Food Drink Magazine Issue 14 September 2021

FOOD DRINK &

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THAI CUISINE www.fooddrinkmagazine.com

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NOVEMB SeptembER er 2020 2021

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AUTHORS Ossiana TEPFENHARD Dave WINTERIDGE Gilberto Preciado MEZA Bernard MOUNT

Thai Cuisine

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THAI CUISINES & RESTAURANTS

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THAI FOODS

PUBLISHED BY

The Oreo Cafe: What Went Wrong?!

10701 AUDREY WAY 92129

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© Copyright 2021 HGH Perfect Inc All Rights Reserved

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Recipe Thai Chicken in Green Curry

CONTENTS

30 HAVE RESTAURANT REVIEWS BECOME WEAPONISED?

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The Power of a Review

TOP 10 THAI CUISINES AND RESTAURANTS

49 Food Drink News

Going French in the UK

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THAI CUISINE Bernard MOUNT

Native to Thailand, Thai cuisine has one of the most unique flavor profiles in the world. It is made using components that have a strong aroma and also a lot of spice.

There are no actual classifications for the cuisine, but they can be broken down into four categories: •Yam. Spicy salads •Tom. Boiled dishes •Tam. Pounded foods •Gaeng. Curries All Thai cuisine consists of these four types of food, either separate or fused. These foods carry a distinct flavor profile; however, they may be different depending on your region.

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Thai food in Bangkok, where there is more cultural diversity, will be a bit different from Central Thai or Northern Thai food.

As is tradition, most Thai food is eaten by hand. Most families will sit together on a mat or rug on the floor and eat together. However, most people tend to use a fork and knife to eat– a departure from the past habits.

Flavors When talking about Thai food, five essential flavors make it up: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and spicy. These can either exist as a solo flavor, but Thai food's true essence only comes out when combined.

Various combinations of fresh produce, meats, spices, and sauces make Thai food shine.

The Influence Behind It All Thai cuisine can trace its roots back to the 13th Century.

Therefore, a lot of Thai cuisine that is eaten today contains flavors from ancient times.

Descending from Siamese cuisine at the time, Thai cuisine also uses many of the same elements. For example, it has different types of meats combined with herbs, vegetables, rice, and local spices.

Thai cuisine has also been influenced by Indian cuisine, most notably when it comes to the spices being used. Thus, you could take any red, green, or yellow Thai curry and struggle to tell it apart from an Indian one. However, Thai cuisine adds its twist to these dishes by adding ingredients such as lemongrass and galangal.

Common Ingredients In Thai Cuisine.

Thai food is known to contain a lot of fresh ingredients. Rice is a staple, finding its way in a vast majority of dishes. It is as essential to Thai cuisine as potatoes and bread are to European cuisine. It uses a lot of spices and herbs, most notably:

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•Garlic •Coriander •Galangal •Shallots •Lemongrass •Kaffir lime leaves •Nam Pla (Fish sauce) •Shrimp paste The meat that goes into includes: •Pork •Chicken •Beef •Duck •Mutton •Lamb •Wild boar •Game birds The last two aren't eaten as much due to extensive loss to their habit, making them hard to come by.

All Thai dishes contain these ingredients as a base or some compliment, giving it the unique taste that Thai food is known for.

If you venture towards the more exotic side of Thai cuisine, you will also find insects being eaten. The most commonly consumed are grasshoppers, beetles, and worms.

This might be hard to stomach for most, but Thai people treat it as a regular occurrence. Insects are usually enjoyed as street food, where several are put on a skewer and grilled.

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Community One of the most defining qualities of Thai cuisine is how it encourages a sense of community.

Most Thai food is eaten with family, all sitting on the floor on a mat or rug. Typical street food is sold in markets with hundreds of people around – all there to enjoy the best there is to eat.

Conclusion Thai cuisine has a lot to offer.

There are so many different ingredients and flavors that can be combined in so many ways.

You will always have something new that can be made using the essential elements of Thai Cuisine.

It comes as no surprise that Thai food is loved around the world.

Simply because there's so much going on with it all the time. There is so much flavor, so much variety, all at the same time.

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ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THAI CUISINES & RESTAURANTS Bernard MOUNT

As a popular international cuisine, Thai food distinguishes itself by its freshness, unique spices, and exotic fragrance.

There is a whole list of mouth-watering dishes from Thailand and a good number of world-class restaurants that take pride in serving these dishes. If you are an ardent food lover, here are a few things you need to know about Thai cuisine.

