ScandAsia China - June 2014

JUN 2014

China

DANISH-INSPIRED

ORGANIC FOOD ON THE RISE ScandAsia.dk

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ScandAsia.no

ScandAsia.se

Coming Events

From Farm to Fork - and Chopstiks

For more information, please contact: Lulu Li, Ph.D., Innovation Officer E-mail: lululi@um.dk

From Farm to Fork - and Chopstiks is the latest innovation initiative by Innovation Centre Denmark, Shanghai. A Food Safety delegation from Central Denmark Region will visit Shanghai from 17 June to 20 June to help Danish companies expand within the food sector in China. The main focus will be applications that ensure safety, traceability and authenticity. A backdrop for the visit is a recent study which shows a significant 29% increase in concerns about food safety in China, which makes it one of China’s major social concerns.

The upcoming National Food Safety Publicity Week in June will be the sixth time that China promotes understanding and consciousness regarding food safety at national and provincial/municipal level.

This opportunity offers great potential for initiation of Sino-Danish technology and research collaboration and a unique platform to showcase Danish strongholds within this area.

Comunist Party founding day?

China celebrates the Anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China on 1 July every year. In 2011, the 90th Anniversary was a particular big event, and the 1 July remains every year a public holiday in China.

What few people know is, that the date is actually wrong - it was picked out of memory by Mao Zedong when he wanted to celebrate the 20 year anniversary in 1941. The truth has since come out.

A Russian-language document of the Communist International has revealed that the party’s founding congress actually took place in Shanghai on July 23, 1921. Two Soviet organizers attended the conference together with 10 Chinese participants.

Anyway, enjoy your holiday!

Your FREE ScandAsia Magazine in China ScandAsia is the only magazine that covers all the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish residents in China.

We also publish a ScandAsia magazine in Thailand, Singapore and the rest of South East Asia.

Please sign up for your own FREE copy: www.scandasia.com Publisher : 211 Soi Prasert Manukitch 29 Prasert Manukitch Road Chorakae Bua, Lad Prao Bangkok 10230, Thailand Tel. +66 2 943 7166-8, Fax: +66 2 943 7169 E-mail: news@scandasia.com Editor-in-Chief : Gregers A.W. Møller gregers@scandmedia.com Managing Editor: Thana Poopat thana@scandmedia.com Advertising : Finn Balslev finn@scandmedia.com Piyanan Kalikanon piyanan@scandmedia.com

Father’s Day

Nattapat Maesang nattapat@scandmedia.com Graphic Designer : Supphathada Numamnuay supphathada@scandmedia.com Distribution : Wanvisa Rattanaburi wanvisa@scandmedia.com Printing : Advance Printing Services Co., Ltd.

Daily news and features here: www.scandasia.com

Past Events

Danish Royal couple visits China

Q

ueen Magrethe II and Prince Consort Henrik payed an official state visit to China from April 24 to 28. The royal couple visited cities such as Beijing, Nanjing, Suzhou and Shanghai, in a tour programme which included visits at different companies and authorities.

Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Danish Queen Margrethe II in Beijing on April 24 and the two heads of state voiced their hope to elevate their bilateral ties. Queen Margrethe II is paying a state visit to China from Thursday to Monday at Xi’s invitation, her second China trip as Queen. In September 1979, she visited China as the first Western head of state to do so after China adopted its reform and opening-up policy.

During Thursday’s talks, Xi said Queen Margrethe II’s two visits have witnessed the historical process from the beginning to the comprehensive deepening of China’s reform and

opening-up, and pushed the development of the bilateral ties over the past 35 years.

The Chinese side is highly appreciative of the contribution Queen Margrethe II and the Danish royal

family has made to the friendship between the two peoples, the president said.

Swedish Priest couple relocating

T

he Swedish Priest and Deacon in China, Lennart and Lis Hamark, will relocate this summer. The couple will say farewell to the Swedish communities in Shanghai on 24 May and in Beijing on 25 May after the Summer Service.

In Shanghai, the Summer Service will take place at 16.00 in the Shanghai Community Church, 53 Hengshan Road, there will also be confirmation. In Beijing, on 25 May, the Service will take place at 16.00 in the Stora Hedin Hall at the Embassy of Sweden.

Lis and Lennart Hamark moved with their daughter Amanda from Thailand to Hong Kong in 2009.

