The taste of Thailand

A week of authentic and traditional food from Thailand will be dished up from Sunday at the Moevenpick Hotel Bahrain in Muharraq.

The food festival staged at Silk's restaurant will feature a huge selection of Thai treats and delicacies prepared by chefs flown in especially for the event from the Moevenpick Hotel Phuket.

There will be live performances every night until May 29 by the Sbun-Nga Dance Company giving guests a glimpse into Thai cultural heritage.

A lucky diner will also get the chance to win a 'six nights stay' at the exotic Thai hotel including a return ticket on Qatar Airways.

The hotel has also recently welcomed its new Executive Chef Holger Lang, as reported earlier in GulfWeekly.

A German national, Chef Holger comes to the island with more than 20 years of experience in international hospitality and a Kitchen Master Draft degree from the Hotel College in Rotenberg, Germany.

He developed his interest in cooking as a little boy watching his father prepare the weekend meals for the family. He said: "Through the week we would eat just sandwiches or light meals but during the weekends my father would take over the kitchen. I really enjoyed watching him cook and accompanying him into the forest near our home to collect wild mushrooms. To this day, it is my favourite dish!"

At the age of 16 he worked as an apprentice in East Germany followed by a short period serving with the navy before joining the Restaurant Schlossbrau in 1988 beginning his career as 'commis de cuisine'.

In 1993, he moved to Switzerland for three years, then to Portugal for four years before entering the Middle East when he was offered a job in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

After two years of experience in the kingdom, he moved to Russia, Greece, Bulgaria and Slovenia before being snapped up by the Moevenpick in Muharraq.

Chef Holger, 43, has worked with leading names in the hospitality industry including Kempinski and Sheraton.

He has extensive experience in a range of kitchen styles including European and Asian cuisine.

Chef Holger said: "While I lived in Portugal I became friends with a Filipino chef, who is now a very close friend of mine. He taught me to speak English and has taken me to his home in the Philippines - which was also how I got my Asian cooking influences."

Rate for the daily Thai lunch and dinner buffet is BD15++ per person.

Individuals wishing to learn a trick or two about Thai cuisine can grab the opportunity on Sunday, Tuesday and May 27 with cooking classes by experts from 10am to noon. Rates are BD6++ per person including lunch.

For the Moevenpick Hotel Bahrain, Chef Holger will soon be introducing a new menu. With the summer season closing in, he explains the hotel plans to introduce barbecue and Italian theme nights.

For the GulfWeekly readers, the hotel shares a recipe from the Thai kitchen.

Tom yam soup

Ingredients

100gm Shrimps, peeled and de-veined

20gm Lemon grass

20gm Kaffir lime leaf

5gm Shallot

10gm Thai parsley

3gm Mushroom straw

20gm Sugar

5gm Fish sauce

5gm Lime juice

10gm Chilli paste

5gm Chilli

10gm Tomato cherry

3gm Coriander

20gm Galangal

20gm Carnation cream

300gm Chicken stock

Preparation:

Heat chicken stock to boiling and add mushroom, lemongrass, Galangal and kaffir lime leaves and shallots.

Season Tom Yam with lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and chilli paste in oil.

Add shrimps, tomato cherry, Carnation cream and turn off the heat. Serve right away and garnish with Thai parsley, chilli and coriander.

To spicy it up, add fresh Thai chilli.