APRIL 2014
DEALS ON WHEELS F O O D B Y P H O N E ’ S M O N T H LY N E W S L E T T E R
SPECIAL PROMOTIONS VIA VAI
THE BLACK SWAn
THE Cedar
Order a Full Baguette Sandwich and get a Half one for Free
Order Over 599 THB and get a Free Veggie Sandwich
Cornerstone
MADAM T
INDIAN HUT
Buy 3 Pay 2 Australia Wines “THORN CLARK”
Order over 499 THB and get a Free Sago pearls in coconuts milk with cantaloupe (146-82)
order any Two Curries( Vegetarian or Non Vegetarian) and get SAFFRON PEAS PULAOO
BEIRUT
INDIAN HOST
Order over 599 THB and Get a Free Chicken Wings provencal
Order Over 599 Baht and get 2 pieces of Vegetable Samosas
Order over 599 THB and get a FREE Pasta Arrabiata
FEATURED RESTAURANT FIREHOUSE Located next to Seasons Boutique Hotel opposite Q Bar at the top of Sukhumvit Soi 11, Firehouse is owned by two American expatriates long based in Asia – Eric Roose and Peter Oh. In part, Firehouse is inspired by the mutual respect of the hard working middle class ethic of the firefighting community in the U.S., and is driven by the owners’ goal to deliver high-quality American comfort foods at a good value to locals and visitors alike. The red brick and wrought iron decor was inspired by the red brick firehouse where the fire fighters worked and lived and their comfort food cuisine has become an American Culinary icon. The pub and restaurant
is home to the largest collection of antique and vintage firefighting memorabilia in the Kingdom, the oldest piece being a 19th Century quilted cotton handed painted Japanese fireman’s jacket from Tokyo. Firefighters are famous for their food which is little wonder as they are cooking for themselves seven days a week. Environments create different food styles, this comfort food style evolved from firefighters from multiethnic backgrounds of Americans. Firefighters would negotiate the menu among themselves then ride the fire truck to buy the raw ingredients. An act of necessity that was an unplanned bonding exercise, if a team of men from different backgrounds could work together smoothly in the relaxed atmosphere of a firehouse kitchen they would work together in the stressful emer-
MALEE
buy 3 juices any flavours, get free Lychee Juice one bottle
Download our FREE app Now! http://bit.ly/FBP-APP 2 winners willok’s recei veRestaurants Bangk Best complimen tary delive redvouc hers to your at at your Fingertips! door
LAST MONTH’S WINNER Rebecca Mok won 4,600 THB voucher with Spanity
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FEATURED RESTAURANT FIREHOUSE gency environment. They never knew which meal would be their last, at the end of the working day they tended to celebrate that they had made it through in one piece. While looking through the menu deciding which dishes to taste I grazed on a bucket of Pickle Os beer battered fried pickles with a side order of ranch dressing. The light batter creates a nice crunch before the sour taste of the pickles balanced by the homemade ranch.