Here, the Summer Service will take place on 8 June at 14.00 in St Peter’s Church, Mariners’ Club, 11 Middle Road, TST, Kowloon.

Well wishers can contact the couple via phone or email: Lennart Hamark: +852-5195 8535 lennart.hamark@svenskakyrkan.se Lis Hamark: +852-6626 4145 lis.hamark@svenskakyrkan.se

During Lennart and Lis Hamark’s stay in Thailand there was a sharp increase in the number of Swedish couples coming to Thailand to have Lennart Hamark perform a wedding blessing ceremony in the romantic settings of a tropical sunset.

News Brief

Denmark first in world to export sausages to China

D

enmark will be the first country to sell sausages and other heattreated meat products in China.

During his recent visit to China, Danish Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Dan Jørgensen concluded negotiations on export authorization valued at 250 million DKK. Three Danish producers have been registered for authorization to deliver sausages to the Chinese market.

At least one person thinks China deserves a Nobel Peace Prize

S

tein Erik Hagen, chairman of Norwegian conglomerate Orkla Asa, told Norwegian newspaper VG that China should qualify for the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, the South China Morning Post reported.

“China is constantly evolving and is about to become the world’s economic superpower,” he said.

The Norwegian businessman Stein Erik Hagen is Chairman of the Board of Orkla, where he is a large owner, and holds large ownerships of Steen & Strøm, Jernia and Komplett through his family company Canica.

June 2014 • ScandAsia.China 5

Viking Cup a Shanghai success

Around 300 Vikings from all-over Asia were gathered in Shanghai for the 25 Year Anniversary of the Viking Cup in late April. The Vikings from Bangkok kept the trophy as Champions - while the organizing Shanghai Vikings won the contest that many say is the one that really counts: the Beer Drinking Contest!

B Shanghai Vikings - Beer Drinking Champions 2014 Bangkok Vikings also celebrated something..

6 ScandAsia.China • June 2014

rutal battles were fought on the Shanghai Rugby Club’s pitches. Formula One crowded Shanghai and made it difficult to find suitable quality accommodations. All of these struggles were overcome and the Viking Cup in 2014 was – as usual – a great event when it held its 25th anniversary in April.

“The weather was horrific, but we sensed that in spite of that people were cheerful and kept their spirits high,” said John Poulsen from the organizing Shanghai Vikings.

“Seeing happy people was our reward and all in all we are very satisfied with what we feel was a successful event,” John Poulsen added.

“We had started early preparing for the cup. It is important that everything lives up the participants expectations. With the Formula One being held at the same time we had our struggles with finding a hotel. The Viking Cup is important to the participants and they should not stay below standard. But eventually we managed to accommodated them in the top-class five star Westin hotel,” he said Around 300 Vikings from all-over Asia were gathered in Shanghai for the Cup and merely that is enough to make it a great experience, but when it is an anniversary it has to be extravagant and extraordinary.

“We had found pitches in good condition where it was possible to have two games played simultaneously next to each other. We had also taken extra care to decorate the hospitality area as Vikingly as possible. The Carlsberg bar needed to be nothing less than perfect as this is where we go when we leave the battle field behind to just enjoy each other’s company. We flew in a DJ to

push it over the top - and succeded all most too well. We had to literally push people out of the bar every night,” John said.

The organizers had also not forgotten that some of these Viking warriors would bring their spouse. Therefore a survival book had been made “Little red book to survive Viking Cup in Shanghai”.

The winning team, the Bangkok Vikings, appreciated all the effort.

“I must admit that I was impressed with the whole setup. The hotel was truly a five star experience, the Viking bar and DJ was a great success as well,” said Johan “Mofok” Mühlman from the Bangkok Vikings.

“We expect the same kind of standard from the Saigon side who is arranging next year’s cup,” he added.

The parties seem to have been an attraction as well. As John Poulsen from the Shanghai Vikings said “the opening party was packed like herring in a barrel.”

Bangkok Vikings kept the title By the end, the Bangkok Vikings once again won the Viking Cup. Last year, they took it from the

KL Vikings, but this year the victory was more deserved, it seems.

“To be honest I think that we really deserved the title this year,” said veteran player on the Bangkok team, Bangkok player Johan “Mofok” Mühlman.