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Nothing is Baked

Finding an oven in a Thai restaurant is like finding a polar bear in the Sahara! Baked products are not so popular in Thailand, with people preferring fried and grilled treats.

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Affordable As international as they are, as oozingly delicious as they are, Thai cuisine is pretty much affordable. Depending on your restaurant of choice, you can enjoy a large and tasty plate of Thai meals for as low as 5 dollars.

Regardless of where visitors choose to eat, they can be guaranteed of satisfying tongue experience worth writing in the journals

Region-Specific Dishes

The culinary culture in Thailand is something worth appreciating. So broad is their menu that each region has its setup and list of delicacies!

If you travel to the north of Thailand, whatever meals you will enjoy will be nowhere to be found when you route to the country's south. This is because Thai cuisines are more or less region-specific. An example is Gaeng Hanglay, a famous dish in the north but dramatically missing in other regions.

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The Chinese Influence As unique as Thai cuisine may be, it still has some strong ties to Chinese cuisine. This relationship is said to have started some 2,000 years ago when thousands of Chinese immigrants made their way to Thailand and brought their cuisine with them. Actually, the staple of the Thai diet originated from China, as evidenced by soy sauce and rice.

With time the Thai people added their own touch to the Chinese recipe and created their own, the ones the whole world enjoys today.

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Close to Everything Has Sugar Lots of sugar is bad for your health, yes, but the Thai people don't subscribe to that. It is pretty normal for a spoonful or two of sugar to be added during the preparation of any Thai delicacy. You will taste sugar in popular dishes like pad Thai and even green papaya salad. Other ingredients that join sugar into the pot include salt, spices, lime, among others.

Here are some famous Thai cuisines that you can find in restaurants like Tom Yum Goong Banglamphu in Bangkok, Pe Aor, Mit Ko Yuan, Eat Me, Bo Lan, Ginza Sushi-Ichi and Tom Yum Kung.

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Hanschrists, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

TOM YUM GOONG Also known as spicy shrimp soup, a bowl of this dish comes bold, aromatic, and filled with spices. It is prepared using Thai ingredients such as lemongrass, galangal, chili, shallots, and plenty of fish sauce. Mushrooms and fresh prawns are added to make it complete.

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SOM TAM Known to visitors as spicy green papaya salad, Som Tam is a native of Northeastern Thailand and is certainly one of the most famous dishes to come of the country. It consists of shredded green papaya, dried shrimp, tamarind pulp, fish juice, among other ingredients. All these ingredients are mixed using mortar and pestle, resulting in a colorful super sweet dish.

LAAB Also called a spicy salad, Laab is a northeastern-style salad served with meat or fresh mushroom and a specific mint that originates from the province of Isan. Laab can be served in various forms, including that of pork, mushroom, or chicken. fooddrinkmagazine.com

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PAD THAI

Pad Thai which is also called Thai Style Fried Nodules is among the Thailand's national dishes. It is made from shrimp or chicken. It is cheap and available in every corner around the country.

KHAO PAD

Alpha from Melbourne, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Pad Thai which is also called Thai Style Fried Nodules is among the Thailand's national dishes. It is made from shrimp or chicken. It is cheap and available in every corner around the country.

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THAI FOODS Bernard MOUNT

Lovers of food enjoy traveling the world and sampling foods from various cultures. Any foodie can admit that Thai food is one of the best foods one should try.

However, it may not be palatable for people who are not used to spicy and hot flavors. The balance of ingredients and flavors is what makes Thai food stand out. Most Thai cuisines are healthy and suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

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The best way to learn about a culture is through food. Most cultures, including Thai, have a history of why they eat and prepare foods in a particular way.

Thailand is one of the most popular destinations globally, all thanks to great food and cheap cost of living. Also, Thai people are warm and friendly, increasing the feel-good experience tourists look for. This article will give you interesting facts about Thai foods and restaurants.

Thai food is prepared uniquely and is also eaten differently. Understanding their heritage and ways assists other people in appreciating their culture. Most of their food is associated with their struggles and festivals without forgetting their signature spices and why they prefer some herbs to others during food preparation.

Thai people enjoy eating meals together.

It is like Thai people to share their meals and they enjoy while at it. A family eats from a single large bowl, and if the meal comprises many sub dishes, there will be different bowls for that. It may be a strange experience, especially for foreigners that people do not eat on their plates. Consuming more than others is considered impolite in Thai culture.

Thai foods are mainly prepared to form fresh ingredients, and their chefs tend to avoid any preserved foods. A typical meal is made of fresh fruit and vegetables, dried products or goods are hardly used.

