PHUKET: Phuket is having something of an Aung San Suu Kyi moment for stomachs on Friday when a group of diners will sit down to enjoy an all-Burmese meal.
Liberating the palates of those who have tasted Thai and Western but never crossed the border to Burma will be Kim Bonow, who runs the Shanti Lodge in Chalong.
''I have the privilege of eating with my Burmese staff on a regular basis and thought it would be an interesting idea to share their cuisine with Phuket's expat community,'' she said about Friday's innovative feast.
''Phuket has a large Burmese population living and working here, however there are no Burmese Restaurants or food stalls yet.''
And so, the notion of a Burma buffet came to be. Just as Burma is now opening up to tourism, so the kitchen door is suddenly ajar.
Simultaneously with Kim's Burma buffet idea comes the release of a new book, 'Burma: Rivers of Flavor', by Naomi Duguid.
One reviewer in the US says the new gastronomical guide ''evokes the flavors of Burma with ingredients more readily available than you'd expect: fried shallots, toasted chickpea flour, fish sauce, lime, and turmeric.
''In particular, shallots are to Burmese cooking what garlic is to the Mediterranean: Duguid urges cooks to have both shallot oil and fried shallots on hand (you make them simultaneously).
''Frizzles of fried shallot render irresistible even the simplest of dishes, like a long bean salad with roasted peanuts and a turmeric-gilded fried rice and peas.''
On Phuket, Kim says: ''I can only describe their style of cooking and mixture of herbs and spices as a perfect blend of Indian and Thai.''
She says that diners are unlikely to understand the Burmese names of the food, which is why she has opted to present a variety of some of the best meals in buffet style.
The Burma Buffet begins at 7pm on Friday, with an hour of happy drinking at happy prices beforehand. The price for the buffet is 195 baht.
For those who want to get a taste of why Aug San Suu Kyi was content enough to enjoy home-cooked meals for 15 years, the number for Kim at the Shanti Lodge Restaurant is 076 280233.
Liberating the palates of those who have tasted Thai and Western but never crossed the border to Burma will be Kim Bonow, who runs the Shanti Lodge in Chalong.
''I have the privilege of eating with my Burmese staff on a regular basis and thought it would be an interesting idea to share their cuisine with Phuket's expat community,'' she said about Friday's innovative feast.
''Phuket has a large Burmese population living and working here, however there are no Burmese Restaurants or food stalls yet.''
And so, the notion of a Burma buffet came to be. Just as Burma is now opening up to tourism, so the kitchen door is suddenly ajar.
Simultaneously with Kim's Burma buffet idea comes the release of a new book, 'Burma: Rivers of Flavor', by Naomi Duguid.
One reviewer in the US says the new gastronomical guide ''evokes the flavors of Burma with ingredients more readily available than you'd expect: fried shallots, toasted chickpea flour, fish sauce, lime, and turmeric.
''In particular, shallots are to Burmese cooking what garlic is to the Mediterranean: Duguid urges cooks to have both shallot oil and fried shallots on hand (you make them simultaneously).
''Frizzles of fried shallot render irresistible even the simplest of dishes, like a long bean salad with roasted peanuts and a turmeric-gilded fried rice and peas.''
On Phuket, Kim says: ''I can only describe their style of cooking and mixture of herbs and spices as a perfect blend of Indian and Thai.''
She says that diners are unlikely to understand the Burmese names of the food, which is why she has opted to present a variety of some of the best meals in buffet style.
The Burma Buffet begins at 7pm on Friday, with an hour of happy drinking at happy prices beforehand. The price for the buffet is 195 baht.
For those who want to get a taste of why Aug San Suu Kyi was content enough to enjoy home-cooked meals for 15 years, the number for Kim at the Shanti Lodge Restaurant is 076 280233.
I came across a Burmese Restaurant up in Chiang Mai last week, but I didn't have time to visit it.
Looked interesting and I would have liked to have tried it.
Posted by Tbs on October 4, 2012 09:38