food by phone newsletter may 2013
DESCRIPTION
Food by Phone offers a service to restaurants by providing an alternative sales channel as well as a service to customers by bringing to them the food that they could only get by braving the terrible Bangkok traffic.TRANSCRIPT
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MRS. BALBIR’S
FEATURED RESTAURANT
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F O O D B Y P H O N E ’ S M O N T H LY N E W S L E TT E R
DEALS ON WHEELS
SPECIAL PROMOTIONS
RED
ANGEL CITY DINER
ITALTHAI
Get a 10% discount with any order over 499 THB
Get a FREE Cheesy Garlic Bread
with any orderover 499 THB
Buy one Kiwi Juice, Rasberry Juice or
Guava Juice (280ml) get 1 FREE
THE BLACK SWAN
VIA VAI OLIVE
Buy a Baguette Sandwich and get a Half Sandwich
for FREE
Get a Free Pizza Marinara with any order over 799 THB
Get a Chicken Wrap
for FREE with any order over 699 THB
BOURBON STREET
BEIRUT
Get a FREE Lemon Tart
with any order over 499 THB
Get a FREE Shawarma Chicken
Sandwich with any order over 499 THB
INDIAN HUT
Order any two Vegetarian
or Non-Vegetarian-Curries or Mix and get two pieces of
Vegetable Samosa for FREE
LAST MONTH’S WINNERSCristina Garces & Ornanong Pongpairoj
won complimentary vouchers from
Angel City Diner worth 500 THB each!
LAST MONTH’S WINNERS
MONTHLYCOMPETITION2 winners will receive complimentary vouchers at Mrs. Balbir’s worth 500 THB each!
Just go to foodbyphone.com and answer a few simple questions.
MAY 2013
In June of last year, I met with Vinder Balbir
to discover the traditional and authentic Pun-
jabi cuisine that she and her husband have
been cooking and serving since 1975 in their
Mrs Balbir’s restaurant in Sukhumvit Soi 11.
Since then their business has expanded into out-
lets in shopping malls. I recently met with her
again at her outlet in the basement of the recently
re-furbished Silom Complex.
“Five years ago Indian food did not appeal
to Thais,” explains Vinder, “they didn’t like the
spicing and they weren’t comfortable with the
smell. With more and more Thais having the
opportunity to travel, they have been trying new
dishes and fl avours and our now curious and
ready to taste Indian food.
Different markets demand different menus.
In our Sukhumvit Soi 11 fi ne dining restaurant
where the customers are mostly Indians plus
foreigners or Thais either with either an Indian
heritage or a palate for Indian food, we serve
traditional Indian dishes. Here at Silom Complex
we are very authentic with many of the same
dishes as in Sukhumvit. I have introduced a touch
fusion to provide a bridge for the curious Thai who
isn’t yet 100% comfortable with strong Indian
fl avours.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 >>
“Indian cuisine has a strong British follow-
ing,” she says, “many have gone as far as to
adopt curry as their favourite dish, but they still
like chips with everything. That inspired our Salt
and Pepper French Fries. Our French fries or
chips, depending on which version of the Eng-
lish language you are using, are deep-fried, sea-
soned with salt, black pepper and a light sprinkling
of Indian spices and served with a dish of
ketchup for dipping. A popular and comfortable
snack, easy to eat with with fi ngers
“Thais love spaghetti,” says Vinder, “which
caused me to create Chicken Tikka Masala
Pasta, an Indian curry sauce served with Italian
pasta and a piece of garlic naan. The dish repre-
sents a trend popular back in India, the combi-
nation works. Authenticity has its place but food
styles evolve by customer demand, for better or
worse, it’s their call.
“Pita Bread is more a Middle Eastern than
Indian bread,” she says, “we use it with our
Naan Pockets, sliced lentil cutlets stuffed in
naan bread with Indian salad mint dressing
and served with Bombay potatoes.
“I introduced a Mexican fusion dish as
something to catch the attention of the
younger generation. Many come here with
their parents after school; parents want au-
thentic traditional, their kids something differ-
ent. For them I created Chicken Tikka Tortilla
a pan fried bread sandwiched with tandoori
chicken tikka, mozzarella cheese, served with
chicken xuscous served with mixed vegetables
in a delicate sauce. Finally we have cre ated an
Indian-Thai bread. Thai Basil Naan that has the
krapow taste that the Thai palate is familiar
with. Fusion maybe or perhaps a style of Indian
cuisine that refl ects its Thai location, whatever,
it appeals to a wider audience, which is good
for business,
“Physically Bangkok is a spread out city
with traffi c issues,” Vinder admits, “It’s not
always physically convenient for customers to
come to my original much loved restaurant in
Sukhumvit. The reason for moving into shop-
ping malls is about getting food to the people
FEATURED RESTAURANTMRS. BALBIR’S
Tuesday-Sunday 11.00am.- 10.30pm.
