Lights in spices
October 30, 2003 | 12:00am
In November 1999, Mary Ann and I were in Bangkok to attend the grand wedding of the son of our dear friends Tong and Linda Mañalac. Truth to tell, we haven’t met their son Carlos and his beautiful Thai bride-to-be Aye, but we just couldn’t pass up the invitation for two simple reasons: Tong and Linda are ideal hosts and a delight to be with, and both Mary Ann and I are crazy about Thai (pronounced as Tai) food which we find always aroy mak (very delicious), whether the street kind or in fine dining restaurants.
As planned and expected, we were feted with Thai gastronomic delights; we went bargain hunting, toured the outskirts and at the end of each day, to ease our tired muscles and feet, we experienced the two-hour body and foot massage the Thais are famous for. Now what could be a better holiday than that?
Thailand is a hawker’s paradise and a foodie’s haven. Food hawkers are my favorite in Bangkok. They abound in the city streets, from the mobile kind who rambles along with his cart or shoulders around his two baskets to the fixed stalls in the wet markets, like the popular weekend Chatuchak market. They are the veritable movable feasts.
The hawkers peddle their homemade family specialties, from tempting appetizers to noodle soups to sweets, which oftentimes are better than hotel food without burning the pocket, but of course sans the clean and cool comforts of a hotel. The phad thai and oyster omelet are a must-try. Pan-fried on a huge flat iron skillet, it is always perfectly done, moist and fluffy. The countless times we’ve visited the city, our first meal is always with a Thai hawker, and we always go back to the hotel room very satisfied with an ear-to-ear grin.
Oftentimes, I am asked by friends back in Manila if it’s alright to eat hawker’s food because it might be unhygienic. To start with, people have different standards of cleanliness. I am not as bothered by the "ambulance," the grimy bright-colored and plastic-covered tables, monobloc chairs, plastic wares, eating amidst the dust, smoke and cacophony of clacking utensils and pots, competing with the honking of passing vehicles. But then again, without all the above-mentioned "amenities," it ain’t never the same. And if millions of Thais aren’t rushed to the clinics, it surely won’t hurt a jaded and well-seasoned tummy like mine. Invariably, Thai food served anywhere in the royal kingdom is consistently very good to excellent, and always cheap to reasonably priced – never expensive.
Going back to the Mañalac wedding we attended, a first-time experience for us during the trip was the celebration of the festival of lights Loy Krathong. Held during a full moon night, Tong and Linda treated the whole wedding party (part of a three-day banquet, planned and executed with military precision by the mother of the groom Linda) to a sumptuous Thai dinner at the roof deck of the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel. The Thai women and young ladies came in their best colorful traditional costumes, adorned with beautiful leis and flowers, while the young men had tattoos (non-permanent) made for the occasion.
From the roof deck, we watched the splendor of a firework show, and looking down ground zero, one could see the hundreds of candle-lighted boats floating along the Chao Phraya River.
Loy Krathong festival started over 700 years ago, and is celebrated all over Thailand every full moon of the twelfth lunar month to pay homage to the life-giving spirit of water, as a way of thanking the river for providing water for agriculture. (How I wish we had the same regard for our rivers). The Thais make a wish as they send afloat a lotus-shaped "boat" made of banana or coconut leaves, filled with candles, flowers, incense and a coin in rivers, ponds, irrigation ditches or just anywhere where there’s water for the krathong to float. Waterways throughout the kingdom sparkle with the glow from the countless candle-lit offerings that full moon night.
Quite recently, we were invited by the Peninsula Manila to witness the prelude to their upcoming Loy Krathong Festival at its Asian specialty restaurant Spices. Together with other guests from media and Thai Airways International, we were feted with an outdoor "street food" spread in a pocket garden behind Spices. Its Thai chef Boon let Boonchuay set up hawker-style food stations, whipping up authentic street food dishes associated with the festival.
From the salad station, the chef was pounding julienned green papaya to make into a fiery som tam thai. Also ready for the picking were pomelo salad (yam som-o) and a spicy minced beef salad (larb nua). Being fried on the next station were chicken wrapped in a pandan leaf (gai hor bai toey) and fishcakes (taud man pla). Like a child lost in a candy factory, I wasn’t quite ready to leave the fish cakes (in other words nataranta) when the whiff of barbecued meats pulled my attention to the nearby grilling station, where an assortment of skewered squid, chicken and beef were served with a peanut-based sauce. There was also the popular barbecued chicken (kai yang). And on the next was Thailand’s most popular signature noodle dish pad thai. And lastly for dessert, not to be overshadowed are the queen of fruits, durian (chanee variety) and some luscious ripe mangoes paired with sticky rice and a creamy coconut sauce.
On Nov. 8, Spices will bring to Manila the Loy Krathong, where local diners will experience the festival without having to fly to Bangkok. A mouthwatering special set menu is prepared for that night: Appetizers – Thai spring roll, minced shrimp and sweet corn in crispy shell, spicy beef salad and chicken wrapped in pandan leaf; soup – tom yum goong; main course – crispy fried garoupa in tamarind chili sauce, pad thai, and duck curry; and dessert – fresh ripe mango with glutinous rice.
