The New Nation - Internet Edition

BUSINESS REPORT

Finance and Planning Adviser Dr AB Mirza Md Azizul Islam, inaugurated 'Taste of Thailand,' the Thai Food Festival as the chief guest at The Westin Grand Ballroom Saturday evening.

The festival will be continued at Westin's all day dining restaurant Taste from up to March 18, 2008 for dinner.

Guests can enjoy the sophisticated and authentic taste of Thai food exclusively prepared by a group of imported chefs from Thailand. They can encounter not only the delicious cuisine but also the atmosphere specially created for your pleasure by a cultural troupe from Thailand who will demonstrate the traditional Thai way of life.

What could be the better way to start other than refreshing salads and soups? Salads are fiery, aromatic and crispy, with grilled meat or fish, fresh fruit or vegetables, chili peppers and leafy spices. Dressings often combine sweet, sour and spicy, mixing together ingredients such as tamarind, lime juice, fish sauce, vinegar, fresh basil or cilantro leaves and sugar. Guests can enjoy an array of revitalising salads and starters from a range of sweet soy & ginger salmon roll & Red Chilli Nahn Jim, Fish Cake, Fried Tofu, Spicy Minced Chicken Salad, Vegetable Spring Roll. Why not try Thai Seafood Broth or hot and spicy Tom Tam King soup?

Guests can take a new course in dinner, a Thai dinner usually consists of a number of seasoned dishes and condiments served with rice. Rice is the centerpiece of the meal, and all dishes balance each other in flavor and texture. For example, in a green curry, the sharp, piquant chilies and spices and eggplant are tempered by sweet coconut milk and palm sugar. Thai foods have strong, hot flavors. They're marked by a wide range of tastes, textures, temperatures and colors, which are balanced to provide variety and harmony in a meal. An ideal Thai meal balances spicy, sour, salty, sweet, bitter and hot sensations, while also pleasing the palate, nose and eye. Try chef's exquisite Chilli Duck with Holy Basil, Green Curry, Jungle Crab Curry & Coriander.

A Thai meal is usually followed by a variety of fresh-cut fruits. More elaborate sweet desserts such as pumpkin custard, ice cream topped with peanuts, Lychee Sticky Rice with Coconut Milk or Banana/Plum Syrup or Spicy Glutinous Pearl.

The festival will certainly inspire the food lover to elevate their senses of food and culture. Engage in various activities of the "Taste of Thailand" event during 9-18 March 2008 at the Westin Dhaka, including; Thai Food Buffet Dinner daily from 9-18 March 2008 and also win round trip ticket to Thailand.

During the festival the culinary experts will also coach how to prepare authentic Thai Cuisine among around 50 local chefs for 4-day from March 9, as well as how to do live culinary performance The art of cooking Thai food could be as old as the Kingdom itself, which is more than 7 centuries. Such skills have been passed from one generation to another, and have been improved and elaborated from time to time. Ingredient preparation techniques and cutting, shaping and marinating methods are important preliminary stages before frying, grilling, stewing, steaming or roasting.

The Food Festival is jointly brought by The Westin Dhaka and The Royal Thai Embassy. Channel-I the popular TV channel, ICE Today the leading life style magazine are the media partners, where as Rashed Kanchan Corporation is the event partner and GMG and Thai Airways International is the Airline partner.