The fact that fresh ingredients are used for food preparations makes it very healthy. Thailand being a tropical country, fresh food is always at every corner, making components affordable.

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The fact that fresh ingredients are used for food preparations makes it very healthy. Thailand being a tropical country, fresh food is always at every corner, making components affordable.

Rice is the staple food for many Asian countries, and Thailand embraces that quite well. A lot of Thai cuisines have a bit of rice as the main course or a condiment. Rice is an essential part of their culture and is one of the hugest rice exporters. To spice up matters, rice is prepared in all forms and shapes to avoid monotony.

Thai cuisines and foods have an exceptional balance in terms of flavor, making them unique. The fantastic tastes come from a combination of spices that Thai chefs use when cooking. They make their food salty by adding fish and shrimp sauces.

The sweetness comes from fruits extracts and palm sugar that is added to foods.

A few herbs add up a little spice to a dish if the chef needs the effect. All the herbs, condiments, and spices make Thai food so irresistible. Thai chefs are very attentive to cooking and mixing up the spices to bring about a unique balance.

Thai people enjoy eating a lot from snacks, drinks to main meals. Inquiring whether one has dined is common in Thailand, just like a form of greeting. It is considered polite to offer visitors food and always snack. A shock to many people is that foods are not assigned to a particular time of the day. Most foods are eaten at any time of the day, be it breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Every dish has a signature taste of the four ss: sour, sweet, salty, and spicy.

Fun fact: Thai food is eaten using a fork and spoon. Many foreigners think that Thai food is eaten like Chinese food using chopsticks.

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The Oreo Cafe: What Went Wrong?!

Ossiana TEPFENHART

As a person who grew up with Oreos, I can tell you that it’s exceedingly rare to find a situation where I will turn one down. I mean, I don’t keep them in the house because I’ll keep eating them till they vanish...often in one sitting! So, when I found out that the Oreo company just started up a cafe at the (local to me) American Dream Mall, I had to check it out.

Unfortunately, this might be one of the only times where I actually have to write a review that’s not glowing about something that doesn’t involve snooty doorkeepers. Either way, I feel like it has to be discussed simply because I took the trip out there and it was a lesson in corporate greed. Or just corporate failure.

How I Found Out About Oreo’s Cafe I’ll be honest. I got an Oreo horoscope from Twitter and it came with a cute message telling me to check out the world’s first Oreo cafe.

Luckily, it was literally 15 minutes away from me by car and at a mall I’m quickly growing to love.

So, I ended up going there.

Finding out about the place was one story. On the other side of the story was actually arriving in the mall and trying to find it. There were no signs as to where it was.

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Not even in the directory! I had to ask a clerk at a store where the cafe was.

Apparently, it was tucked away on the third floor of It’s Sugar!

After we wandered about, we got to the third story and there it was...Right amidst a mess of Oreo swag and a bunch of screaming kids. Honestly, the swag stands were slick. I actually wanted to buy a shirt there, really. But the cafe itself? Well...

It was more like a cafeteria. I appreciate the Oreo-themed ceiling, but the tables were basically IKEA tables with Oreo stuff printed on them.

Around the area was an Oreo banner and a booth that looked like it belonged in a food court.

I mean, to a point, I don’t know what I was expecting. I low-key had hoped that it would be a kawaii-style cafe, the way that they would have it in Japan.

You know what I mean, right?

Everything cute as a button, Oreocentric, with gourmet goods that look perfect, in a quiet setting with table service?

Yeah, this was not that. There were a bunch of loud kids here, which is great if you are a parent who wants to give thier kids a place to chill. For me, and my more adult tastes, it was awkward sitting there with my spouse as the only non-family there. It really looked like a cheaper Dunkin Donuts that had a theme glued to it.

tThe Food So, our food order here wasn’t actually food. I ordered a coffee drink with blended Oreo goodness into it and my husband ordered some plain vanilla ice cream. We each took a bite (or sip) out of each, and immediately recoiled.

Even so, I can’t help but notice that the food was pretty gnarly, even for parents who are used to going to Chuck E. Cheese. It’s all the high fructose corn syrup and fake flavoring they added to the goods here. That, with the synthetic oils they used in the food, messed everything up.

It was sweet. Like, cloyingly sweet.

Sweet in a way that people over the age of 25 will not want to try. Heck, I’m pretty sure that people over 18 might have a diabetic shock trying to eat it. Worse, both the ice cream and the whipped cream had a strange fatty texture to them that clung to your mouth.