Guests at the festival of lights will be allowed to float their individually crafted krathong at the Spices pond. To be raffled off is a round-trip ticket for two to Bangkok courtesy of Thai Airways International and a three-night stay at the fabulous and award- winning Peninsula Bangkok.
Loy Krathong dinner on Nov. 8 at the Spices Restaurant is at P1,200++ per person. For reservations, call 887-2888.
As planned and expected, we were feted with Thai gastronomic delights; we went bargain hunting, toured the outskirts and at the end of each day, to ease our tired muscles and feet, we experienced the two-hour body and foot massage the Thais are famous for. Now what could be a better holiday than that?
Thailand is a hawker’s paradise and a foodie’s haven. Food hawkers are my favorite in Bangkok. They abound in the city streets, from the mobile kind who rambles along with his cart or shoulders around his two baskets to the fixed stalls in the wet markets, like the popular weekend Chatuchak market. They are the veritable movable feasts.
The hawkers peddle their homemade family specialties, from tempting appetizers to noodle soups to sweets, which oftentimes are better than hotel food without burning the pocket, but of course sans the clean and cool comforts of a hotel. The phad thai and oyster omelet are a must-try. Pan-fried on a huge flat iron skillet, it is always perfectly done, moist and fluffy. The countless times we’ve visited the city, our first meal is always with a Thai hawker, and we always go back to the hotel room very satisfied with an ear-to-ear grin.
Oftentimes, I am asked by friends back in Manila if it’s alright to eat hawker’s food because it might be unhygienic. To start with, people have different standards of cleanliness. I am not as bothered by the "ambulance," the grimy bright-colored and plastic-covered tables, monobloc chairs, plastic wares, eating amidst the dust, smoke and cacophony of clacking utensils and pots, competing with the honking of passing vehicles. But then again, without all the above-mentioned "amenities," it ain’t never the same. And if millions of Thais aren’t rushed to the clinics, it surely won’t hurt a jaded and well-seasoned tummy like mine. Invariably, Thai food served anywhere in the royal kingdom is consistently very good to excellent, and always cheap to reasonably priced – never expensive.
Going back to the Mañalac wedding we attended, a first-time experience for us during the trip was the celebration of the festival of lights Loy Krathong. Held during a full moon night, Tong and Linda treated the whole wedding party (part of a three-day banquet, planned and executed with military precision by the mother of the groom Linda) to a sumptuous Thai dinner at the roof deck of the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel. The Thai women and young ladies came in their best colorful traditional costumes, adorned with beautiful leis and flowers, while the young men had tattoos (non-permanent) made for the occasion.
From the roof deck, we watched the splendor of a firework show, and looking down ground zero, one could see the hundreds of candle-lighted boats floating along the Chao Phraya River.
Loy Krathong festival started over 700 years ago, and is celebrated all over Thailand every full moon of the twelfth lunar month to pay homage to the life-giving spirit of water, as a way of thanking the river for providing water for agriculture. (How I wish we had the same regard for our rivers). The Thais make a wish as they send afloat a lotus-shaped "boat" made of banana or coconut leaves, filled with candles, flowers, incense and a coin in rivers, ponds, irrigation ditches or just anywhere where there’s water for the krathong to float. Waterways throughout the kingdom sparkle with the glow from the countless candle-lit offerings that full moon night.
Quite recently, we were invited by the Peninsula Manila to witness the prelude to their upcoming Loy Krathong Festival at its Asian specialty restaurant Spices. Together with other guests from media and Thai Airways International, we were feted with an outdoor "street food" spread in a pocket garden behind Spices. Its Thai chef Boon let Boonchuay set up hawker-style food stations, whipping up authentic street food dishes associated with the festival.
From the salad station, the chef was pounding julienned green papaya to make into a fiery som tam thai. Also ready for the picking were pomelo salad (yam som-o) and a spicy minced beef salad (larb nua). Being fried on the next station were chicken wrapped in a pandan leaf (gai hor bai toey) and fishcakes (taud man pla). Like a child lost in a candy factory, I wasn’t quite ready to leave the fish cakes (in other words nataranta) when the whiff of barbecued meats pulled my attention to the nearby grilling station, where an assortment of skewered squid, chicken and beef were served with a peanut-based sauce. There was also the popular barbecued chicken (kai yang). And on the next was Thailand’s most popular signature noodle dish pad thai. And lastly for dessert, not to be overshadowed are the queen of fruits, durian (chanee variety) and some luscious ripe mangoes paired with sticky rice and a creamy coconut sauce.
On Nov. 8, Spices will bring to Manila the Loy Krathong, where local diners will experience the festival without having to fly to Bangkok. A mouthwatering special set menu is prepared for that night: Appetizers – Thai spring roll, minced shrimp and sweet corn in crispy shell, spicy beef salad and chicken wrapped in pandan leaf; soup – tom yum goong; main course – crispy fried garoupa in tamarind chili sauce, pad thai, and duck curry; and dessert – fresh ripe mango with glutinous rice.
Guests at the festival of lights will be allowed to float their individually crafted krathong at the Spices pond. To be raffled off is a round-trip ticket for two to Bangkok courtesy of Thai Airways International and a three-night stay at the fabulous and award- winning Peninsula Bangkok.
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