The New Nation - Internet Edition

Cuisine of Thailand at Westin Hotel again

Staff Reporter

Enjoying a Thai meal in Thai way will be very easy for the city dwellers, at Taste restaurant of The Westin Dhaka.

After success of Taste of Thailand The Westin Dhaka is bringing back Thai food festival 'Cuisine of Thailand' from May 3 to 12.

Two guest chefs Thongchai Khutanon and Rassamee Pratrairaj from The Westin Grand Sukhumvit, Bangkok, Thailand will be showcasing their much revered creations, a result of pure, clean flavors, melded with traditional accents, only in Taste - the all day dining restaurant of The Westin Dhaka.

This was disclosed at a press conference at the Westin Hotel in the city yesterday.

At the press conference, Calvin Stevenson, Executive Assistant Manager, The Westin Dhaka, ATM Hafizullah, Director of Sales and Marketing, Gerard Wallace, Executive Chef, Guest Chef Thongchai Khutanon and Rassamee Pratrairaj, from The Westin Grand Sukhumvit, Bangkok were present.

The Westin Dhaka authorities urged the Bangladeshi guests to delight their taste buds with authentic Thai cuisines prepared by the guest chefs.

They said Chef Thongchai's cooking style is drawn from his deep passion for foods and appreciation of the art in its preparation. He is a renowned name in Bangkok for his outstanding culinary skills. Chef Rassamee is an acclaimed chef, well-known for authentic and innovative cuisine alike.

The Westin Dhaka authorities also said Thai food offers a variety of flavors and taste, with enthusiastic use of herbs, spices and fresh ingredients. Thai food is famed for its balance and harmony, an exiting combination of five fundamental tastes - hot, sweet, sour, salty and bitter - brings contrasting yet complementing flavors and textures to each dish. Coconut milk, sea food, and fruit also play a key part in Thai Cuisine.

What could be the better way to start other than refreshing salads and soups? Enjoy an array of revitalizing salads and starters from a range of Sour and Tangy Fruit Salad (Yum Pollamai), Spicy Chicken, Shrimp and Glass Noodle Salad (Yum Woonsen Gai and Goong), Seafood Salad with Thai Herbs (Plar Talay) andSpicy Beef Salad with Ground Roasted Rice and Chilli Powder (Larb Nua). Why not try Seafood Combination Soup with Lemongrass, Lime Juice and Chilli (Tom Yam Poo Tak), Beancurd Soup with Seaweed (Tom Jerd Tao Hoo Salai Talay)?

For the food lovers, there is an array of popular Thai dishes to tantalize your taste buds - Chicken Green Curry (Gaeng Kiew Wan Gai), Spicy Beef Curry (Gaeng Phad Nua), Stir Fried Shrimp and Broccoli (Broccoli Phad Goong), Stir Fried Fish with Thai Yellow Curry (Pal Phad Pong Karee), Deep Fried Shrimp Toast (Kanom Pang Na Goong), Crab Fried Rice (Kao Phad Poo), Stir Fried Beancurd with Sweet and Sour Sauce (Priew Wan Tao Hoo), Steamed Jasmine Rice ( Kao Hommali )

A Thai meal is usually followed by a variety of fresh-cut fruits and sweet treats. More elaborate sweet desserts such as Pumpkin Custard, Water Chesnut in Coconut Milk, Mango Sticky Rice, Black Sticky Rice with Coconut, or Banana in Syrup or Yam in Coconut Syrup.

Poor knowledge in english, maths responsible for low pass rate

Staff Reporter

Poor knowledge of the students on English and Mathematics is the major cause for low pass rate in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination, said chairman of the Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board, Comilla, Professor Atiqur Rahman.

"Most of the unsuccessful students in SSC examinations do not pass in English and Mathematics. Now it is a crisis in the schools of the rural areas where efficient teachers on English and Mathematics are not available", he said while addressing as the Chief guest at the 82nd founding anniversary of GM Hat High School in Feni on Thursday.

He suggested the caretaker government to recruit talented teachers especially for English and Mathematics.

The founding anniversary of GM Hat High School was celebrated on Thursday. The new managing committee of the school took the charge on that day. Meritorious students and winners of different games in the school were awarded during the ceremony.

The new president of the managing committee ATM Golam Kabir presided over the function while Comilla Education board Deputy School Inspector M Nazrul Islam Sarkar, Industrialists AKM shahidullah Patowari, founder of the school M wahizullah Bhuiyan and The Daily Vorer Kagaj Chief Reporter Ayub Bhuiyan, also spoke.

