Eat Thai, Visit Thai

In partnership with Rosa’s Thai and Official Tourism Thailand UK

It’s no secret that Brits love Thai food! Food and travel go hand in hand and as one of the world’s best-loved holiday destinations and home of one of the UK’s most loved cuisines, there has never been a better time to talk to us - travellers - through our stomachs! I’m here to inspire more of you to visit Thailand and explore new and more diverse regions, through your love of Thai food.

On this gourmet odyssey, we are joining chef and restauranteur, Saiphin Moore, in Thailand on the quest to create a brand new recipe for the menu at Rosa’s Thai Cafe. This is really a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to travel with one of the UK’s favourite Thai chefs and experience, first hand, how ingredients, flavours and the ultimate new dish is researched and created. Saiphin will take us to her home town of Phetchabun, where her life began and share some local delicacies. She will also introduce us to some of her key suppliers and we’ll have the opportunity to see and learn how key ingredients such as tamarind paste and coconut milk are produced and learn about the origin of popular dishes such as Pad Thai. This exciting journey takes us to some of the Kingdom’s lesser-known regions, far from the well-trodden tourist trail, experiencing ‘unseen Thailand’ and get a true taste of local Thai life with plenty of delicious treats.

First stop: Bangkok

It’s no secret that Bangkok is one of the world’s food capitals. From an amazing Chinatown street food to Michelin star restaurants, it’s all here! We’ve started with tasting all the possible (and impossible) tastes of Chinatown. No chance I’d remembered the names of the dishes, but Thai wonton noodles with pork or chicken, spicy jumbo prawn soup and mango sticky rice among the must tries. The best way is just to dive into the Chinatown and try whatever you fancy the look of, what an experience! For the more refined dining head to The Never Ending Summer and Sri Trat, two of my favourite places in the city.

A trip to Samut Songkhram, Ratchaburi and Phetchaburi

After a few days in Bangkok we set off northbound with stop overs at Songkham, Ratchaburi and finally Phetchaburi. As we were moving more inland we’ve noticed change of the ingredients highlighting river fish and colourful Khanom chin noodles.

Next stop: arriving to central Thailand: Phitsanulok + Phetchabun

The highlight of the day was visiting the stunning Wat Prathat Phasornkaew temple. Located in the remote Khao Kho region of Phetchabun also known as Little Switzerland for its cool climate. The location for the temple was chosen for its natural beauty and serenity. Built in 2004, it was not officially a Buddist temple until 2010 when they fulfilled the criteria of having 4 live in monks. The design of this temple is quite modern, with five stunning white buddhas dominating the landscape. Each Buddha represents each of the Buddhas from different incarnations, each 2500 years long. The walls and floors of the temple are decorated with shards of Thai crockery donated by locals.

Final stop: Saiphin’s home

I can’t even describe how amazing it was to arrive at where the journey that has taken now famous chef from rural Thailand to the East End of London has begun. As a young girl growing up in Phetchabun in rural Thailand, she helped out on the family farm and learnt her cooking skills from her mother. Her dream was to own her own restaurant. By the time she was 16, Saiphin had already opened her first noodle shop at her parents’ home. The entrepreneur subsequently moved to Hong Kong and it was there, in 2001, where Saiphin met Alex, the British man who would become her husband and business partner. The couple moved to London in 2006 and a year later they opened a simple market stall in Brick Lane. The success of that stall encouraged them to set up a Thai restaurant on the site of a former greasy spoon in London’s East End. Rosa’s Thai Cafe was born. For a few nights we were cooking dinners with Saipin’s family and I can’t be more grateful for the experience!