“Thanks to a great goalkeeper in Thomas Frederiksen - protected by a strong defense - we managed to win three of the games and draw one without conceding a single goal,” said Johan, emphasizing also how the midfield was quality; their lightning fast striker Kenny Rundh was elected MVP – Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

“When after six games you end up with a goal difference of 8-1 with four wins and two draws, then.. yes, we deserved to win it!” Johan Mühlman.

Beer Drinking Cup But for the Vikings, football and beer goes together like movies and popcorn, so all was not lost to the ‘koks as Shanghai Viking John Poulsen was quick to point out.

“The Shanghai Vikings won the competition that really counts - the Beer Drinking Cup,” he proudly states.

But from Bangkok we hear, that the victory may be short lived.

“This is an area where Bangkok Vikings will need to improve!” said Bangkok player Johan “Mofok” Mühlman.

“We didn’t even reach the final three, so believe me when I say that plenty of practice in beer drinking will be done this year.”

Come out and play!

Johan Mühlman encourages more to join their local Viking team.

“In my opinion the level and quality of football was a bit lower this year than normally. It seems like the teams are struggling with bringing in new and young players to strengthen their teams. The average age just seems to be increasing from year to year,” he said.

If you are not yet a Viking warrior on the football pitch in your local Asian city and you find beer, party and enjoyable competitive exercise of interest, then do a quick search on ScandAsia.com - Local contacts to see if your city of residence has a team or if there is a team nearby. Most of the Viking footballers have both web- and Facebook pages.

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27/02/2014 14:28 June 2014 • ScandAsia.China 7

Danish-inspired

organic food on the rise

Organic food is attracting a lot of attention in China and elsewhere in Asia these days. Denmark, which leads the world in terms of production and consumption of organic products, welcomes this trend with open arms and considers it as a potential cash cow.

By Morten Krogsholm

T

he organic food industry has always enjoyed conducive market conditions in Denmark and because of this, it can expect to continue to grow in the foreseeable future. Most of the Danish organic products are consumed domestically but a substantial quantity of them is exported overseas.

Seizing the opportunity With long experience in organic product exports, Danish producers have seized the opportunity to try to break into the Asian market.

“When approached by prospective foreign clients, Danish organic companies respond with enthusiasm and really go all out trying to get the exports started right away,” said Helene Birk Export Manager at Organic Denmark.

Though it is tough to get certified as an organic company in Denmark, this does not seem to discourage farmers or producers who seek the green path.

“In China, we see a growing demand for Danish organic products. The perceived high quality can be attributed to the rigorous requirements that the Danish companies need to fulfill before being officially certified organic.

8 ScandAsia.China • June 2014

Among those requirements is absolutely no use of pesticides,” she said, adding that an even bigger growth in the exportation of Danish organics could be expected in the next three to five years.

When a delegation comes to Denmark, there are a wide variety of organic companies to visit and see. For example, the Chinese delegation visited Arla, Friland, Gron Fokus, Norrebro Bryghus and six other companies.

Visitors from the Far East

Little fear of competition

Pork, dairy products, juices and muesli are among the big-sellers in the Asian market, but the Asians also want to know how the Danes come up with products of such high quality and they often travel to Denmark to learn.

Recently a business delegation from China has come for a study tour.

“They include importers or store owners, who wanted to visit Danish producers as they want to source a wider range of organic products from us. But they also are curious about the Danish organic food culture,” said Helene Birk.

But it is not only the Chinese who express keen interest in the Danish organic industry. Organic Denmark often hosts delegations from different countries. Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea are becoming more and more interested in importing ever expanding selection of organic food products.

The Chinese have for a long time had a reputation for being excellent at copying. But Helene Birk from Organic Denmark does not see the exchange of knowledge as a threat. She said her organization welcomes more Asian delegations to come and see how things are run in Denmark.

“It can be a positive thing for the Chinese to expand their own production of organic products. It is our impression that the Danish products have a competitive edge due to the quality of the products and the strict food safety standards required by the Danish government. Other than that, Denmark also has the ability to provide a lot of other products that cannot be grown in the East,” she said, adding that it is not too difficult to imagine Danish organic farmers moving to the East to set up their organic farms and vice versa.

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June 2014 • ScandAsia.China 9

IPTV

which one is good for you?

TV from your home country

By Morten Krogsholm

D

o you miss following your favorite home team live? Watching the Norwegian live knitting show?

The Swedish Hollywood Wives?