FIREHOUSE Pub & Restaurant 33/26 Sukhumvit Soi 11Bangkok 10110 Phone: +66-2651-3643 www.firehousethailand.com www.facebook.com/Firehouse-Pub-and-Restaurant
Opening Hours :
11.30 am-Midnight (daily)
Credit cards
All major credit cards accepted
:
Price per person without drinks :
THB 350
FBP partner since :
2013
The burger is at the heart of American comfort food. Here they have elevated a simple fast food bite into a dish of quality and sustenance. They achieved this in selecting quality meat, buying it in as prime cuts and grinding it daily inhouse. This put them in control of what goes into the patty as well as enabled them to control consistency in quality and fat to meat ratio. The beef they use is Thai-French from Pom Yam Kham Co-operative Farm who have cross bred cattle with the finest French Charolais and Limosine cattle which are fed chemical-free naturally organic grass with no hormones growth promotants, antibiotics, animal food, imported food or artificial vitamins added to their diet. The beef is aged for a minimum of 30 days before arriving at the restaurant kitchen. The standard Premium Burger boasts a 180 gm patty cooked as requested, served layered with crispy lettuce, a thick slice of fresh tomato, grilled red onion and splash of mayo in a freshly baked Kaiser bun. The assembled burger stands four inches tall on a wooden board and is served with the choice of in house cut potato wedges, French fries or crinkle cut fries which can be substituted with a green salad or onion rings for a supplement of THB 30. Cutlery is placed on the
table as a courtesy but the only way to eat any burger is to grab it with both hands, open wide, bite with gusto and enjoy. For non-beef eaters, there are also a homemade Veggie Burger, Chic Burger and Pan-Asian Pork Burger options on the menu. Next a Cobb Salad, a classic American main dish salad, according to Martha Stewart wins over the most reluctant salad eater. Here the bowl overflows with crispy Romaine lettuce, Iceberg lettuce, chopped grilled chicken breast, crispy bacon, tomato, avocado, cheddar cheese, chopped hard boiled egg, crumbled Gorgonzola bound together with the Firehouse dressing, a pleasing meal for the weight watcher. It’s so fresh the crunch is audible. Tex-Mex is the American comfort food take on Mexican cuisine and is at home in any Firehouse. I tasted their excellent Baja Fish Taco – laid out with pieces of grilled fish, grated cheddar cheese, Pico de Gallo, crispy lettuce presented looking similar to a small pizza a flour tortilla. Fish taco is among the most sought-after fare in Baja due the abundance of marine life in the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean around its coast line. It came to the American table thanks to US college student Ralph Rubio, who fell in love at first bite while on a spring break in San Felipe. He got the recipe from its creator then served his adaptation in the chain of restaurants he went onto open after graduation. When you feel in need a fix of home cooked American comfort food, drop by the Firehouse, their burgers are ringing the bell of many in Bangkok, some say that they are the best in town, but you be the judge of how good they are; I loved them.
RAFIC THE Cedar
personality of the month
”Cedar is very much as it always been when my father opened the first The Cedar in 1977 at 27 Soi Pipat,” says Rafic. “The decor is like a Bedouin tent with a 70’s feel. Bamboo furniture, sand coloured floor tiles and olive jars used as planters. There are framed press cuttings dating from when the original restaurant first opened. He taught me the importance of treating every guest equally, with the same respect as if they were a family friend coming for dinner at or home.” ”Our restaurant customer base is made up of 60% regulars, the rest are recommended by that customer base,” he says. “To ensure they don’t get weary with the same menu we have added a few new signature dishes.” “ For past two years we have expanded our business to increase production of our pita bread which some say are the best in Bangkok,” he says. The secret comes from cooking at high temperatures, this creates steam inside the bread, which causes the flat bread to puff up creating the pocket. It tears comfortably in the hand, the lightly toasted outside contrasts the the soft fluffy interior. Our regular customers often call and ask us to deliver to the home. We don’t have an on sight deli, we don’t deliver so we refer them to Food by Phone who do.” ”We have also expanded to provide outside catering for local community gathering, who invite selected restaurants to set up booths to feed their guests. This gives us the opportunity to network with potential new customers and to project a high profile image of Cedar Restaurant. At these events we serve freshly made pita sandwiches filled with either leg of lamb or falafel for vegetarians.” ”This lead me to think about the concept of pita sandwiches and checking the internet I found that there are many restaurant around the world that only sell them. After discussions with Food by Phone I created a new concept Rafic’s Pockets a selection of six pitta bread sandwiche Eggplant Magic Smoked Eggplant with a yoghurt garlic sauce and salad; Falafel Extravaganza traditional homemade falafel with tahini sauce, salad and the house spicy sauce; Egg Delight a traditional creamy egg salad with a Lebanese touch and;
Three Musketers of Lamb, Chicken or Beef, the meat is marinated, grilled and sliced served with our silky smooth ever popular yoghurt garlic sauce. They are not available from the restaurant, only delivered to your office or home by Food By Phone.” ”The restaurant business has become more and more competitive,” he says, “customers are looking for value for money. No matter how small the item they are ordering they expect the same high level of service. To meet this expectation we must be passionate about what we do, motivate our staff, constantly train them, treat them as if they were of the Cedar family and to respect and maintain the hospitality heritage established by my late father.” ”Mistakes will happen,” he admits, “learn from them and don’t let them happen again. Make sure that every customer leaves the restaurant happy with the service he received. It’s the only way be be sure that they will return, and that’s what is most important to me.”
