Posted by Erin Zimmer, January 29, 2008 at 1:15 PM
Newly-minted Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej may be notorious for his irreverent, whatcha-gonna-do-about-it personality—he’s been accused of malfeasance for signing two questionable contracts while Bangkok’s mayor, and is in the midst of a defamation conviction entailing a two-year prison sentence—but Samak still owns the hearts of many. Maybe because he’s basically a Thai Emeril or Mario. Well, sorta. The former host of the Thai cooking show "Tasting and Complaining” (Chimpai Bonpai) explored traditional Thai cuisine on air, always with a side of his fiery rants. When colleagues believed he was too busy in the kitchen instead of doing his real job—leading the people—he was forced to nix the show.
Posted by Robyn Lee, June 21, 2007 at 5:30 PM
Boots in the Oven's photo of a Thai street vendor making green banana salad made me think about how inefficiently I use my own kitchen, coupled with the realization that it probably won't produce anything as good as the street vendor's salad. Asian street food vendors, why must your convenient deliciousness be restricted only to Asia? [sob]
Read more about Boots in the Oven's adventures on their blog.
Posted by Lia Bulaong, April 9, 2007 at 8:03 AM
A rose by any other name will still smell as sweet, so goes the cliche, but is a durian still a durian if it doesn't stink? Thomas Fuller of the New York Times: "To anyone who doesn’t like durian it smells like a bunch of dead cats,” said Bob Halliday, a food writer based in Bangkok. “But as you get to appreciate durian, the smell is not offensive at all. It’s attractive. It makes you drool like a mastiff.” Nevertheless, a Thai government scientist, who after three decades of research is one of the world’s leading durian experts, now says he has managed to excise its stink."
Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 15, 2007 at 5:29 PM
If you enjoyed Austin Bush's post on how to eat Thai food that I linked to a few days ago, you'll probably also like his new post on how to read and pronounce a Thai menu: "Thai is a picky language, and a misdirected tone, a shortened vowel or improperly articulated consonant can mean the difference between a hot meal and yet another bag of "Thai Basil" chips at 7-11. And not only are Thai words hard to pronounce, but,there is no commonly accepted method of transliteration from Thai to English, so a dish you saw spelled one way on a menu last week, could very well be spelled differently in the next place. To help you understand and make yourself understood, I've put together a basic guide to Thai pronunciation and transliteration."
Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 13, 2007 at 10:05 AM
"Eating Thai food with non-Thais always reminds me how different our eating habits are. Although you're probably not going to offend anybody by holding your spoon the wrong way or taking to much yam wun sen, understanding how Thai people eat will undoubtedly smooth your way and maybe even provide a greater understanding of the food and people. And chicks love it. So here are a few tips on how to eat like the Thais do." Austin Bush lives in Bangkok, so he should know. Tips one through three transfer exactly to most other Asian cuisines that I can think of, so it's well worth a read even if Thai food isn't your favorite.
Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 7, 2007 at 11:19 AM
If you've got $25,000 lying around that you don't know what to do with and you've got December 2nd free, buy yourself a seat at Thailand's Epicurean Masters of the World grand finale dinner—six chefs des cuisines with three Michelin Stars apiece will be flown in from France and Italy to contribute one or two signature dishes to the menu, each paired with one of the world's most exquisite wines.
The chefs: Antoine Westermann of Buerehisel (Alsace, France), Chef Jean Michel Lorain of La Cote Saint Jacques (Joigny, France), Chef Marc Meneau of L’Esperance (Vezelay, France), Chef Luisa Valazza of Al Sorriso (Piedmont, Italy) Chef Heinz Beck of La Pergola (Rome, Italy) and Chef Annie Feolde of Enoteca Pinchiorri (Florence, Italy).
I'd probably have more fun and spend much less money riding trains across Europe to eat a full meal at each of their individual restaurants, but that's just me!
(The BBC lists the dishes and wines to be served on the night.)
[via The Morning News]