A quick search on the web shows there is a huge demand for TV from back home among Scandinavians abroad, particularly those living in Asia. There are also several service providers offering web-based Scandinavian TV solutions to suit every taste and budget.

But which one is the best and how does this thing work? To find out, ScandAsia decided to look into the matter and try to shed some light on the IPTV phenomenon.

Little response I started out trying to contact seven different providers who claim they could deliver live TV from Scandinavia to asked them a couple of questions about their products, services and the whole legal matter regarding copyright. Unfortunately only two responded. World TvPro claimed that I could find answers to my questions and product reviews posted by their customers on their website. Neither of these information is to be found on the website, so if you choose to do business with World TvPro, you should be aware of this.

10 ScandAsia.China • June 2014

But I am pleased to inform you that another provider, European IPTV, did respond in a positive manner and even gave me the opportunity to try their services designed for tablet users. So any testing mentioned in this article refers to this company’s services, as none of the others seem to be interested in having their services tested or answering questions about availability of services or their legitimacy as providers.

I will leave it up to you as a smart consumer to draw your own conclusion as to why the companies were unwilling to cooperate and participate in this survey.

Location, location, location Many of these solutions function in the same way.

A signal from Denmark/Norway/Sweden, etc., is rerouted to a server in another country in Europe.

From there, the server then redirects the signals again to different servers based in countries around the world. The closer a server is to your home, the better signals you will get.

So I might sound like the messenger who brings bad news when I say that everyone who is living in areas with a bad internet connection, will experience some difficulties accessing any of these IPTV services.

People with slow internet connections should

not give up in IPTV, though. Your experience might just be an occasional drop in picture quality and perhaps a lot of graininess. But you may also experience delays on sound or video that could drive you towards insanity! However, some can strangely experience the same smooth experience as others who are located closer to streaming servers or live in an area with relatively better internet connection. You have to hope for the best and expect the worst.

Different suppliers recommend different minimum connection speeds.

Some of the companies suggest that a 1.5 mbps download speed is sufficient while others claim that 0.6 mbps will be enough.

In my experience streaming video contents in Thailand, I would strongly recommend that you have at least have a 3 mbps download speed or more. If you are watching the TV on your smartphone or tablet, it might not need as much transfer rate, but if you, like me, have several devices connected to your internet connection, I would say the faster the better. If you don’t know your speed, www.speedtest.net/ is one website that can instantly tell you If you live in Singapore you should be able to have the best experience. Singapore has a very

developed broadband infrastructure and European IPTV, whose services I tried out, has a server there, so it should run extremely smoothly there.

If you are living in China you could experience difficulties from time to time due to the country’s very strict control of the internet with access to certain sites blocked by the authorities.

Legal aspect It has not yet been possible for me to cover the legal aspects of these IPTV services. But one could imagine that there is a gray area in which someone’s copyright may be violated or not fully respected. I have been in contact with a professor in Denmark who specializes in copyright and he will get back to me when he has figured out how the laws apply in this matter from a Danish judicial point of view. When I hear from him, I will post an update on our website.

I can say state with certainty that it is illegal to use any of these services when you are in a Scandinavian country, so if you subscribe to any of these services, please obey the law when you are back visiting your home country.

European IPTV As I have mentioned before, I was given the op-

portunity to try out one of these solutions. It was the tablet subscription to European IPTV. I spoke with Tom Hansen, who runs the company, and he stated that the legality of this matter was a grey area as no cases had been tried in any court so far.

“That it is not illegal, does not, of course, make it legal,” he said, adding that TV content owners have a way to monitor where their subscribers are using their services, and if anyone accesses those contents without paying within Denmark, Norway or Sweden, they can shut down the signals. He also said that he did not feel like he was taking away anybody’s livelihood by providing these services.

European IPTV stream TV contents through three servers placed strategically around the world - in the Netherlands, Slovakia and Singapore. There is a direct line from the server in the Netherlands to the one in Singapore, which secures a reliable connection with most of Asia.

According to Tom Hansen, their service only requires 538 kbps to run smoothly. According to the test I performed, this seems to be about right.

Though I need to add that I tested the product on a 7 mbps connection, where I had only dedicated 600 kbps to the IPTV service on the iPad. I experienced quite a lot of problems with live streaming part of the service. I was often prompted

by a message telling me that I was switching channels too fast or that I was already watching a stream on the login. According to Tom Hansen, this was due to some extra security priorities that they have had to make.