My Verdict: Yikes?

I’ll be honest. I enjoyed the swag outside the cafe more than the cafe itself. This is not a cafe for adults. It’s 100 percent made and marketed towards kids and parents who want to pay a premium price for stuff that your dog wouldn’t even want to eat.

Neither my husband nor I were able to stomach our treats, though we both admitted that the waffles the kids at the next table had looked good. Actually, everything looked great. It just tasted like diabetes. Even my coffee was less like a coffee and more like a thick shake with lard in it.

I loved the concept, but god-DAMN Oreos, you really have to rework what you’re doing. This was not a cafe. This had two “coffee” drinks and the rest were...something else. If you have an extra $20, don’t go to this place. Just get an Oreo tee shirt instead.

If you take a look at my photos, you can tell that I’m a bit queasy. Thank you, Oreo cafe. You have done what drinking 5 Monsters a day could not.

I’m not even mad. I’m impressed.

What The Hell Happened?!

I’ll be honest. I probably should have seen the writing on the wall with this cafe the moment it was in a candy shop. I have been dealing with upscale stores that are pretty, quiet, and awesome. To a point, I may have forgotten that families with kids exist and that kids don’t want to have gourmet truffle fries.

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Recipe Thai Chicken in Green Curry Dave WINTERIDGE

There has been a recent explosion of the demand for interesting and flavoursome dishes from around the World. What I have discovered is that some of these dishes get altered to satisfy different tastes and cultures.

For example, here in France, very spiced food has to be toned down quite a bit - the French do not have a lot of hot spice in their diet - but gradually the food from other cultures has crept into menus.

This past summer we put a Thai Chicken dish on our menu with a warning that it was slightly hot! After a slow start the locals soon came to appreciate the different flavouring that went into the dish and some even asked for it to be made hotter!

The following recipe is my version of a Thai Green Chicken Curry which I cooked wrapped in a fresh banana leaf and served with jasmine rice. I realise that to create really authentic Thai dishes you need the proper ingredients and experience in the culture and cuisine of the country. I use a good quality paste which, in my opinion, contains many of the flavours that you would expect.

Here’s what you need for 4 portions 4 skinless chicken breast fillets 2cm piece of root ginger 1 red bell pepper 1 onion 1 clove garlic handful of fresh mangetout 4 banana leaves each about 20cm square 400ml coconut milk 1 dessert spoon sugar 100ml dry white wine 1 dessert spoon Thai Green Curry Paste Jasmine rice to serve with 1)Place each chicken breast in the middle of the banana leaf. Thinly slice some of the pepper and ginger and place on top of the chicken. Wrap the leaf around the chicken and either steam or put in à pre-heated oven at 180C for about 15 minutes. The chicken will take slightly longer to cook because of the banana leaf wrap.

2)In a saucepan drizzle a little olive oil and add chopped onion and garlic, sliced pepper and ginger and the mangetout. Put over a medium heat to start cooking down the vegetables.

3)Turn up the heat, add the curry paste, sugar and wine. Let the alcohol cook out of the wine and reduce it by half.

4)Add the coconut milk and turn the heat down. Allow to simmer and then divide between the four plates when ready to serve. fooddrinkmagazine.com

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Have Restaurant Reviews Become Weaponised?

Dave WINTERIDGE

There is no doubt that we live in a world whereby you are only as good as the last review you received. Last year I wrote an article for this magazine about the modern review culture and how we have become obsessed by, not only leaving reviews, but by reading them and digesting them as if our lives depended on it.

The point at which I draw the line is when I get asked to leave a review or comment regarding the packaging or the state of the delivery driver’s van.

But, unfortunately, this culture has led some people to become malicious in their opinions and leave comments that they know will do harm to someone’s business. This is how review culture has become weaponised and we need to do something about it now!

There are plenty of restaurant review sites Let me explain. There are plenty of restaurant review sites out there but two of the biggest are possibly Tripadvisor and Google. Tripadvisor has certainly tightened its criteria over recent years and has made an attempt to give less credence to onetime reviewers. The one-time review can work both ways, in that a restaurant owner may ask his friends to give him some 5 star reviews.

Conversely, it can also be used against the restaurateur if, for example, someone has an unjustified reason to be negative or works for a competitor restaurateur.