2013
Credit cards
Price per person without drinks
FBP partner since
Mrs Balbir’s Indian restaurant - Central Silom Complex
155/1-2 Sukhumvit Soi 11/1,
Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Phone: 0-2231-3174-5
http://www.mrsbalbirs.com
https://www.facebook.com/mrsbalbirs
All major cards
THB 300
who want to eat it. Here at Silom Complex
we are bistro style with a take away counter.
Our outlets in Central are more for Home Take
Away, including our newest branch at Central
Rama 9 which just opened in April.
“What’s new about Mrs Balbir’s,” says Vin-
der, “ is our fushion additions exclusively here
at Silom Complex with are no more than 30%
of our total menu. I want to be clear that Mrs
Balbir hasnt gone fushion, my passion is still
for authentic Punjabi cuisine, variations to the
menu are location specifi c driven by customer
demand.”
Punjabi cuisine come from North-Western
india, the base ingredients of their masala
are onions, garlic and ginger. Their Amristar
region produces quality used to make paneer, a
fresh milk rennet free soft cheese which is com-
pletely lacto vegetarian. Vinder makes her own
paneer with high quality milk from a small herd
of cows in Hua Hin. She has also been Consul-
tant Indian Chef for Thai Airways creating the
infl ight menu for their Indian fl ights.
“Our menu offers authentic Punjabi cui-
sine,” says Vinder. “chicken Tikka masala and
Lamb Vindaloo are two of our best selling
dishes. After 35 years I have created my own
Inspired Indian Cuisine; Mozzarella cheese and
bell pepper pakoras; tikka masala with an Italian
twist served with pasta rather than rice.”
Due to the limited kitchen space at Silom Com-
plex the majority of the food served is pre-
pared in the Central Kitchen in Sukhumvit
Soi 11. For the past four years all food served
FEATURED RESTAURANT
MRS. BALBIR’S
by Mrs Balbir’s has been GMP & Halal certifi ed
by the Halal Science Centre of Chulalongkorn
University. This means that its not only Halal
compliant but kitchen practices are all certifi ed
for their standards of hygiene
“The secret of running a multi-outlet res-
taurant operation is having a good team,”
Vindar concludes, “I am their mentor and treat
them like family not like an employee. My kitch-
ens are open bright and transparent with the
homely touch of fresh fl owers on every table.”
PERSONALITYOF THE MONTH
David Parrot fi rst came to Bangkok in 1995 as Food and Beverage Co-ordinator for The
Oriental where he was responsible, among other things, for setting up The Oriental Shops
and the original Oriental Cafe at the Emporium. After two years, he moved to the Mandarin Ori-
ental Hong Kong for another two years and then back to Bangkok at The Peninsula.
He returned to the Mandarin Oriental group in Macau where Jonas Schuerman, the
man who originally hired him at The Oriental Bangkok, was working. Jonas was
his mentor and gave David his rock solid foundation in the hospitality industry.
When Jonas moved to be General Manager of the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur, David
followed to continue working with him.
“I am passionate about the service side of food and beverage,” David admits. “And I de-
cided I wanted to set up my own business while I still had the energy to make things happen. I had
15 years solid food and beverage experience with Mandarin Oriental and Peninsula.
“I was acquainted with Serge Brutin had his late brother Philippe’s concept for Crepes
& Co., the highly successful Bangkok creperie with an outlet on Sukhumvit Soi 12. My pro-
posal was a partnership to fulfi l Philippe’s vision of having Crepes & Co restaurants around the
world.
“My fi rst experience of expanding the brand was the opening of 8 Thonglor,” he
says. “It was extremely stressful as I had invested all my savings and more into the restaurant
which was delayed in opening for seven months waiting for the developers to complete the
mall. Cash fl ow was extremely tight, but somehow we soldiered on keeping all the staff on the
payroll. My second was a mini Crepes & Co with the re-opening of CentralWorld, just a corner
cafe for take away and just 15 chairs for desserts and snacks.”
“I took the brand overseas for the fi rst time open at the Shanghai Centre,” he says.
“It’s the most prestigious mall on West Nanjing Road, home to The Portman Ritz Carlton
and the Consulates of America, Australia and Britain. My business partner is a Swiss gentleman
with a Chinese wife who had been my management trainee at Mandarin Oriental.
“We fl ew our three top staff to Shanghai last April for six weeks for the opening. It was
the fi rst time they had a passport, left Thailand or even fl ew on an aircraft. It was an amaz-
ing experience!
“We started with the same menu concept that opened the original restaurant in Sukhumvit Soi 12:
salads, crepes and brunch. It’s packed for lunch as the clientele can relate to this style of food for their
mid-day meal. Dinner is still slow as we are gradually introducing our Mediterranean dishes which the
Shanghai crowd are still not familiar with. It takes 12 to 18 months for a restaurant to establish itself.
After the opening I stayed in Shanghai for two to three months but had to come back to Bangkok for
the opening of our Langsuan branch, in the sub-soi behind the former Calderazzo.
“I go to Shanghai once or twice a month as I need to feel the business,” he says. “I do two hours
training in the morning, the rest of the day working. We have very few key reports. To understand
your business, you have to be there, especially if the company is small.
“The land on which our original Soi 12 branch was located has been sold to real estate promoters.
