MEDIUM RARE

Filipinos go to Bangkok mostly for the shopping, secondarily for the food. There’s a kind of similarity between Thai and Filipino cuisine, so much so that when Conrad Hotel brought in Chef Mink Suraraksa from Bangkok’s Waldorf Astoria for their Legendary Chefs Series with focus on Thai food, Chef did not have to bring too many Thai ingredients. Their taste buds and ours run on the same sour and spicy track, though Thais can stand a lot more heat on their tongues, especially those living in their southern region. According to lifestyle chronicler Pepper Teehankee, the Kaffir lime that distinguishes their citrus from our calamansi or dayap is not alien to our soil. Pepper’s plant grew to be so big, in fact, that he had to take it down from his rooftop and transfer it to the garden. There must be a reason Conrad’s GM, Fabio Berto, chose Thai to open the Legendary Chefs series, ahead of Chinese and Italian in the coming months. That the Thai fete was inaugurated on the summer solstice — longest day of the year — last Wednesday may have been a factor, but it’s doubtful that the Italian GM was influenced by either astronomy or astrology. The real reason may be that while Filipinos are at home, in a manner of speaking, with Thai dishes, we still consider Thai food different, exotic, more colorful. I for one cannot imagine myself at a Thai buffet without bunches of the prettiest orchids staring back at me as I sip my lime-flavored tea before the main course or savor bite by bite the mango sticky rice to conclude the meal. To my delight, Chef Mink’s “legendary” layout on the first day of the festival featured a galaxy of salads garnished with sliced pork or spicy crisp fish; papaya with peanuts and tomatoes; veggies, fruits galore. My plate was cool, fresh, bright with summery colors, so full that the only space left in my tummy was just enough for a taste of braised duck noodle soup, yummy! I should tell Linda Panutat, SM’s vice president for in-house advertising, about Chef Mink before the festival ends on June 30. Linda lived in Thailand for a time and she’s an expert in Thai cooking.