Tripadvisor believes that if a person has done several varied reviews there is a greater chance that their reviews will be genuine. But what measures do they take to ensure that a review is genuine and that that person has actually eaten at the restaurant? The answer to that, in my experience, is very little. Some years ago my own restaurant was the subject of a malicious review attack. I knew that these people had never set foot inside my restaurant but when I confronted Tripadvisor their response was that the review matched their criteria.

I even asked the “reviewer” to tell me what they had eaten, because there was no mention of this in the review.

So the next malicious review picked several menu items from my published menu, but again Tripadvisor stated that the review matched their criteria. As a business owner it is extremely difficult to get these comments removed and, although we can respond to each review, most potential customers are only scanning through in order to get an overall picture and are not interested in reasons and responses.

The biggest culprit, however, is Google.

An anonymous person, bored on a sunday afternoon, can flick through a series of businesses and leave a “rating” from 1-star to 5-star. They don’t have to leave a comment or their name or actually have any knowledge of that business. Or perhaps they do have knowledge of that business and just want to do it harm! fooddrinkmagazine.com

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If you were so minded it would be possible to lower the average score of a business very quickly.

We have a situation locally where I live whereby a restaurant owned and operated by a couple is being targeted by local people who do not like that they are not French. À series of negative comments and 1star ratings has severely affected the business and the well-being of those who operate it to the extent that they have closed temporarily. These small-minded, pathetic individuals will never be brought to task because the review websites make it too easy for this to occur. Their motivation is not to highlight restaurants but to gain as many reviews as possible making them the go-to site for travellers and in return earning extra advertising revenue – sounds cynical; maybe, maybe not.

A friend and local restaurateur is so incensed by the unfairness of the system that she wants to start a movement against the big companies.

What people don’t realise is how hard we work within the hospitality industry and that our business is not just a job; it is a way of life and occupies practically every waking moment of our time. Most importantly we are human with families, personal issues, good days and bad days. As restaurateurs we don’t have a choice of whether or not we are included on review websites. So, we want to call on Tripadvisor and Google and all the others to tighten their criteria.

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Firstly, do away with the rating system.

Do not allow anyone to just rate a restaurant, make them write a structured opinion that includes information about the place where they have eaten. If the restaurateur does not believe that the person has actually visited their establishment, make the customer provide evidence, whether it be a till receipt or photos taken at the time.

Secondly, if the restaurateur has a genuine grievance, investigate it properly. Don’t just state that it fits with your criteria or current algorithm.

Thirdly, if a restaurateur wants to have their listing suspended temporarily or removed permanently, let them. I know the argument is that the customer should be able to see a balanced overview of the businesses available but for some business owners the pressure is too much particularly when suffering a negative run of reviews.

Unfortunately, I know it will be too much to ask for the small-minded idiots who deliberately leave bad reviews in the hope of harming someone’s business to change their ways. But I think that as restaurateurs we should call out these people and not let them hide in the shadows and remain anonymous. If just one person reading this thinks twice about how they word their next review and the impact that it might have, then my work is started.

The Power of a Review Gilberto Preciado Meza

You’re hungry so you decide to go to that new place you have wanted to try. You go in and eat something new, something different from your usual meals, then the time for you to let the world know how this new food place did, has arrived. Or at least the world that is your followers. If you’re elite on Yelp then the amount of followers can range from hundreds of followers to thousands. And they are all there to read what you think about the new food place. To follow your advice should they go? Should they avoid the place at all costs? Is the new place the place for them to spend their hard earned money?

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All the answers to their questions are given by you. They all have their notifications on so when you post your review, they can be one of the first people to read it. So for that small or large circle your review has a lot of power a lot of influence a lot of meaning. But for the restaurant it carries even more importance. If it’s a bad review and you have a small following then its ok your impact is minimal, just another unsatisfied customer. On the other hand if you’re Elite on Yelp and have a large following, the impact of your review is substantial.

With one review you can potentially affect the restaurant in a very important way. That bad review could potentially mean a loss of profit. A loss of customers, and those customers have been lost without even walking into the restaurant. Your review alone was the whole reason why they never even bother to go there. And restaurants know this and have ways to try and avoid having a bad review from any of their customers.

To the restaurant any customers could be a factor in losing new customers in an already fragile restaurant economy. Some restaurants go as far as posting signs asking you to let them try and fix the problem before you post a negative review.

Restaurants know that a bad review can affect them in an expensive way.

The real problem that restaurants face and can’t really do anything about is our personal opinion. They can’t do anything about our personal taste, our taste buds decide what we like and dislike and the restaurants can’t do a single thing about that. They can cook a plate to perfection, hitting all the right temperatures.

