology from the network, protesters vowing to "crush Malaysia" have burned national flags and thrown rotten eggs at the embassy in Jakarta.
The comments cameamid a diplomatic row with Indonesia where protesters have accused Malaysia of stealing its cultural heritage.
FOND PHUKET FAREWELL FOR FLAMBOYANT FOODIE FLOYD
Original celebrity chef left behind many memories for staff, friends and patrons alike after falling in love with the Land of Smiles By Phil Teese
Celebrity chef Keith Floyd, who died of a heart attack in the UK last week, was planning to live in Thailand so he could teach under-privileged teenagers how to cook.Floyd,65, who opened his Floyd's Brasserie at the Burasari Hotel on Phuket's Patong beachfront in 2007, loved Thailand, and it seems Thailand loved him. More than 70 friends and fans gathered at his restaurant on Thursday night to tell tales about him, and relive old memories of the larrikin who won hearts wherever he went.
Most of the stories were about his outrageous outbursts, but there was also a serious side to the chef who started out as an army cook and ended up hosting 18 top-rating TV cooking programmes which were broadcast in more than 40 countries.
A spokesman for the Burasari said Floyd spent three or four months a year on Phuket and was planning to move there permanently.
"He wanted to be more actively involved in running the restaurant, and he wanted to do something to help underprivileged Thai teenagers," she said."He wanted to get involved in social responsibility activities to develop training and education schemes, and to teach young Thai people the cooking skills which could lead to future careers as professional chefs."
Conor O'Leary, the Burasari's former residential manager, said Floyd was quirky, and always unpredictable.
"Everywhere he went, he would buy a new mobile telephone and a new SIM card, but he would keep it switched off because he didn't want anyone calling him. If you wanted to talk to him on the phone, you would have to send someone to find him and tell him to turn on his phone. One impressed, and that was night he was in his hotel the end of the interroom when the room view."phone rang. He picked MrO'Leary said it up, abused the caller whenever Floyd was in for bothering him, and Phuket, he would sit at hung up.the entrance to the res"That happened taurant and personally three times, until finally welcome every single the receptionist rang guest as they arrived.and told him the caller "But he would never he kept hanging up on sign autographs or pose was his good friend,for pictures on their way Mick Jagger, wanting to in," he said.invite him to a party."MISSED: Keith Floyd doing "He always told them Mr O'Leary said one what he loved best.he would happily pose TVcrew came off for a photograph on second best after filming an interview their way out, but only if they enjoyed with him in the Phuket restaurant.their meal. It was his little way of getting "He cooked up a lobster, then threw feedback from his customers.it straight at the camera, leaving it "But he was very generous and he dripping in thermidor sauce.was always giving away bottles of "The cameraman was definitely not expensive champagne, for any excuse he could think up. If someone told him it was their first time in Thailand,that was good enough reason for a free bottle of champagne.
"He wanted absolutely everyone who came into his restaurant to go away happy."
Lily Udomkunnatum, the Burasari group's managing director, said life with Floyd always included copious servings of both tears and laughter.
"One night when things were quiet,he ushered the whole seven tables of guests into the bar, and wrapped them in toilet paper. I was stunned, but in no time, everyone was up dancing and having a great time, and it was the most magical time," she said.
"Floyd was always honest, sincere,and a true lover of life."
Ms Lily said one night after a performance in Singapore, the cab driver taking her and Floyd back to their hotel recognised the celebrity chef, and started excitedly asking him questions.
"The driver even pretended to lose his way so he could spend more time talking to Keith," she said.
Phuket publican Howard DigbyJohns described Floyd as "shambolic,lusty and passionate about everything he did"."He had a beautiful Bentley car which was his pride and joy, and when he lost his licence for drink driving - he was seven times over the legal limit - he kept that car polished and shiny so people wouldn't know he had been disqualified from driving."
Mr Digby-Johns said Floyd had been married four times, and each marriage had ended in divorce.
"His life was a wonderful roller coaster ride. He met disaster and triumph frequently, and treated them both equally. He managed to hit all the extremes, and he did it with gusto."
Celebrity chef Keith Floyd, who died of a heart attack in the UK last week, was planning to live in Thailand so he could teach under-privileged teenagers how to cook.Floyd,65, who opened his Floyd's Brasserie at the Burasari Hotel on Phuket's Patong beachfront in 2007, loved Thailand, and it seems Thailand loved him. More than 70 friends and fans gathered at his restaurant on Thursday night to tell tales about him, and relive old memories of the larrikin who won hearts wherever he went.
Most of the stories were about his outrageous outbursts, but there was also a serious side to the chef who started out as an army cook and ended up hosting 18 top-rating TV cooking programmes which were broadcast in more than 40 countries.
A spokesman for the Burasari said Floyd spent three or four months a year on Phuket and was planning to move there permanently.