What to do in Bangkok When? 13th-15th
What? April Songkran
Description
More info?
The three day holiday Maha Songkran, the 13th April is the time of the year when days and nights are of equal length. It’s followed by Nao Day on the 14th April and the new year itself starts on the 15th April. With there has to be a difference on the Eastern seaboard it starts later and ends later in term of sacred celebration, but they don’t wait to start fighting with water, what Songkran is better known for worldwide and a reason why many tourists come to Thailand and this time of year. If getting a soaking is what you are looking for in the hottest month of the year the two major water war zones are Silom Road and Khao San Road. If you don’t want to get wet stay in doors. However without except is fair game to be greeted with sabai dee pimai to have a white powder paste dabbed on you checks and a good soaking.
22nd April 2014, 7-10pm Royal Bangkok Sports Club
Russian Night Charity Concert Tkts THB 800, THB 500 for Students
Under conductor Tan Lochotinan, with soloist Vanessa Benelli-Mosell they will perform three Russian classics, a scene from Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No 2 in C Major by Rachmaninov and Suite for Variety Orchestra by Shostakovich. All proceeds from the concert are going to the Association of Children & Youth for Peace in the Southernmost Provinces of Thailand.
charityconcert.org
26th April 2014, The Ballroom, The Amari Watergate 6.30pm drinks reception
St George’s Society 52nd Annual Ball Tkts THB 3,200 or THB 29,000 for a complete table of 10.)
The evening kicks off with Baron of Beef Ceremony a grand parade through the Ballroom accompanied by the Ghurkhas. The British Ambassador Mark Kent will be invited up to taste the Beef and declare it fit to eat. A very traditional ceremony for St George’s Society events across the world. A five course gourmet English dinner finishing with Port.and Stilton, free flow wine and beer a traditional English sing-a-long and charity raffles. A St George’s Pub in the corner and Premiere League football on the big screen.
stgball2014@gmail.com
6th April 2014 12.30pm Royal Bangkok Sports Club
Chakri Cup
It’s little known and rarely spoken about but there has been horse racing in Bangkok for the last 100 years. Meeting on turf are every Sunday alternating between RBSC or as it’s sometimes know the Pratunam Racecourse and the Army Turf Club in the Dusit district. The Chakri Cup is one of three major races in Bangkok and the second most valuable with prize money of THB 1,345,000
2-27 April 2014, Tuesday -Sunday 3-8pm WTF Cafe & Gallery, 7 Sukhumvit Soi 51,
Conflicted Visions
WTF gallery is on two (2nd and 3rd ) floors of a typical Bangkok shop-house located on a small alley minutes from the buzziest area of the capital. Their aim is to bring great art to the people of Bangkok; to make it accessible, uplifting and transformative. Since 2010, political unrest in Thailand has given rise to unprecedented public expression, with almost every demographic in the country voicing often long-repressed concerns and grievances. This is contemporary political art exhibition titled ‘Conflicted Visions’ by 7 Thai artists Prakit Kobkijwattana, Sutee Kunavichayanont, Manit Sriwanichpoom, Pisitakun Kuntalang, Jakapan Vilasineekul and Miti Ruangkritya
Tel 0-2662-6246 somrak@wtfbangkok.com
22-23 April 10am-9pm Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC), Bangna
Bangkok International Gift Fair and Houseware Fair 2014
One of ASEAN’s leading international trade fairs for trendy gifts and lifestyle products recognised as Thailand’s excellent platform for designers and new entrepreneurs to show their latest collections.
Tel 0-2507-8309 big@ditp.go.th www.bigandbih.com