Using all the right portions plating it like it’s about to go into a photoshoot and it can all be ruined by our taste buds. An ingredient in that perfect recipe can be something we don’t like and that will ruin our whole dinner experience. And once we feel like our dinner has been ruined we jump on our social media and let our whole following know that we hate the place.

We start to point out all the little things that we ignored until our night felt ruined. We start to notice the wait for the table was long. The waiter took a few minutes too long to bring the appetizers or the drinks. All of a sudden everything is horrible and it’s all due to something the restaurant can’t fix, our taste buds.

That’s why we need to keep in mind that our words have that much power and can affect a place in a big way.

We need be careful what we type. We need to make sure that what we say in the reviews is correct or at the very least make sure we say it’s our personal opinion. If once that’s clear your followers still want to avoid that place or still want to give it a try then it’s entirely their decision. fooddrinkmagazine.com

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TOP 10 THAI CUISINES AND RESTAURANTS Bernard MOUNT

Top 10 cuisines to try when in Thailand Thai cuisines are some of the tastiest foods in the world. Most of the people have had their fair share of stories when it comes to Thai food. One thing for sure is that once you eat Thai food, you will always long for more. The cuisines have a unique balance of sweetness, salt, and acidity. A single dish can be sweet, spicy, and hot at the same time, awakening taste buds. Thinking about it makes my mouth water.

Some of the critical ingredients are fish sauce, palm sugar, lime, and coconut. Sugar is added as a condiment to spicy foods. It is common to use hot pepper for spicy hotness in foods. Below are the top 10 Thai cuisines you should try.

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Phat kaphrao Most locals take this dish when one has not made up his mind on what to eat.

This rice and minced pork dish can be eaten any time of the day. The meal comprises minced fatty stirfried pork accompanied with jasmine rice. The meal has other variations, such as chicken, fish, and beef.

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Iudexvivorum, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Pad Thai

This is the most famous Thai food, and it is suitable for beginners. It is made up of various classic ingredients like bean sprout and tofu.

This food has a sweet-sour taste and is a bit funky (due to fish).

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Som Tam

Originates from the North Eastern of Thailand. It has a sweet, savory taste eaten with dried shrimp, rice noodles, peanuts, and crab.

The salad is usually papayabased, but mangoes and cucumber can be used as an alternative. Traditionally Som Tam is eaten with sticky rice.

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Iudexvivorum, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Khao Pad

Khao Pad is fried rice, a favorite for many of the locals. The meal is made with jasmine rice which has a sweet smell to it. The fried rice is made up of meat of one’s choice mixed with garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, shrimp, beef, or crab, or chicken.

Geoffreyrabbit, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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Rat Nar It is a street meal comprising of vegetables with gravy on top of flat rice noodles. It is stocked up with pilings of your choice from sliced chilies, fish sauce, or sugar. Of course, meat is always present, pork, seafood or chicken.

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Iudexvivorum, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Takeaway, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Khao Soy

Khao Soy is a curry filled with yellow curry and coconut milk topped over egg noodles then covered with crisp fried noodles. It has a sweet, spicy, and sour taste.

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Khao Man Kai It is a typical Thai street food made of rice and boiled chicken accompanied by winter melon soup, soy sauce, and sliced cucumber.

No machine-readable author provided. Terence assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons 44 I

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Gaeng Keow Wan Gai

KGaeng Keow Wan Gai is one of the most popular green curries in Thailand. It is a mix of spice blend and herbs prepared with coconut milk.

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Massaman curry

This is a curry is believed to have originated from outside Thailand. Spices used in this curry are rarely used when preparing curries. It is a flavorful curry with a spicy and tangy taste from tamarind and coconut cream.

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10 Thailand restaurants you must visit Thailand is known for its mouthwatering foods, from salads to curries. This is why you need to the best restaurants they have. The experience of eating in a Thai restaurant is like no other from the food, ambiance, and service. The buildings are full of culture and aesthetically pleasing. I have sampled some of the best restaurants that you cannot afford to miss out on.

1.Eat me Bangkok 2.Blue Elephant, Bangkok 3.Café de Amis, Pattaya 4.Goji Kitchen and Bar, Bangkok 5.Anchan vegetarian restaurant 6.Tealicious Bangkok 7.Siam Supper Club 8.David’s Kitchen 9.Sam’s Steak and Grill 10.Red Sky bar

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Milwaukee’s Breweries: A Local Guide

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Going French in the UK Dave WINTERIDGE

The last time I visited Britain was in the spring of 2018, well before anyone had heard of Covid, travel restrictions and negative tests. I have lived and worked outside the UK for the past 14 years, rarely visiting in that time, but still have family who live there. The purpose of my visit this time was primarily to see my parents, both of whom are getting on in years – but please don’t mention that to them!