"He wanted to be more actively involved in running the restaurant, and he wanted to do something to help underprivileged Thai teenagers," she said."He wanted to get involved in social responsibility activities to develop training and education schemes, and to teach young Thai people the cooking skills which could lead to future careers as professional chefs."
Conor O'Leary, the Burasari's former residential manager, said Floyd was quirky, and always unpredictable.
"Everywhere he went, he would buy a new mobile telephone and a new SIM card, but he would keep it switched off because he didn't want anyone calling him. If you wanted to talk to him on the phone, you would have to send someone to find him and tell him to turn on his phone. One impressed, and that was night he was in his hotel the end of the interroom when the room view."phone rang. He picked MrO'Leary said it up, abused the caller whenever Floyd was in for bothering him, and Phuket, he would sit at hung up.the entrance to the res"That happened taurant and personally three times, until finally welcome every single the receptionist rang guest as they arrived.and told him the caller "But he would never he kept hanging up on sign autographs or pose was his good friend,for pictures on their way Mick Jagger, wanting to in," he said.invite him to a party."MISSED: Keith Floyd doing "He always told them Mr O'Leary said one what he loved best.he would happily pose TVcrew came off for a photograph on second best after filming an interview their way out, but only if they enjoyed with him in the Phuket restaurant.their meal. It was his little way of getting "He cooked up a lobster, then threw feedback from his customers.it straight at the camera, leaving it "But he was very generous and he dripping in thermidor sauce.was always giving away bottles of "The cameraman was definitely not expensive champagne, for any excuse he could think up. If someone told him it was their first time in Thailand,that was good enough reason for a free bottle of champagne.
"He wanted absolutely everyone who came into his restaurant to go away happy."
Lily Udomkunnatum, the Burasari group's managing director, said life with Floyd always included copious servings of both tears and laughter.
"One night when things were quiet,he ushered the whole seven tables of guests into the bar, and wrapped them in toilet paper. I was stunned, but in no time, everyone was up dancing and having a great time, and it was the most magical time," she said.
"Floyd was always honest, sincere,and a true lover of life."
Ms Lily said one night after a performance in Singapore, the cab driver taking her and Floyd back to their hotel recognised the celebrity chef, and started excitedly asking him questions.
"The driver even pretended to lose his way so he could spend more time talking to Keith," she said.
Phuket publican Howard DigbyJohns described Floyd as "shambolic,lusty and passionate about everything he did"."He had a beautiful Bentley car which was his pride and joy, and when he lost his licence for drink driving - he was seven times over the legal limit - he kept that car polished and shiny so people wouldn't know he had been disqualified from driving."
Mr Digby-Johns said Floyd had been married four times, and each marriage had ended in divorce.
"His life was a wonderful roller coaster ride. He met disaster and triumph frequently, and treated them both equally. He managed to hit all the extremes, and he did it with gusto."
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Smokers can hit the cafes again
The Croatian government moved to loosen a controversial public smoking ban enforced only four months ago, after cafe owners complained it was crippling business.
According to a new proposal, due in parliament later this month,smoking in cafes will be allowed in special spaces that must be larger than 10 square metres but must not cover more than 20 per cent of the overall premises.
According to a new proposal, due in parliament later this month,smoking in cafes will be allowed in special spaces that must be larger than 10 square metres but must not cover more than 20 per cent of the overall premises.
Beginning a new chapter in life
It was already half past one in the afternoon, but Chanpen Tongtim was still busy attending her lunch customers in a cafe in Silom. She served the hungry diners not only sandwiches and cups of coffee but also her sincere smile.
"I really couldn't believe my ears when I first learned Chanpen was once found guilty of murder," said Delifrance's assistant operation manager, Dome Siriwannalert, who three years ago offered Chanpen a job at the eatery.
Chanpen was, in fact, sentenced to death. It all began, she recalled, with a big argument with one of her friends, a human trafficker who lied to her about needing Chanpen's help to find a few girls to work as housekeepers. After Chanpen found out the truth, she attempted to ask her friend to release those poor girls. The quarrel led to a fight that unfortunately ended in homicide.
The culprit's penalty was reduced from death to life imprisonment and several years later, she was granted a royal pardon, leaving her only 14 years in jail.
At the age of 43, Chanpen was given her freedom back. But instead of feeling delighted, she conceded that at that time she had absolutely no idea where and how she could possibly start a new life.
"When I first learned I was allowed to leave prison, I was thinking 'Why are they releasing me now?' I was 43 then,and I wondered what I could do and how I could find a job," said Chanpen,who is now 46.
But with assistance from Dome and the Christian Prison Ministry Foundation,the lady was offered a job at Delifrance only a few days after being released.Since then, her responsibilities have grown to include looking after the cafe's customers, taking orders and preparing sandwiches and coffee as well as other dishes available on the menu.