We moved to a beautiful old house to keep the same homey feel in Langsuan that was completely
refurbished and opened in August 2012. I chose Langsuan because its a good mix of residential
and business, plus embassies. Here we serve the full Bangkok menu as at 8 Thonglor. We are get-
ting a different crowd here than at Thonglor; we have expanded rather than spread our business
when opened this branch.
DAVID PARROTCREPES & CO
RAMA IV Rd.
Sukhumvit Rd.
Nana Rd.
Asoke Rd.
Soi 22 Soi 24
PHROM PHONG
ASOKE
Two Multi-purpose Party Rooms for all occasions:Private Parties, Conferences, Workshops & Training
Specialize in Outdoor Catering anywhere in Thailand at friendly prices:Corporate functions, Birthdays, Wedding,
Receptions & Anniversaries
FINE INDIAN DINING
Serving North Indian, Mughlai & Indian-Chinese cuisineNon Vegetarian, Vegetarian & Jain Options
Special Quick set Lunch from only 199 THB
Marvel HotelSukhumvit soi 22 BangkokT : 02 260 1115-6E: [email protected]: www.indian-host.com
Open from 11.30 am to 11 pm
RECOMMENDED DISHES
TRY SOMETHING NEW TODAY
115-43 Kesari Rasmalai Fresh cheese cakes served in reduced milk, topped with pistachio and saffron
225 THB
240 THB
116-5 Cheese Quesadillas Assorted cheeses with jalapeños folded in fl our tortillas and fried crispy 225 THB
300 THB
13-43 Pizza Vegetariana Tomato, mozzarella cheese and assorted grilled vegetables
465 THB
255 THB
17-31 Miiso Tonkatsu Fried pork cutlets with Miso sauce.
191-3 Gold Katsu Curry Rice (M)
185-9 Half Roast Chicken Servedwith Rice And Sliced Vegetables or Juicy Crystallized Potatos
490 THB180 THB
26-15 FajitasCharley Browns Famous sizzling fajitas. Tender marinated strips of either grilled beef, chicken sautéed in onions and a capsicum marinade. Ac-companied by warm home-made fl our tortillas, Spanish rice, ‘mexi-beans’, shredded Cheddar cheese, sour cream and ranchero sauce on a bed of crisp shredded lettuce.
47-22 Basler Salm Basel style salmon steak topped with fried onion sauce
520 THB
126-29 Lobster Bisque Hot & Creamy
9-12 May
11th May
24th May
22-24 May (Trade) 25-26 May (Public)
7-31 May
23rd May, 6.30pm
Money Expo Bangkok
Royal Ploughing Ceremony
Pascal Jolivet Wine DinnerTHB 5,500 net, THB 3,850 net for Wine Ambassador Club Members
Visaka Bucha Day
THAIFEX - World of Food Asia 2013
Berlin Photography Exhibition
A display the latest and advanced financial services, investment resources, Financial Services and Funding Sources.
In the ceremony, two sacred oxen are hitched to a wooden plough and they plough a furrow in some ceremonial ground, while rice seed is sown by court Brahmins. After the ploughing, the oxen are offered plates of food, including rice, corn, green beans, sesame, fresh-cut grass, water and rice whisky. Depending on what the oxen eat, court astrologers and Brahmins make a prediction on whether the coming growing season will be bountiful or not.
A 5 course tasting menu paired with the fresh, fruity and crisp wines from Pascal Jolivet in the Loire Valley
An important day in the Buddhist Calendar and is a Public Holiday. Devotees will visit temples to pray and pay respect to The Buddha as well as offer food & alms to the monks. In the evening they will join a candle light procession.
This year the event welcomes the offi cial launch of World of Seafood, an offi cial collaboration to crown the best coffee bean from Asia in the new Roasters‘ Choice Award, a supercharged Thailand Ultimate Chef Challenge, and distinguished international speakers at 3 exciting new conferences, World of Food Safety, Pack InnoTech and Cold Chain World.
Architect and photographer Gerrit Engel now lives and works in Berlin uses to pinpoint precision of the large format camera Engel logs the facades of churches and castles, museums and theatres, villas and upper-class residential complexes, schools, shopping malls and embassies, accurately and distanced at the same time. A tour through the history of architecture has developed. Strictly sorted by the dates of origin of the buildings he takes no preferences and prejudices into account.
When? What? Description More info?
Sanam Luang, the ceremonial ground adjacent to the Grand Palace
Royal Benja Hotelhttp://www.tomorrowpeople.org/wlc-call-for-papers.htmlContact person: Jovana Savic
The Refl exions, Plaza Athénée Bangkok, A Royal Méridien Hotel, Wireless Road, tel 0-2650-8800, [email protected]
WHAT TO DO IN BANGKOK
Impact Exhibition & Convention Centre. Organised by Media Associated Company Limited 42/38 Chokchai-Ruammit Soi, Vipavadi-rungsit Road, Bangkok 10900 Tel: 66-02-6914126
Impact Areawww.thailandfoodfair.com
ASA Centre, 5th floor Siam Discovery, Free admission [email protected]
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