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My wife and I have spent the last 30 years or so within the hospitality industry so any chance we get to visit somewhere new is also an opportunity to check out what’s happening on the local restaurant scene. But for this visit my mother could not resist booking us a lunch at a French Bistrot – did somebody say, “selling sand to the Arabs”? We live and work in France and run our own restaurant here.

So it was that on a wet Thursday lunchtime we found ourselves going to Bistrot Pierre, established 1994. On a good day there is outdoor seating on the balcony that goes round this circular building situated on the promenade of Weston-Super-Mare, but we were unfortunate with the British weather, it was lashing it down.

However, the view of the pier and out to sea is still worth it.

First impressions on walking in are good. You could believe you were in a French bistrot with some traditional signage and artwork and adverts for Ricard etc. One interesting sign sitting on the hostess station was that all staff are fully vaccinated and each has to take a lateral flow test before their shift – definitely a sign of the times but certainly reassuring. We were led upstairs to the Bistrot, downstairs is a café/bar, and offered a table in the window overlooking the pier. And then, for a while at least, it started to go wrong.

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Run DMC’s “It’s Like That” at an inappropriate volume and a young waitress coming across asking “how are we today, guys?” All of a sudden this was more TGI Friday, which I used to love, than French Bistrot. There seems to be a training manual kicking around the hospitality industry in the UK that states that all young waiting staff must be overly informal with their customers and call them guys.

Hang on a minute, this is a lunchtime in September, look around at your clientele, assess the average age and then ask if ‘90’s rap and calling everyone “guys” is the right image.

But before U2 had hardly started following Run DMC the fire alarms went off! In true British style, or French, we all sat there! It appears that a customer had inadvertently hit the fire alarm button next to the front door thinking it was an automatic door opener – despite all the fire notices surrounding it!

Unfortunately, after some time it was evident that the system would not reset and we were asked to leave the restaurant and wait outside.

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For anyone who has spent any time within the hospitality industry we all know that fire alarms are just some of the daily inconveniences we face and the staff at Bistrot Pierre were professional and understanding in their handling of the situation. After being allowed back into the restaurant the waiting staff offered to have recooked any food that had been left on tables when we had to leave. So, let’s talk about the food.

The signature dish of Bistrot Pierre is Boeuf Bourguignon, a classic French bistro favourite, which none of our party had. The menu certainly has a nod towards traditional French eating and includes a Prix Fixe menu for 2 courses and 3 courses at lunchtime.

French favourites such as Deep Fried Brie or Mushroom Fricassée as starters and classic Steak Frites, Salmon Nicoise or Duck Breast as mains. I had Prawns in Chilli and Garlic to start. Four good size prawns in a very tasty tomato based sauce with a good level of spicing and served with some bread. I followed this with an 8oz sirloin steak topped with a very French garlic and herb butter. I ordered the steak very rare (not blue) and it arrived à little shy of medium-rare, simply garnished with a bunch of watercress and some French Fries. Nice steak, good butter, thoroughly enjoyable. I skipped dessert, shared some of my wife’s Brownie and watched my father plough his way through an enormous Strawberry Pavlova!

There is a staffing crisis within the English hospitality industry at present which is not helping restaurants when it comes to building à team, either front of house or in the kitchen, and it is starting to show. If Bistrot Pierre can improve the service training and fix the music selection it could be superb. Don’t get me wrong, the service was very good but there is a need to develop those staff that they have and, hopefully, keep them for a while. Bistrot Pierre is a chain restaurant and they have several outlets situated throughout England and Wales. fooddrinkmagazine.com

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TAZZY CANDY IS BRINGING LOLLIPOPS BACK AND LEAVING SUGAR BEHIND

Tazzy Candy, a women-owned, betterfor-you candy company, announced today the launch of their new lollipop line. Tazzy Candy lollipops have no sugar and are made exclusively with natural flavors and colors from real fruit and vegetable juice. The lollipops are vegan, gluten-free, kosher, and only 12.5 calories per pop. Founded by Delia Hughes and Lindsay Simon, the two 29-year old entrepreneurs are on a mission to disrupt the better-for-you candy space with alternative sweets that are satisfying, long-lasting, and full of vibrant, unconventional flavors.