3 held with fake certificates

Staff Reporter

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested three people with some fake certificates from a market in Mirpur area in the city on Friday night.

The arrested are Mojahidul Islam Chhoton, Iqbal Hossain Nahid and Towhidul Islam Nayan.

A team of RAB-4, personnel got information that a group of fake certificates makers illegally made different type of certificates and sold in the area.

As soon as RAB-4 menbers from Savar raided Chhoton Design House at Mirpur Cooperative Market and recovered the huge fake certificates of schools and colleges and BRTA.

RAB handed over them to Mirpur Police Station.

A case was filed in this connection.

Ulema urged to work for uplift

UNB, Sylhet

Foreign Adviser Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury urged an imam delegation from Sylhet to provide guidance to people and lead them along the path of development.

He was speaking to a large delegation of Imams of the mosques of Sylhet and ulema from the region who called on him at Sylhet circuit house on Friday.

The Foreign Adviser told them that the imams and ulema of Sylhet have a special responsibility in this regard as Sylhet is known as the land of the enlightened holy men Hazrat Shahjalal® and Hazrat Shah Paran ®.

"They spread Islam in these parts as the great faith of enlightenment and tolerance. We owe it to their legacy to spread those messages," the Foreign Adviser said.

Thanking the Imams for their constant prayers and urgings on the people of Sylhet to produce more boro, Dr Iftekhar said "The government appreciates that your work contributed to the bumper harvest in Boro we are expecting this season in Sylhet, a region where traditionally a lot of land usually remained uncultivated in the past."

He expressed the hope that in a similar fashion, the imams would provide leadership in development efforts.

The Foreign Adviser noted that the current foreign policy of Bangladesh was emphasizing relationship with the Asian countries which included Islamic states "from where we receive remittances, investments and moral support."

He said Bangladesh had recently signed several lobour-export agreements with the Islamic Gulf countries and added that he would travel to Oman to sign another one with that country.

Dr. Iftekhar Chowdhury further observed: "Hazrat Shah Jalal ® had always preached love and understanding. Those values form the essential ingredients of Islam. We must not engender negative opinion against anyone just because he thinks differently."

As Foreign Adviser, he assured them that in the international arena Bangladesh would always stand by causes close to Muslim hearts.

As a member of the government, he also underscored that "the government would not promulgate any law contrary to the tenets of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah."

The meeting was attended by Sylhet Divisional President of Imam Samity Maulana Shah Nazrul Islam, President of Sylhet Metropolitan Unit of Imam Samity and the Imam of Sheikhghat Mosque Maulana Abdullah Ansar, President of Syhet District unit and Imam of Shah Jalal University Mosque Maulana Matiur Rahman, Imam of Kudratullah Mosque Maulana Qari Jamir Uddin, Maulana Habib Ahmed Shihab, Secretary General of Metropolitan unit of Imam Samity Maulana Ehsan Uddin, Mufti Maulana Mofizur Rahman and Adviser to the Imam Samity and the President of Sylhet Press Club Muktabis un Nur.

3-day potato fair in May 7-9 in city

UNB, Dhaka

A three-day national-level fair aimed at promoting the consumption of potato among people will be held May 7-9 at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre (BCFCC), as there has been reaped a bumper harvest of this food item.

The potato fair, organized by the Canteen Stores Department (CSD) of Defense in association with the Ministry of Agriculture and UN food agency FAO, will be inaugurated at a state-level function at the Hall of Fame of BCFCC on May 7.

A press conference will be held at 12 noon on May 5 at Trust Milanayatan adjacent to Captain's World for declaration of the Potato Campaign 2008, a Defense Ministry release said Saturday.

Chief of Army Staff General Moeen U Ahmed has taken the initiative to campaign about more consumption of potato with a point of view that a move towards habituating potatoes with rice could certainly reduce excessive pressure on rice and also could save a huge amount of foreign currency that goes for rice import.

The release said the campaign is not only directed to promoting consumption of potato over bumper production this year but also with the declaration of United Nation's 'Potato Year' 2008.

The campaign has been organized at a great magnitude to support the government's contingency while overcoming the almost inevitable crisis the country's potato farmers are likely to confront, the release said.

"A three-million-ton additional production of potato has virtually pushed the farmers into uncertainty as they think this additional production could not be consumed before their produce is rotten," it said.

It is being expected that the campaign will create the right motion for more and immediate consumption of potato by all people of the country, thus saving the farmers from the presumed disaster.