Food & Fashion

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These are the concepts of a new business enterprise, Chic & Fab, Thai and International Cuisine (Unit 11 & 12, Crossroad Mall, Banilad, phone 233-9388) that celebrated its grand opening last June 9.

It was an evening of fun and entertainment: the traditional ribbon cutting, tossing of coins, welcome address by Mr. Pongsak Hiranpruck, fashion show, dinner (my favorite component of any program), raffle draw (only a select few are born to win, the rest are just born), live band, open bar with unlimited supply of wines and Thai whiskey and finally the distribution of giveaways. Great party!

Thai food and culture are not entirely unfamiliar. Through the years, bits and pieces of their unique culture had been unveiled. My father had a classmate in U.P. from Thailand and once he visited his classmate there, he was surprised that maids serve food on their knees because his friend was a relative of the Royal family. My sister had a roommate from Thailand in U.P. and she became acquainted with some of their culture. When two pillows are used in bed, the pillow intended for the head are marked so that it is used only by the head when you sleep. When seated, you never point your feet at another person. And shoes, excuse me, no matter how expensive, are always left at the door entrance.

My own encounter with Thai culture was through my student who hails from Chang Mai. Her English was fairly good but her Cebuano was better because her father graduated from S.W.U. She instructed me about the difference in Thai food, including those that were found in Northern Thailand like the elegance of a traditional Lanna Khantoke dinner and street food like kao kha moo, kao man kai and the like.

Some of those memories were rekindled when Chic & Fab introduced their brand of speciality dishes through a food parade. (A true food connoisseur looks at the food and not the model; your favorite food columnist, unfortunately, is not a true food connoisseur!)

On display was the C&F Special Appetizer, consisting of four deep fried dishes: Por Pla Thad (spring rolls), Thad Mun Goong (prawn patties), Pla Muck Choop Pang Thad (Thai calamari) and Nua Thad Jim Jeaw (beef with sesame seeds). Again, I am sure that my loyal beloved followers will complain because the dishes are hard to pronounce and so difficult to spell; same problem, so I had to copy na lang from the menu.

Once upon a time, four of my friends ordered food in Hong Kong from a Chinese menu and they ended up having four different kinds of soup and each bowl served four! Japanese restaurants had long solved this language barrier by replicating their top food offerings, using plastic models. So, whatever the nationality of the customer, orders can be serviced. Today, most restaurants carry menus with food photos.

Other foods on parade were as follows:

1. Khoo Moo Yang (grilled pork, marinated with garlic, rock sugar, Thai herbs and whiskey, served with tamarind sauce)

2. Peak Gai Lao Deang ( fried chicken wings, with wine and tomato sauce, Thai version of sweet and sour)

3. Pla Nam Tok (fried whole fish mixed with Thai herbs and spices (chilli, red onions, spring onions and coriander), a bit hot for your favorite food columnist. Must be hot for some of my loyal followers, but perfect for those chilli lovers.

4. Goong Ob Woon Sen ( steamed prawns with glass noodles, spiced with ground pepper, garlic and ginger)

More work for your favorite food columnist to taste each and every dish on parade which included, excuse me, eight other dishes on the buffet table. Add pa two glasses of that Thai whiskey (and that excluded the glasses of wine). Problem na gyud with my personal physician who recommends that I should eat and drink moderately. Favored dishes were the C&F Special Appetizer and Goong Ob Woon Sen and the See Krong Moo Ob Nam Phueng.