Water is Life

Please donate…

Grilled Rats Are a Tasty Snack

Grilled Rats Are a Tasty Snack In Phitsanulok

In the winter, Phitsanulok locals like to eat “grilled field rats.” The prices of cooked rats then increase to 250 THB per kg. Popular rat dishes include fried field rats, curry field rat, and fried field rats with garlic. Residents believe that eating rats warms the body

PHITSANULOK – January 24, 2013 [PDN]; on a winter’s day, a reporter driving in Phitsanulok province noticed a big poster on the side of the road, which said “Grilled Rats.” The sign was on the roadside along the route going from Sukhothai to Pitsanulok in Tambon Phaikhordorn, about 10 km from Phitsanulok.

The reporter stopped and talked to the rat-selling owner, Mrs. Somboon Yuyen, age 50, who lives on Tharmmul road, Amphur Meuang, Chainart province.

She said that selling grilled rats is a business that provides revenues to many families in the area. In winter, many local people like to eat grilled rats and come to buy her rats. Sometimes there are so many customers, she runs out of grilled rats to sell.

Mrs. Somboon has been selling grilled field rats for about 7 years. In the decade before that, she used to mainly catch the field rats to sell to the grilled rat shops. Back then the price would be 30 THB per kg. Her revenue would total only 200 THB per day.

Then the wholesale rat prices increased to 80-100 THB per kg. However, the grilled rats had a higher price of 150 THB per kg. So Ms. Somboon and her husband began to catch the field rats to grill and sell themselves.

The rat-grilling business was going well, with a steadily increasing number of consumers. So Mrs. Somboon began to go to other provinces to buy more field rats in the lower northern and central Thailand areas.

She bought field rats from rice field owners that fetched high prices according to the demands of the sellers. Prices would average 100 THB per kg of rats, but sometimes reached 150 THB per kg. Mrs. Somboon would freeze the rats and store them, to be grilled later for hungry customers.

Mrs. Somboon said there seems to be more demand for grilled rats than in the past. So she has been traveling around and selling her rats in many lower north provinces, including Chainart province, Pijit province and Pitsanulok province. Business has been good in Phitsanulok, where she has been selling rats for five months, so she has no immediate plans to move.

The prices for her rats vary according to size. For the small size rats, the price is 200 THB per kg; the medium size rats sell for 220 THB per kg; and big rats sell for 250 THB per kg.

Although she considers the prices of rats to be expensive, the people who like to eat rats consider it a cheap price to pay. For people who want to grill their rats at home, her frozen field rats are priced at 180 THB per kg.

Some customers buy 3-5 kg of frozen rats each time to store in their refrigerators, and also buy rats for their relatives and friends. Most of her customers are local people, and some are drivers passing by who notice her shop.

Selling grilled field rats is an occupation that Mrs. Somboon is proud of, and can generate revenues up to 1 million THB a year. Mrs. Somboon averages more than 2,000-3,000 THB daily in sales. During the festivals, she can earn more than 10,000 THB daily.

Mrs. Somboon now enjoys a better financial status because of her business. She bought a pickup truck to buy more rats in many places, and can now build her own house from the money she made selling rats.

 Article and picture taken from Pattayadailynews.

TAT to hold Miracle of Thai Food and Fruit Festival 2012

 

BANGKOK, 16 May 2012 (NNT) – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is set to host the ‘Miracle of Thai Food and Fruit Festival 2012’ with over 40 booths selling products from across the country in order to stimulate the country’s tourism and economy. The Miracle of Thai Food and Fruit Festival 2012 will feature Thai food from four regions, popular Thai food among locals and foreigners, as well as seasonal fruit. CNNGo has previously ranked Thai food among the 50 most delicious dishes in the world, with Massaman Curry topping the list at number 1, followed by Tom Yum Goong at number 8, Nam Tok Moo at 19 and Som Tam at number 46. Thus, the TAT will help Thai entrepreneurs in boosting the economy by promoting food which are well-known among foreigners. The TAT expects that the organization of this event will also stimulate the country’s tourism as well as the economy. The overall spending by the event’s visitors last year stood at 30 billion baht. Meanwhile, a 10% growth has been estimated for this year. The Miracle of Thai Food and Fruit Festival 2012 will be held during 25-27 May at Central World.

