March 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
S P E CI A L P R O M O T I O N S Kuppadeli
Indian Hut
Al NAFOORA
order any Two Curries ( Vegetarian or Non Vegetarian) and get 2 FREE pieces of samosa
order over 599 baht and get a free Hummus
Sunrise Tacos
Olivie Cafe
The Black swan
order over 599 baht and get a free slice of apple or pumpkin pie
order over 499THB Baked Spinach With Cheese (Small Size)
Order a Full Baguette Sandwich and get a Half one for Free
ViA VAI
Le LAPIN
Order over 599 THB and get a FREE Pasta Arrabiata
Order 1 Big Size sandwich or more and get a Free Small Chicken Mayo or Tuna Sandwich
Receive 15% discount on Sanwiches & Salad, Burgers & Salad
*1 Free Sandwich per order only
BANGKOK BURGER COMPANY
2 Regular Burgers + Shoestring Fries + Chiken Wings * ONLY 599 THB! * (Valid everyday from 6 PM)
FEATURED RESTAURANT Swiss Choice
Neuchâtel, Jura, and Berne that gained Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) in 2001. These
daunting challenge,” says Michel. “The journey
accreditation means that the cheese maker is
started over five years ago. Having decided to im-
grazing the right cows in the right pastures of
port Swiss cheese into Thailand it took nearly a
the region. Every stage of the production is con-
year to apply for the appropriate import license.
trolled to ensure that what is promised on the la-
The bureaucracy involved was daunting as I was
bel is delivered in its taste. I have tried importing
required to have a separate license for each type
many different types of cheeses from my region
of cheese I wanted to import which is only valid
to determine what appeals to the tastes of our
for two years.”
Thai and expatriate customers both western and Japanese. That experience enabled me to reduce
”I come from the French speaking part of Swit-
it to a choice of seven types of cheese made by
zerland where Gruyere is regarded as the King
manufacturers I know personally and whose
of Swiss Cheese. A hard yellow cows cheese
quality I can guarantee. They are the best exam-
that originated in the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud,
ples of their cheese type available in Thailand.”
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FEATURED RESTAURANT Swiss Choice
”I am the only importer of Tomme Vaudois” he says. “A raw cow’s cheese matured for 8 weeks, intensely flavoured with the flora of the valley where the milk is sourced. It is fresh, grassy and aromatic with a gentle tang, the texture is rich, oozy and yielding. At our grand opening attended by the Swiss Ambassador we were both proud that finally these cheese was legally imported into the Kingdom of Thailand.” ”When we started the business we were just a cheese importer,” he says.” Customer curios-
driven exclusively by customer demand.”
ity of our quality products inspired their passion to learn more, what to do with cheese and the
”We are located close to Sukhumvit’s Japa-
best ways to cook them. This lead to us intro-
nese community, “ he says. “For them Swit-
ducing a couple of tasting tables on the ground
zerland is a trendy wedding destination or the
floor driven by demand from the local Asian
location for a two week holiday. They come to
community. We then went onto develop recipes
the cheese shop to relive that emotion. As many
that as a child I had learnt from my mother and
don’t know his to cook with Swiss cheeses we
grandmother. The evolution of our business was
started cooking classes. Our students came back
FEATURED RESTAURANT Swiss Choice
with their friends and we changed from the place to buy, to the meeting place for those with a genuine passion for cheese.” ”The next stage of our evolution was the opening our 24 seat chalet style restaurant serving simple meals with a real Swiss taste. Customer brought their senior managers visiting from overseas to share the atmosphere they experienced when travelling to Switzerland. That recognition is the biggest compliment to me. Some days the restaurant is packed, others it empty but such is the nature of the restaurant business in Bangkok.” ”With such authentic Swiss tasting food it’s hard to believe that it is cooked by a Thai, Chef Nong,” he admits. “Although she has never travelled to Switzerland she crafted her culinary art in her pervious Swiss restaurant, mentored in her own restaurant by visiting Swiss customers. It’s amazing but with certain dishes she cooks as well as my mother, which is a dangerous admission.” ”Our bread is supplied partly cook by a Swiss Baker that we finish in our ovens to be used in our Swiss Fondue,” he reveals. “Raclette is both a semi hard cows milk cheese and a dish where a large wheel of the cheese traditionally I’d melted in front of an open fire, scrapped of and served with firm small potatoes. Melting the right cheese was easy finding the right potato was the challenge. Local potatoes are too sweet but after trying various types from different supermarkets we recently found the right potato in Klong
The Swiss Choice Tel +66-2259-0590 Email info@theswisschoice.com
Toey market. We serve a rustic Macaroni de Chalet which has been modified substituting bacon which is too strong with a locally sourced smoked German ham.