“There are some people out there, who steals our stream and then reroutes it through another site for free, and we are trying our best to prevent this to protect our interests,” he said.

At European IPTV, you can record a show from any of the channels at any time. This allow users to watch those recordings at a later time on your device, and this part of the service always runs perfectly smooth, so on that account I have nothing to complain about.

In summary, all these IPTV services available are not easy to navigate, and, unfortunately, I can only refer to my experience with one service provider.

I would like to emphasize that you have to take into consideration where you are located and how fast your internet connection is.

If possible, always ask if it is possible for you to try before you buy into one of those IPTV services.

Prices begin at around 35 Euro pr. month depending on your choich of product.

In our online version of this article there will be links to different providers of the service.

June 2014 • ScandAsia.China 11

Farm Resort

in Singapore Would I get a room over the barn?

Would my wife have a problem with the smell?

By Gregers Moller Photos by Disraporn Yatprom

12 ScandAsia.China • June 2014

I

will stay at a Farm Resort during my next trip to Singapore. I tried to mention it casually, but my colleagues’ reaction was like “What??!

In Singapore?!”

I told myself it was just Thai ignorance. For them, Singapore would be all shopping malls and IT. Once we arrived in Singapore it would of course be different.

But it wasn’t! Even born and bred Singaporeans looked at me in disbelief: “A farm resort? Here in Singapore?”

“It’s called “D’Kranji Farm Resort,” I defended myself, but to no avail.

My project was getting more and more adventurous. Would “Farm Resort” be like “Farm Stay”? Would I get a room over the barn? Would my wife have a problem with the smell?

Looking at a map I found D’Kranji Farm Resort up in the far North West corner of the island.

The red Woodland Line on the MRT will actually take you quite close. From the Kranji station, the D’Kranji Farm Resort could have picked us up with their shuttle bus - but we “cheated” and after my last business meeting of the day we took a taxi from downtown all the way.

The first impression was favourable. Scattered around a covered restaurant, barbecue and karaoke area there were several low, one storey buildings with red roof tiles. And no trace of manure in the air, only the fresh country smell of moist, fertile soil.

Further down the central lane there was a building with a sign saying Swiftlets Museum.

Swiftlets are the birds that build the birds nests,

but you knew that of course. That would definitely be an interesting add-on for our stay, I noted.

In the office opposite the museum we met Venisa Hang, the Assistant Marketing Manager, who had invited me and my wife to stay the weekend. Venisa introduced us to her boss, Ryan Ong, a young guy in his twenties with an easy humor and a fresh out of college laughter.

Venisa had until only two months ago worked with a local publisher. But she lived nearby up in this area of Singapore with her husband and three sons and was tempted to exchange her city job with some fresh air closer to home.

Family business Ryan is a native from the area who as a teenager would be called home by his Dad during harvesting

or whenever work had to be done to help out on the farm. His father who was also actively managing other businesses overseas, left managing D’Kranji Farm Resort to his recently graduated son.

Apart from being asked by his Dad to be in charge of the resort, there is actually also another reason for his young age. Most of his friends went on to study for MBA diplomas after their bachelor exams and then went on to do their military service. Ryan took another approach. He went straight into military service after his bachelor graduation and then as a soldier studied MBA at night. A tough choice, but one which today has put him two to three years ahead of his peers.

D’Kranji Farm Resort opened in 2008 with the first phase. Since then, the resort has continuously expanded adding attractions and accommodations.

Our accommodations turned out to one of the newest villas. It was the first in the fourth row of the 35 stand alone villas that have been built next to the sprawling common area where we first entered.

It turned out that the villas actually have their own convenient drive thru reception. If you have booked a villa in advance, you simply pick up your key and park right outside the front door to your villa.

Pure luxury Inside, our villa turned out to be the exact opposite of my childish “room over the barn” imagination.

Ryan had already pointed out that “Singaporeans cannot live without air conditioning”, but apart from that, and the gorgeously equipped bed, and the super comfy sofa opposite the huge flat screen TV yes, there is more! - it turned out that the bathroom

June 2014 • ScandAsia.China 13

was semi-outdoor with a dreamy look straight up into the twinkling stars of the tropical night from the big rain shower style faucet and - yes, there is more! - the two person jacuzzi next to it as well!

Not yet impressed? Then check out what is behind the glass door - your private steam bath sauna! This will make the Finns wake up, I told myself!