Japanese from Scratch: Let’s Eat Japanese Food!

28 March 2012 from 6.00pm

The Japan Foundation London (later moving on to a local Japanese restaurant)

Get a flavour of the Japanese language while enjoying authentic Japanese food!

Japanese from Scratch is a new Japanese language and culture workshop from the Japan Foundation London, suitable for those who are interested in learning Japanese but haven’t started yet, or those who have just started learning.

This month’s workshop theme is “Let’s Eat Japanese Food!”

The course will teach you to:

:: Identify different kinds of Japanese food, by their correct Japanese name

:: Exchange simple greetings in Japanese and say basic phrases with appropriate manners

:: Use chopsticks correctly and elegantly

:: Eat Japanese food like a connoisseur

In this workshop, you can learn how to:

• Identify different kinds of Japanese food, by their correct Japanese name
• Exchange simple greetings in Japanese and say basic phrases with appropriate manners
• Use chopsticks correctly and elegantly
• Eat Japanese food like a connoisseur

The course will be led by Seiji Fukushima, Chief Japanese Language Advisor at the Japan Foundation London. Instructions and explanations will be in English. Please click here for more information, including the timetable.

The course fee is £20.00, which includes an authentic Japanese meal at a London restaurant. This must be paid in cash on the day of the event. Please note that the dishes served at this event are representative of typical Japanese cuisine, and vegetarian options are limited.

Advance booking is essential. This workshop is limited to 25 people – first come, first served.

The deadline to apply is March 21st.

For more information click here.

Phuket seafood fiesta 2011

Phuket, August 1, 2011 — The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is to organise the “Phuket Seafood Fiesta 2011” during 1-31 August 2011 to attract visitors to one of the kingdom’s most popular beach resorts during the “Green Season” months.

Seafood lovers will be able to enjoy a vast range of Thai, Asian and global delicacies during the festival, which is being organised in cooperation with the Phuket Provincial Administration, numerous public sector agencies and the Phuket tourism industry.
Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Suraphon Svetasreni said, “Phuket, one of the world’s most popular beach resorts, is already renowned for its excellent seafood, all prepared in a variety of different styles and combinations.

“The festival aims to create awareness of its outstanding seafood as a unique selling point and generate additional business for the main island as well as the many surrounding islands and resorts during what is traditionally known as the “low season” but which we now call the Green Season.”

The main events will comprise of the following:

	More sales promotion and activities on 12-13 August 2011, from 1700-2200 hrs, on Rawai Beach and 25-26 August 2011 from 1700-2200 hrs at Chalerm Prakiat Park, Phuket Town of Phuket.
	“Good Taste Best Price” campaign, with over 100 food shops and restaurants in Phuket giving special discounts of 10-20% for seafood dishes.
	Musical performances and entertainment during the sales promotion activities.
	Seafood cooking contest.
	Cooking demonstration of local and international dishes by famous chefs.

Promotion of Thai cuisine is one of the TAT’s topmost priorities because it is an indispensable part of the travel and tourism experience.

Thai food is one of the most popular cuisines world-wide. There are thousands of Thai restaurants all over Europe, North America, Oceania and Southeast Asia ranging from elegant up-market outlets to fast-food take-aways.

Phuket is today Thailand’s second most important direct access gateway with a total of 521 domestic, regional and international flights per week. In 2010, the island attracted over five million domestic and international visitors, generating an estimated one billion Baht in income.

In recent years, the island resort has seen the development of a spectacular product range, especially spas, health and wellness resorts, attractions and boutique hotels. This has in turn attracted the interest of low-cost airline flights. One of the fastest growing market segments is weekend holiday breaks by visitors from neighbouring countries; such as, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and India.

For more information please visit http://www.phuketseafoodfiesta.com

Taste Japan! Charity for Tohoku!

Taste Japan! Charity for Tohoku!

17 June 2011 from 6.00pm

As Japan struggles to fight against the consequences of the Tohoku earthquake on March 11, which has been designated as the most devastating disaster since World War II, this event aims to raise funds and awareness while enjoying quality Japanese food, sweets and sake (rice wine).

