Melts-in-the-mouth foie gras from a World War II tropical hellhole? Mascarpone cheese churned near the stalking grounds of tigers? Maybe a glass of white wine -- Chateau de Loei -- from hillsides where tribals planted fields of opium?
Voila! The table is being set for a meal that most Western gourmets would savor. And it's all made-in-Thailand, far better known worldwide for fiery curries and pungent soups.
PHOTO: AP
Globalization, entrepreneurial spirit, changing local tastes and an economic crisis, it adds up to Thais rearing and growing "exotic" produce for domestic consumption and even export.
"I love to introduce and support foreign products made in Thailand, to get the word out and have people talk about it," says Pongtawat Chalermkittichai, executive chef of Bangkok's five-star Regent Hotel. He thereby also prunes his costs.
For example, Pongtawat pays 2,300 baht a kilogram (US$53.40) for foie gras, the rich liver of duck or goose, imported from France. But now about half his stock comes from Chateau Interfarm, Southeast Asia's only foie gras producer. That costs 1,550 baht a kilogram.
Local sourcing like this enjoyed a big boost following the 1997 economic crisis, when devaluation of the Thai baht hiked prices of foreign goods, some of which are subject to high import duties. The Thai palate is also a factor.
When he returned from apprenticeships in London and Sydney eight years ago, few Thais were ordering the Regent's now popular pan fried foie gras with port wine or strong-flavored cheeses, Pongtawat says. Wine drinking was still relatively new.
Spotting the trend, construction tycoon Chaiyudh Karnasuta imported vines along with expertise from France and began planting the hillsides of Loei Province in northeastern Thailand.
"Light and undeniably fruity, yet able-bodied and not at all sweet. Not a great wine, but a good one," opined a Time magazine tasting. Good enough, however, to be served at a 1996 conference of Asian and European heads of state and other official functions.
Chaiyudh, whose enterprise yearly corks 500,000 bottles, predicts Thailand will be producing 10 million bottles by decade's end. Prospects are likewise favorable for comestibles like pheasant, frogs and snails for French cuisine, venison from imported Chital deer and decidedly untropical items such as strawberries and Brussels sprouts.
On the grasslands adjoining Khao Yai, an extensive wildlife park, a budding dairy industry is producing one foodstuff traditionally regarded too smelly to stomach. Ricotta, mascrapone and cream cheeses are ordered by Bangkok's fancy restaurants while Thai-made mozzarella tops now popular fast food pizzas.
On the slopes of the country's highest mountain, Doi Inthanon, Thailand's innovative King Bhumibol Adulyadej has initiated a rainbow trout farm, utilizing fresh water cascading from the heights. Most of the workers are hilltribes people who might otherwise scrabble for a living.
The Regent chef, whose mother peddled curries on Bangkok streets, says New Zealand trout still has the taste edge but the hotel's Thai breaded trout fillet with a light garlic sauce garnished with organic vegetables from northern Thailand is a winner.
The main problem, he says, with these niche foods is not so much taste but insufficient, and sometimes, erratic local supply.
Chateau Interfarm owner Sunthorn Ritviwat says he can only supply some 500kg of foie gras each month -- not enough for the Bangkok market.
But he's planning to increase output and improve quality on his sprawling farm, located near where thousands of Allied prisoners-of-war died at the hands of their Japanese captors while building a railway and bridge over the River Kwai.
A gourmet's heaven, a hell for animal welfare activists, Interfarm pens up 936 ducks in each of three concrete buildings where corn is stuffed down their throats via a metal pipe over 14 to 18 days of force-feeding. This balloons their livers to about four times the normal size.
The only luxury they enjoy is a pleasant temperature. Unlike France, where ducks may have to be sheltered from the cold, those in Thailand need air conditioning for protection against blistering heat.
"It should melt in your mouth like ice cream," enthuses Sunthorn, admitting not all his livers yet emerge with the goldenish color, soft texture and generous size of the perfect foie gras.
An agro-business veteran, Sunthorn took over the farm in 1997, seeking technical assistance as well as ducks from Grimaud Freres, a leading French poultry firm.
The farm was started five years earlier but went through two sets of French, Canadian and Thai owners. According to Sunthorn, the whole thing turned into a Gallic farce, with family quarrels, business bickering and one of the Frenchmen jailed for starting a side business -- growing marijuana.
"They fought before making foie gras," Sunthorn says.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique