APEC leaders' touchy palates

APEC leaders' touchy palates

THAILAND: Pity poor Vichit Mukura. He's the chef at Bangkok's
plush Oriental hotel who has been working for a year on the
preparations for Monday's slap-up gala dinner for the 21 leaders
and their spouses attending the annual Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation summit.

Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai has personally
tasted the delicacies, which include the country's signature dish
-- spicy tom yam kung soup (served in carved pumpkins) -- and
smoked barbecue duck red curry.

Some leaders have requested favorite Thai dishes. But others
have been hard to please. The wife of Singapore Prime Minister
Goh Chok Tong has specified no flour or cream, according to The
Nation newspaper, while South Korea's first lady is not keen on
peaches.

But it's the Chinese who must be making Vichit and his 42-chef
brigade cry into their tureens. President Hu Jintao has said he
doesn't want anything too spicy, while his wife is bringing her
own food. -- Reuters