Behind the villa there is also a well trimmed grass lawn with a small terrace with a teak garden table arrangement for coffee or drinks from the mini-bar with a view to the farmland behind the resort.

Venisa had been anxious to explain how we should protect ourselves against the mosquitoes and the room had a little pouch with all kinds of repellents and patches but in reality we were far less bothered by mosquitoes than back home in Bangkok.

Tour of the farms The next morning after a healthy English breakfast - and rice soup for my wife - we started the tour of the farm.

To the west there are a series of small plots that reminds me exactly about the Danish phenomenon “kolonihaver” which during the industrial revolution provided small plots of land for workers who had just migrated in from the countryside. The plots at D’Kranji Farm are 8 x 30 meters and they cost from a couple of hundred dollars onwards per month to rent or about 20 percent of your turnover, if you run your “farm” as a business and sell your produce in the stalls set up inside the

14 ScandAsia.China • June 2014

commercial area. Foreigners can rent, too, e.g. if they want to grow their own clean vegetables.

To the south there is an orchard farm with special papaya trees that don’t grow so tall so the fruits are easy to harvest. The area also has a banana plot and a rice field. Many Singaporean schools make excursion here to explain to the students where the rice they buy in the supermarket comes from.

Around the Kranji district, there are a number of ordinary farms located.

First farm we visited was the Hay Dairies goat farm where the son of the founder Leon Hay showed us the stock of 600 goats in total. Some 200 of the goats are with milk and the milking is done by standard milking machines. I thought goat milk would have a woolly taste, but it turned out to be delicious. And then it is better in certain ways especially for children with allergies. An 800 ml bottle costs 8 S$ if you want the farm to deliver to your home.

Nearby is also the Jurong Frog Farm which has raised American bull frog for 35 years. The frog meat is lean and high in protein and many Singaporeans like the taste of for instance stir fried frog legs with spring onions.

From the moment the frogs acqquire legs and move from tadpoles to small frogs, it takes 7 - 9 months before they reach a size suitable for slaughtering - which is done on the premises in a separate house. Apart from the meat, our host Anna Cheah explained how the Chinese and

Japanese pay very good money for the ovaries of the female frogs. The ovaries are freeze dried and become a jellyish substance when prepared as a special medical soup.

The Jurong frog farm is a popular outing spot for families with children who get a chance to catch some of the frogs. A girl we saw tried to kiss the frog, too, but to her disappointment it didn’t turn into a prince.

Swiftlet museum The latest attraction at the D’Kranji Farm itself is the Swiftlet Museum which is the only place in the world where a special exhibition explains everything you would like to know about the birds and their expensive nests. Research into what exact ingredients in the birds nests that are so beneficial has only started recently. Among others they have in clinical trials found ingredients that seem to help fight certain forms of cancer and products with this ingredient is sold in the outlet next to the museum.

Finally we tried half an hour of fish spa treatment at the D’Kranji Farm, which was a ticklish fun and relaxing after the big farm round trip.

Meanwhile we watched other guests enjoy the “Hook ’n Cook” activity, which is the art of catching shrimps with a fishing rod with special bait. When you have a net full, you can relax around the grill and enjoy your catch.

There’s a different Sunday for you!

My Danish breakfast For me, a proper Danish breakfast is one of the most enjoyable ways to start a great day in the weekend, Saturday or Sunday.

Here are the ingredients that cost me less than 1000 Baht for the two day breakers: 1. Fresh milk – I prefer the dark blue Meiji 2. Kelloggs cornflakes – no other brand will do 3. Two soft boiled farm eggs – I cannot taste if they are organic, but I like the happy look of the hen on the pack…

4. Lurpak butter – lately I go for the spreadable version, though 5. Emborg “Havarti” cheese – sliced is available in the big supermarkets.

6. Jam, Danish Selection – known in Denmark as Den Gamle Fabrik 7. Rundstykker – special Danish bread rolls

I have to go lightly on each item as I will otherwise get too full before the feast is over.

A final ingredient that will make the feast last for two hours is a crisp copy of Bangkok Post.

Most of the ingredients are easily available in Thailand. The missing link was for some years the “rundstykker”, but lately they have become available from Danish bakeries who deliver all over Thailand, plus the online shop ScandShop. in.th - which is also me…

June 2014 • ScandAsia.China 15

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