Entries tagged with 'thailand'
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This Thai street vendor mixes coffee in a rather theatrical manner, first pouring in the condensed milk and then mixing in coffee by pouring it from one pitcher to another—all while performing a series of pirouettes. Not sure how much he’s spilling, but I’d assume not much....
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Samak Sundaravej on his show "Tasting, Complaining." Photographs from importfood.com Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was forced to resign today after violating the Constitution. But he didn't traffic drugs or get messy with other high crimes. He performed on two cooking shows (and more importantly, accepted money for them) while in office. "I did it because I liked doing it," Sundaravej told the Constitutional Court Monday. Samak has been involved in Thai politics for over 30 years, and has been exploring Thai cuisine on both TV and radio since the 1990s. His cookbook Chimpai Bonpai (meaning "Tasting, Complaining") is in its ninth edition. After Sundaravej's election victory in February, he even invited Thai reporters over to his home to sample...
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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....
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When I read Joshua Kurlantzik's fine piece on Bangkok street food, I immediately thought of my late friend Johnny Apple, who wrote an equally spirited and passionate story on the same topic a few years ago. One plus of Kuralntzik's piece: He gave props to the terrific Thai food blogger Austin Bush. Johnny Apple, on the other hand, leaned on American writer Robert Halliday for guidance. The times they have changed. But did they write about the same restaurants?...
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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....
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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."...
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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...
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"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....
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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,...
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