Spicy hot Thai food comes to the Manila InterCon

One of the many passions Mary Ann and I share is the love for Thai food. As a matter of fact, our first trip together as a couple was to Bangkok many, many moons ago, with the intention to eat, eat and eat for three days. Our three days stretched to five for we could not have enough of it.

With equal relish, we gorged on hawker food, the offerings at the food court at MBK mall, the cooked-food stalls at the wet market in Otokor and at some fine dining restaurants in five-star hotels. We did not repeat a dish nor place. We were not only satisfied each time, but we were extremely pleased with every dish we tried.

It was Mary Ann who concluded that Thai food in Bangkok is consistently good, be it partaken at the stalls in Chatuchak weekend market to the elaborate buffet of the prestigious Oriental Hotel. It seems to be cooked with the same sincerity and passion.

Thai cuisine, along with Chinese, Japanese and Indian, is another Asian cooking that has gained international acceptance. The phenomenal success of Thai restaurants in major cities, like Los Angeles, London, Tokyo and New York, only attests to Thai cuisine’s popularity.

Vietnamese and Korean cuisines are fast catching up. And each time we travel and see our Asian neighbors’ restaurants being patronized by locals, we can’t help but feel a little envious. Will the day come when Filipino cuisine will be considered at par with the world’s best?

Thai food is very similar to Pinoy food. We subsist on the same staples, like rice, patis (nam pla) and dried fish. Their popular soup, tom yam gung (that hot and sour soup with shrimps), is a very hot version of sinigang na sugpô. Both our ancestors ate with their hands while seated on the floor, although nowadays spoon and fork are widely used, unlike in the rest of Asia where chopsticks are used. The ubiquitous chili, which originated in Central and South America (along with other staples, such as cilantro, lime and tomatoes) that is now a trademark of Thai cooking, did not appear in their cooking until the arrival of the first Europeans in the 17th century. The Thais took a natural liking to the dynamic chilies and started making their curries, which became their staple food.

Although today’s Thai food is regarded highly in terms of taste, variety and may seem too elaborate in presentation, it hasn’t always been so. I’ve heard from different sources – but have never been able to confirm this, though – that, at one time, the Thai king hired French food experts in the 1960s to help them with the presentation and marketing of Thai food. And while retaining its seeming down home-cooked simplicity, this is one major reason why Thai cuisine received international acclaim.

Just last week, Mary Ann and I, together with some media friends, had the privilege to sample some Thai dishes, hosted by the gracious Thai lady Ambassador Busba Bunnag and Thai Airways Philippines general manager Chertchai Methanayanonda, at the Prince Albert Rotisserie of the InterContinental Manila.

The dinner consisted of individually portioned appetizers, namely crispy tartlet of diced prawns with vegetables and a vegetarian spring roll, a bowl of tom yam talay, sour and spicy seafood soup, green curry chicken, stir-fried vegetables with scallops, and deep-fried prawns with red curry paste. For dessert, we had our favorite, sticky rice and ripe mango, along with a bowl of red water chestnuts (faux pomegranate) with coconut milk on crushed ice.

Thai food, as always, leaves us wanting for more. Its combination of simplicity and sophistication is a wonder, incessantly titillating the senses. It remains my dream that one day I will take Thai cooking lessons from experts at the cooking academies of the Bangkok Peninsula or Oriental Hotel.

The Treasures of Thailand Festival is ongoing at the InterCon’s Café Jeepney until June 26. Thai food lovers and first timers can sample Thailand’s authentic but varied cuisine, as prepared by three famous Thai lady chefs, namely Sompong Chomchit, Pranon Kittivarapol and Patcharee Srikong, who are also experts in fruit and vegetable carving.

Lunch and dinner buffets of rich curries, tangy soups, tart salads and stir-fried dishes will be served. Thailand’s famous fresh fruits will be flown in.

Thai food is not exclusively spicy, though. And with the three lady chefs on hand, who will be more than happy to create anew for your taste, don’t worry about the chilies.

A live cooking station will be on hand to make dishes, like mee krob, phad thai, green papaya salad and the like, tempered to your liking. But if you like it hot, like my wife (indeed I married a hot lady), one can enjoy the pleasures of this savory cuisine to your heart’s content with the variety of chilies available.

After a hot dinner, why not pamper your loved one to a belated father’s day treat and spend a romantic night in one of the hotels’ deluxe rooms or suites? Take a break and pamper yourself. Sink your tired head to sleep on the Intercon’s fluffy pillows. Have a dip in the pool and wrap yourselves in white waffle bath robes or have a body massage. It is the perfect way to unwind. The following morning you’re all ready for a big breakfast. I should know. The Intercon was my home for a month when I was a guest chef at the Prince Albert back in October 2000.

The Thai buffet price is P875++ per person. Diners get a chance to win a trip to Bangkok for two with three-nights accommodation at the elegant InterContinental Bangkok.

An exhibition of Thai artworks at the hotel lobby will also be on display during the festival.

For particulars and reservations, call 815-9711 local 262.