The assistant operation manager first started hiring former prisoners to work at Delifrance in 2005. Back then, he said,the organisation underwent a considerable structural change and a number of staff were suddenly needed.
"I only had two days to find six or seven staff to work with us. Fortunately,I had a chance to discuss this issue with Ajarn Sunthorn [Sunthorn Sunthorntarawong, director of the Christian Prison Ministry Foundation]. The Christian Prison Ministry Foundation has been working with ex-prisoners for so many years and it turned out that Ajarn Sunthorn was happy to help me. He said he had always wanted to provide former prisoners opportunities to return and live new lives in society," Dome explained.
Eight people were sent to Delifrance by the Christian Prison Ministry Foundation in the first week. Some of them were assigned to the kitchen to prepare pastries, steaks and salads, while others became responsible for attending to diners at the cafe's front counter.
Prior to this, however, Dome invited staff members from the foundation to talk to all restaurant managers in order to make sure the former inmates had changed and that they were not going to become repeat offenders. To make sure, all of them underwent behavioural and emotional rehabilitation programmes before being unshackled.
And to Dome, it is indeed a win-win situation."We, as a restaurant operator,are happy that we have staff working for us.And the staff are also happy to have a job and earn a living."
According to Dome,most of the former convicts who work with Delifrance were put in jail due to their involvement with drugs. Nonetheless,once they are hired as the restaurant's temporary staff, they are entitled to receive 25 baht per hour and are required to work for no less than eight hours per day. In the case of full-time employees, they receive around 6,000 to 7,000 baht per month plus social security benefits.
While former prisoners elsewhere often encounter challenges upon release from prison, especially in terms of their reintegration into society, those who work at Delifrance on the other hand rarely become victims of discrimination,disdain or social prejudice. It seems as if no one is concerned about their past.
"Everyone here is treated equally,"Dome commented."We develop trust among each other and we do not care what each person has been through as long as they can work for us and do not cause any trouble."
"Some of my colleagues once asked me what charge I was found guilty of. I thought there was no need to lie so I told them the truth. They said they could not believe I was capable of killing somebody. And when they learned I had spent 14 years in jail, they said I had been in prison for so long that I must be like a kid who knows nothing about the world outside. That explains why everybody has always been willing to teach me everything I need to know," said Chanpen.
Although former inmates aren't treated with prejudice by their coworkers, it is inevitable that they sometimes feel inferior to others in terms of their personal, educational or social backgrounds. Some of them, Dome observed, are very worried that other people would find out that they had once been labelled as criminals.
"The only thing I can tell them is to not worry about things in the past.Passengers on the bus, people in the department store or customers in the restaurant will never know they were once prison inmates. So what they need to do is to be happy, smile to customers and enjoy their work."
Since 2005, almost 20 ex-prisoners have been recruited by Delifrance. However, at present only two of them remain.
The rest left after being offered better career opportunities.One now works for a leading supermarket chain as a cashier officer.Another now heads the fresh vegetables section of a supermarket while some are with various department stores. Many of them decided to pursue nonformal education.
As a project initiator,Dome is pleased to see these former prisoners grab the opportunity to start a new chapter in their lives. One of the things he has learned from helping these former criminals is not to judge people by their past, and their intention to change should in fact be used as an indicator to determine whether or not they deserve to be given a second chance.
"Just let bygones be bygones. Of course, everyone has done something wrong in the past. Ex-prisoners are also human beings, so I do not see any reason why they should not be given equal rights.Let's focus on today, not yesterday,"Dome said.
Though it has now been three years since Chanpen first started working with Delifrance, she can now still remember very well the day she was asked to fill out a job application form. From being a lady who lacked self-confidence, who did not even know which bus that she could catch to work and who returned home and cried after the first day at work, Chanpen is now one of the most respected senior staff at the restaurant.Her English communication skills have significantly improved to the level that she can take orders from foreign customers. In April last year, she was even awarded "Employee of the Month".
"If you ask me how I feel about what I did in the past, I would say I deeply regret it. It was something I never wanted to happen. But now, I have started my life anew. I have changed. To me, this is a wonderful new beginning."
"I really couldn't believe my ears when I first learned Chanpen was once found guilty of murder," said Delifrance's assistant operation manager, Dome Siriwannalert, who three years ago offered Chanpen a job at the eatery.
Chanpen was, in fact, sentenced to death. It all began, she recalled, with a big argument with one of her friends, a human trafficker who lied to her about needing Chanpen's help to find a few girls to work as housekeepers. After Chanpen found out the truth, she attempted to ask her friend to release those poor girls. The quarrel led to a fight that unfortunately ended in homicide.