Event contents:
-Tasting Japanese Sake, Food and Sweets
-Short story about Japanese Sake and Food  (Rie Yoshitake, Sake Samurai Association UK representative)
-Screening of a movie made by people in Tohoku
-Japanese traditional music (Japanese drums and shamisen).

The Japan Foundation, London
Russell Square House, 10-12 Russell Square
London WC1B 5EH

Booking: Not essential, but early bird offer requires booking.
Entrance Fee :￡10 (early bird), booking required from here.
￡15 (on the door)

All proceeds go to the Japan Society Tohoku Earthquake Relief Fund.

Free for under 15s

For more information, please click here.

Brick Lane

Fine settimana abbastanza positivo, almeno fino adesso. Venerdi’ sera sono andato in zona Brick Lane a mangiare, con la ragazza Giapponese, in uno dei tanti ristoranti Indiani. Brick Lane e’ una zona che conosco poco ma che mi ha colpito in modo positivo. Al ristorante Indiano il cibo e’ stato ottimo, ho presso i classici Samosa come starter e come piatto principale Chiken Pasanda piu’ una delle mie birre favorite, la Cobra. Dopo il ristorante siamo andati a fare un giro nella zona e siamo entrati in uno dei tanti bar/locali pienissimi di giovani di varie nazionalita’.

Tra le altre cose positive di questo fine settimana e’ che sono riuscito ad affittare la stanza ad una ragazza Giapponese. E’ qui da me da due giorni e tutto procede bene. Ora vi devo lasciare vado a lavorare, si ogni tanto faccio extra il fine settimana.

So far, a good weekend. Friday evening I went to Brick Lane, with the Japanese girl I met few weeks ago, to one of the many Indian restaurants in the area. I don’t know Brick Lane well and I was very impressed by what I had seen. In the restaurant I had as starter Samosa and as main dish Chicken Pasanda with Cobra beer, one of my favourite. After the restaurant we went for a walk and to a very crowded bar. Excellent evening!

Amongst the positive thing of this weekend I have to mention that I finally found a new flatmate for the room I wanted to rent, a Japanese girl, who had moved in few days ago and seems very nice. That’s all for now, I have to go to work to do a bit of extra hours.

Maeklong market

Fresh food for the travellers.

Bangkok: Parliament

In occasione della fiera alimentare Health Food Ingredients Thailand 2011 e’ stato esposto il palazzo del parlamento fatto con 200 mila lattine; l’opera’ probabilmente entrera’ nel Guinness dei primati.

During the exhibition ‘Health Food Ingredients Thailand 2011’ it was shown a re-production of the Parliament made by about 200,000 tins; the artwork will be probably included in the Guinness World Record book.

Photos taken from Repubblica.it

Japanese food

Questa sera volevo mangiare qualche cosa di diverso, un po’ speciale, cosi’ oggi pomeriggio ho deciso di passare dal Japan Centre che si trova nella zona centrale di Londra per comprare prodotti Giapponesi. Il Japan Centre e’ un posto molto famoso per gli amanti del Giappone ma un po’ caro, anche considerando i prezzi di Londra, pero’ e’ ben fornito di prodotti Giapponesi. Ci si puo’ trovare un po’ di tutto dal cibo alle birre, dalle riviste ai libri, fino ad arrivare a prodotti in ceramica e altri oggetti. Oggi ho comprato il tofu per miso soup, una grossa quantita’ di sushi e noodle che preparero’ con pollo, peperoni e soy souce. Mi sta venedo fame, vado a cucinare. A presto.

Today, for dinner, I wanted something different, something special to eat. As I was in central London I decided to go to the Japan Centre to buy Japanese food. The Japan Centre is a place well known by those who like Japanese products and Japanese culture but a bit expensive, even for London’s standards. In the big store is possible to buy products imported from Japan such as food, beer and sake, magazines and books and other various items. Today I bought: tofu for miso soup, sushi and noodle. I think i’ll cook noodle with peppers, chicken and soy souce. I’m hungry, I’m going to cook. See you later.