Thai food promotion a mouth-watering experience

Thai food promotion a mouth-watering experience

By Mehru Jaffer

JAKARTA (JP): Ekarat Ungkunchai, 34, and Suradech Damapong,
23, at first were a little apprehensive about visiting Jakarta.
The two Thai chefs have much experience in traveling around the
world to promote the spicy cuisine of their country.

"But when we were asked to come to Jakarta I was a little
hesitant," admits Ekarat, who imagined that he would be welcomed
here with bomb explosions, rioting and unruly crowds.

Ekarat was pleasantly surprised to find what an attractive
city Jakarta really is and is enjoying working with more than 10
Indonesian colleagues in the kitchen at the Shangri-La Hotel
where he prepares specialities from the central region of his
native Thailand.

This has been his first experience with Indonesian food and he
was pleased to learn that the basic ingredients used in both
Indonesian and Thai dishes are the same. That has made cooking
Thai food here an added pleasure as most of the spices are
available fresh in the market.

According to the publication, Discover Thailand and Its Food,
eating ranks high on the Thai list of pleasures. The fertile
central plains region, watered by the winding Chao Phraya river,
has been Thailand's cultural and economic heartland for
centuries.

The expression Kin Khao for "to eat" translates literary as
"to eat rice" and the produce from the vast paddy fields on
either side of the river has traditionally provided the kingdom
plenty of substance for improvisation and perfection of different
kinds of dishes.

Much of what is known as Thai cuisine evolved in this central
region where there is abundance of not only rice but also fish,
vegetables and fruits. All this produce is prepared garnished
with garlic, black pepper and nam pla, or fish sauce for the
basic diet of the Sukhothai. With the rise of Ayutthaya, other
elements were added to the already complex Thai blend like hot
chili pepper, along with the equally popular coriander, lime and
tomato.

An important historical influence were the Portuguese who came
in contact with Ayutthaya in 1511, leaving the most lasting
influence on Thai sweets that are made from eggs and sugar. Other
regional influences on Thai food came form India, Japan, Persia
and predominantly China. In most cases original recipes were
altered and transformed to suit The Thai palate.

"This is our fourth Thai Food Promotion but this one is
special as the chefs have flown in directly from Bangkok. In the
past we had chefs in Jakarta preparing Thai food," explained Romy
Herlambang, the hotel's communications manager, helping herself
to a little more of that irresistible spicy salad called Somtam
Gai Yang.

At another table, Tongha Thai Kongsupol, a Thai who has lived
for many years in Jakarta could not have enough of the legendary
Tom Yam, the spicy seafood soup. The beautiful mother-to-be
whispered that she had two helpings of the soup as it was so
good.

A senior diplomat from the Thai embassy declared the dishes as
authentic as the ones cooked at home in his mother's kitchen.

As people become more conscious about what they eat, Ekarat
explained that the generous use of ginger and garlic helps to
lower blood pressure and lemongrass is soothing to the heart. The
hot peppers titillate the senses and contain capsaicin, a
biologically active ingredient beneficial to the respiratory
system, blood pressure and heart. The chilly pepper's other
therapeutic claims include being a carminative and antiflatulence
agent and digestant.

To add a little of visual flavor to the fare, Romy was
assisted by the Thai Women's Association in decorating the
hotel's coffee shop with quaint handicrafts and gigantic Thai
statues. At the entrance is parked a boat on a raised stand that
is loaded with fresh vegetables and fruits like mangoes, durians,
custard apples, guavas, pomelos and plenty of flowers -- a
reminder of the breathtakingly beautiful floating markets of
Thailand.

As hungry diners tuck into the rich spread, whether it is the
Sino-Thai noodle dishes or the fragrant rice, their pleasure is
enhanced by the plaintive Thai music playing in the background.

This vicarious trip to the heart of Bangkok is possible to
experience till Aug. 2.