The culprit's penalty was reduced from death to life imprisonment and several years later, she was granted a royal pardon, leaving her only 14 years in jail.
At the age of 43, Chanpen was given her freedom back. But instead of feeling delighted, she conceded that at that time she had absolutely no idea where and how she could possibly start a new life.
"When I first learned I was allowed to leave prison, I was thinking 'Why are they releasing me now?' I was 43 then,and I wondered what I could do and how I could find a job," said Chanpen,who is now 46.
But with assistance from Dome and the Christian Prison Ministry Foundation,the lady was offered a job at Delifrance only a few days after being released.Since then, her responsibilities have grown to include looking after the cafe's customers, taking orders and preparing sandwiches and coffee as well as other dishes available on the menu.
The assistant operation manager first started hiring former prisoners to work at Delifrance in 2005. Back then, he said,the organisation underwent a considerable structural change and a number of staff were suddenly needed.
"I only had two days to find six or seven staff to work with us. Fortunately,I had a chance to discuss this issue with Ajarn Sunthorn [Sunthorn Sunthorntarawong, director of the Christian Prison Ministry Foundation]. The Christian Prison Ministry Foundation has been working with ex-prisoners for so many years and it turned out that Ajarn Sunthorn was happy to help me. He said he had always wanted to provide former prisoners opportunities to return and live new lives in society," Dome explained.
Eight people were sent to Delifrance by the Christian Prison Ministry Foundation in the first week. Some of them were assigned to the kitchen to prepare pastries, steaks and salads, while others became responsible for attending to diners at the cafe's front counter.
Prior to this, however, Dome invited staff members from the foundation to talk to all restaurant managers in order to make sure the former inmates had changed and that they were not going to become repeat offenders. To make sure, all of them underwent behavioural and emotional rehabilitation programmes before being unshackled.
And to Dome, it is indeed a win-win situation."We, as a restaurant operator,are happy that we have staff working for us.And the staff are also happy to have a job and earn a living."
According to Dome,most of the former convicts who work with Delifrance were put in jail due to their involvement with drugs. Nonetheless,once they are hired as the restaurant's temporary staff, they are entitled to receive 25 baht per hour and are required to work for no less than eight hours per day. In the case of full-time employees, they receive around 6,000 to 7,000 baht per month plus social security benefits.
While former prisoners elsewhere often encounter challenges upon release from prison, especially in terms of their reintegration into society, those who work at Delifrance on the other hand rarely become victims of discrimination,disdain or social prejudice. It seems as if no one is concerned about their past.
"Everyone here is treated equally,"Dome commented."We develop trust among each other and we do not care what each person has been through as long as they can work for us and do not cause any trouble."
"Some of my colleagues once asked me what charge I was found guilty of. I thought there was no need to lie so I told them the truth. They said they could not believe I was capable of killing somebody. And when they learned I had spent 14 years in jail, they said I had been in prison for so long that I must be like a kid who knows nothing about the world outside. That explains why everybody has always been willing to teach me everything I need to know," said Chanpen.
Although former inmates aren't treated with prejudice by their coworkers, it is inevitable that they sometimes feel inferior to others in terms of their personal, educational or social backgrounds. Some of them, Dome observed, are very worried that other people would find out that they had once been labelled as criminals.
"The only thing I can tell them is to not worry about things in the past.Passengers on the bus, people in the department store or customers in the restaurant will never know they were once prison inmates. So what they need to do is to be happy, smile to customers and enjoy their work."
Since 2005, almost 20 ex-prisoners have been recruited by Delifrance. However, at present only two of them remain.
The rest left after being offered better career opportunities.One now works for a leading supermarket chain as a cashier officer.Another now heads the fresh vegetables section of a supermarket while some are with various department stores. Many of them decided to pursue nonformal education.
As a project initiator,Dome is pleased to see these former prisoners grab the opportunity to start a new chapter in their lives. One of the things he has learned from helping these former criminals is not to judge people by their past, and their intention to change should in fact be used as an indicator to determine whether or not they deserve to be given a second chance.
"Just let bygones be bygones. Of course, everyone has done something wrong in the past. Ex-prisoners are also human beings, so I do not see any reason why they should not be given equal rights.Let's focus on today, not yesterday,"Dome said.
Though it has now been three years since Chanpen first started working with Delifrance, she can now still remember very well the day she was asked to fill out a job application form. From being a lady who lacked self-confidence, who did not even know which bus that she could catch to work and who returned home and cried after the first day at work, Chanpen is now one of the most respected senior staff at the restaurant.Her English communication skills have significantly improved to the level that she can take orders from foreign customers. In April last year, she was even awarded "Employee of the Month".
"If you ask me how I feel about what I did in the past, I would say I deeply regret it. It was something I never wanted to happen. But now, I have started my life anew. I have changed. To me, this is a wonderful new beginning."
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