“Our obsession with candy started over ten years ago when Delia and I met in college while studying Food Science in a candy laboratory,” said Simon, co-founder of Tazzy Candy. “We were candy fanatics, but also into health and wellness, which is a conflicting combo. Delia would buy “better-for-you” candy and complain they lacked flavor and had funky textures. My issue was I always ate snacks too quickly. We were just never satisfied,” continued Simon. “One night, we found ourselves brainstorming solutions, just as we had back in the candy laboratory,” said Hughes. “We would meet on Tuesday nights in my apartment and craft recipes from scratch, taking notes on what worked and what didn’t. Finally, after years of countless kitchen nightmares and late nights, we had a product that was juicy and long-lasting, without the use of sugar. So, we took a leap of faith, left our corporate jobs, and launched Tazzy Candy.

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” Tazzy Candy’s portfolio consists of a range of lollipops that will surprise you. Their unconventional flavors are curated specifically for an adult palate with recipes that balance sweetness and allow the natural fruit flavors to shine through. These ingredients leave a uniquely clean mouthfeel that is beloved by the Tazzy fan following..

Tazzy launched with the classic lollipop format to bring fun and nostalgia back into the lives of adult candy lovers. “During the day, we’ll eat these lollipops as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up, but by night, you’ll find us crafting jazzed-up cocktails with these pops as stirrers,” said Hughes.

The two women have gained a lot of attention due to their innovative candy and their differentiated branding. Tazzy Candy celebrates individualism by creating an eyecatching persona on the front of each product. The mission behind these characters is to embrace a diversity of style, personality, and flair. When choosing a name for the company, the founders looked for something that exemplified their own character.

Thus, they landed on Tazzy. Tazzy is short for the Tasmanian Devil, a feisty, strong-willed creature often underestimated due to its small, unassuming appearance. The duo looks to this name for inspiration as they continue to tackle the challenges of being two young female entrepreneurs.

Lindsay and Delia have launched three lollipop products: Sour Watermelon, Spicy Mango, and the “OG Mix,” a mash-up of Lemon, Mango, and Pink Grapefruit.

Next month, Tazzy Candy will be launching “Do Good” Acai Berry Lollipops in October for Breast Cancer Awareness month. The “Do Good” pops were created in partnership with the duo’s two friends, Jacquie and Kerry, who were diagnosed with Metastatic Breast Cancer in 2020, and METAvivor, a non-profit organization dedicated to Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) research and awareness. 10% of the net proceeds of each “Do Good” purchase will be donated to METAvivor.

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With more innovations on the way this year, these two women are buckling up for a sweet, sour, and probably even spicy candy adventure.

Find their products online at Tazzy.co, Amazon, Snackmagic.com, or at The Goods Mart. To learn more, please visit tazzy.co and follow Tazzy Candy on Instagram at @tazzycandy.

SOVI NON-ALCOHOLIC WINES CONTINUES GLOBAL EXPANSION TO CANADA

Sovi Wine Co., a Sommelier-owned nonalcoholic wine company based in Napa, California announced today the expansion of Sovi distribution to Canada. Canadian connoisseurs can now purchase Sovi Rosé at a variety of retail locations in Calgary and through Not Wasted for direct home delivery.

“Our mission has always been to bring delicious non-alcoholic California wines to the world, one location at a time, and we are honored to add Canada to that list.” said Julia Littauer,Co-Founder of Sovi and former Sommelier “Canada’s sophisticated wellness culture makes it a great market for nonalcoholic beverages, and we are excited to offer our premium wines to a new market.”

Crafted with premium, sustainably grown grapes from California vineyards, Sovi Rosé is bubbly yet dry with aromas of pink grapefruit, cherry, and watermelon. From harvest to bottling, Sovi partners with winemakers using traditional methods, achieving the flavor, texture and balance you would expect from a traditional glass of wine.

Sovi then uses a state-of-the-art technology to remove the alcohol from their wines, while preserving those delicate aromas and flavors that make each varietal unique. The process of crafting Sovi’s premium, non-alcoholic wine embodies all the history, the tradition, the ritual of making a classic bottle of infamous California wine, but without the alcohol.

Consumers can purchase a Sovi Sparkling Rosé 4-pack of 250ML cans for $20.00 to be delivered directly to their door through drinksovi.com in the U.S. and Not Wasted in Canada. For the full list of retailers in Calgary, please visit drinksovi.com and follow Sovi on Instagram at @drinksovi.com. fooddrinkmagazine.com

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