Sukhumvit Soi 43 Bangkok 10110
Recently a Swiss trading company in Bangkok commissioned us to pro-
Cheese shop 11am-8pm Restaurant : Lunch 11am-2pm, Dinner 6-10pm
vide a full Swiss cheese buffet for 150 guests. It’s the first time that they have been able to show their valued customers such a wide portfolio of our country’s cheese.
personality of the month My husband Ravi and I share a passion for good food, in particular Tandoor cooked Kebabs. A popular misconception is that Indian food is just hot & spicy curries which isn’t true. When we found it difficult to find a restaurant serving quality Northern Indian and Mughali cuisine we were inspired to open Indian Host serving good quality authentic cuisine at an affordable price. Our hospitality training came from our collective experience of dinning in various restaurants around the world, our management back grounds guided us to managing the restaurant business. As we wanted kebabs to be the signature of the restaurant we hired our chef who specialises in Tandoor cooking. Ravi went to school in Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh state, in India, home of the best Kabab recipes. There it was he his love affair with Mughlai and Royal Nawabi style cuisines. I am the face of Indian Host. From fine dining we ha expanded to providing outside catering including five star hotels around Thailand. I also look after the high level management, and delegate most of the day to day work to the professional staffs. As we are in the service industry, friendliness and putting are customers is of utmost importance to us. As we want to send out the message to all our existing and potential customers we are a friendly place we adopted the motto “Aapka Dost Indian Host” Mutton Authority was inspired by a famous dish from a road side eatery near the Government Authority area that issues driving licenses in the walled city of Delhi. Ravi first tasted it in the 80’s and worked with our Chef to tweek it to recreate his culinary memory. Indian Host’s menu comes from northwestern India serving Punjabi and Mughlai cuisines. Mughlai served to Indian Emperors five centuries ago has a spicy royal taste, not overly hot rather a harmonious balance of herbs and spices. It was these spices the inspired European traders to find a sea route from continental Europe to India Our signature Muglai dishes are Kabuli Raan, Tandoori Chicken, Rogan Josh, Chicken Malai Tikka, Daal Makhani and Chicken Makhanwala while Mutton Authority, Methi Malai Muttor, Dal Tadka and Paneer Pasanda represent Punjabi cuisine. Our neighbourhood has a lot of Thai-Indians, Indian expats and Indian tourists all of who are familiar with the Chinese cuisine served in India and prefer it to the quite different Chinese food served in Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. This is why we have hired Chefs specialising in Indian Chinese cuisine to help us to expand our menu. For Thais who have never had Indian food it helps they try those dishes they are more familiar with. From there they start to develop a liking for other dishes we are serving. Of course, we already have a lot of Thais as our customers, but the mass appeal is yet to kick in.
Renu Bhatia
Fresh, good quality Indian ingredients make the difference, most of them have to imported as only a few are grown locally. Basmati the rich long grain rice, grown in the waters of the Himalayas has it’s own unique taste best appreciated in the royalty Basmati dish “Biriyani” . Our society is becoming more Cosmopolitan, many Thai have been educated overseas in particular in Britain where Indian food is popular and available on every street corner. When they return home to Thailand, Indian Host is one of their favourite.