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SwiSS ChoiCe

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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

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KUppADELi

SUNRiSE TAcOS

ViA VAi

Receive 15% discount on

Sanwiches & Salad, Burgers & Salad

order over 599 baht and get a free slice of

apple or pumpkin pie

Order over 599 THB and get a FREE

pasta Arrabiata

iNDiAN HUT

OLiViE cAFE THE BLAcK SWAN

order any Two Curries

( Vegetarian or Non Vegetarian)

and get 2 FREE pieces of samosa

order over 499THB Baked Spinach With cheese (Small Size)

Order a Full Baguette Sandwich and

get a Half one for Free

AL NAFOORA

BANGKOK BURGER cOMpANY

order over 599 baht and get a free

Hummus

2 Regular Burgers + Shoestring Fries +

Chiken Wings * ONLY 599 THB! *

(Valid everyday from 6 PM)

LE LApiN

Order 1 Big Size sandwich or more

and get a Free Small chicken Mayo or Tuna Sandwich

*1 Free Sandwich per order only

LAST MONTH’S WINNERWAEO-RA-Wi won 2,000 THB

“Yoga Session” voucher with Pickaboo!

2 winners will receive complimentary vouchers at

MARCH 2014

daunting challenge,” says Michel. “The journey ‏

started over five years ago. Having decided to im-

port Swiss cheese into Thailand it took nearly a

year to apply for the appropriate import license.

The bureaucracy involved was daunting as I was

required to have a separate license for each type

of cheese I wanted to import which is only valid

for two years.”

-I come from the French speaking part of Swit”‏

zerland where Gruyere is regarded as the King

of Swiss Cheese. A hard yellow cows cheese

that originated in the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud,

Neuchâtel, Jura, and Berne that gained Appella-

tion d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) in 2001. These

accreditation means that the cheese maker is

grazing the right cows in the right pastures of

the region. Every stage of the production is con-

trolled to ensure that what is promised on the la-

bel is delivered in its taste. I have tried importing

many different types of cheeses from my region

to determine what appeals to the tastes of our

Thai and expatriate customers both western and

Japanese. That experience enabled me to reduce

it to a choice of seven types of cheese made by

manufacturers I know personally and whose

quality I can guarantee. They are the best exam-

ples of their cheese type available in Thailand.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 >>

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I am the only importer of Tomme Vaudois” he”‏

says. “A raw cow’s cheese matured for 8 weeks,

intensely flavoured with the flora of the valley

where the milk is sourced. It is fresh, grassy and

aromatic with a gentle tang, the texture is rich,

oozy and yielding. At our grand opening at-

tended by the Swiss Ambassador we were both

proud that finally these cheese was legally im-

ported into the Kingdom of Thailand.”

When we started the business we were just”‏

a cheese importer,” he says.” Customer curios-

ity of our quality products inspired their passion

to learn more, what to do with cheese and the

best ways to cook them. This lead to us intro-

ducing a couple of tasting tables on the ground

floor driven by demand from the local Asian

community. We then went onto develop recipes

that as a child I had learnt from my mother and

grandmother. The evolution of our business was

FEATURED RESTAURANTSwiSS ChoiCe

driven exclusively by customer demand.”

-We are located close to Sukhumvit’s Japa”‏

nese community, “ he says. “For them Swit-

zerland is a trendy wedding destination or the

location for a two week holiday. They come to

the cheese shop to relive that emotion. As many

don’t know his to cook with Swiss cheeses we

started cooking classes. Our students came back

with their friends and we changed from the place to buy, to the meeting

place for those with a genuine passion for cheese.”

The next stage of our evolution was the opening our 24 seat chalet style”‏

restaurant serving simple meals with a real Swiss taste. Customer brought

their senior managers visiting from overseas to share the atmosphere they

experienced when travelling to Switzerland. That recognition is the biggest

compliment to me. Some days the restaurant is packed, others it empty but

such is the nature of the restaurant business in Bangkok.”

With such authentic Swiss tasting food it’s hard to believe that it is”‏

cooked by a Thai, Chef Nong,” he admits. “Although she has never travelled

to Switzerland she crafted her culinary art in her pervious Swiss restaurant,

mentored in her own restaurant by visiting Swiss customers. It’s amazing

but with certain dishes she cooks as well as my mother, which is a danger-

ous admission.”

FEATURED RESTAURANTSwiSS ChoiCe

-Our bread is supplied partly cook by a Swiss Baker that we finish in our ov”‏

ens to be used in our Swiss Fondue,” he reveals. “Raclette is both a semi hard

cows milk cheese and a dish where a large wheel of the cheese traditionally

I’d melted in front of an open fire, scrapped of and served with firm small

potatoes. Melting the right cheese was easy finding the right potato was

the challenge. Local potatoes are too sweet but after trying various types

from different supermarkets we recently found the right potato in Klong

Toey market. We serve a rustic Macaroni de Chalet which has been modi-

fied substituting bacon which is too strong with a locally sourced smoked

German ham.

-Recently a Swiss trading company in Bangkok commissioned us to pro‏

vide a full Swiss cheese buffet for 150 guests. It’s the first time that they

have been able to show their valued customers such a wide portfolio of our

country’s cheese.

The Swiss ChoiceTel +66-2259-0590

Email info@theswisschoice.com

Sukhumvit Soi 43 Bangkok 10110

Cheese shop 11am-8pm Restaurant : Lunch 11am-2pm, Dinner 6-10pm

pERSONALiTYOF THE MONTH

My husband Ravi and I share a passion for good food, in particular

Tandoor cooked Kebabs. A popular misconception is that Indian food

is just hot & spicy curries which isn’t true. When we found it diffi-

cult to find a restaurant serving quality Northern Indian and Mughali

cuisine we were inspired to open Indian Host serving good quality

authentic cuisine at an affordable price.

Our hospitality training came from our collective experience of din-

ning in various restaurants around the world, our management back

grounds guided us to managing the restaurant business. As we want-

ed kebabs to be the signature of the restaurant we hired our chef

who specialises in Tandoor cooking. Ravi went to school in Lucknow,

the capital city of Uttar Pradesh state, in India, home of the best

Kabab recipes. There it was he his love affair with Mughlai and Royal

Nawabi style cuisines.

I am the face of Indian Host. From fine dining we ha expanded to

providing outside catering including five star hotels around Thailand.

I also look after the high level management, and delegate most of the

day to day work to the professional staffs.

As we are in the service industry, friendliness and putting are cus-

tomers is of utmost importance to us. As we want to send out the

message to all our existing and potential customers we are a friendly

place we adopted the motto “Aapka Dost Indian Host”

Mutton Authority was inspired by a famous dish from a road side

eatery near the Government Authority area that issues driving li-

censes in the walled city of Delhi. Ravi first tasted it in the 80’s and

worked with our Chef to tweek it to recreate his culinary memory.

Indian Host’s menu comes from northwestern India serving Punjabi

and Mughlai cuisines. Mughlai served to Indian Emperors five centu-

ries ago has a spicy royal taste, not overly hot rather a harmonious

balance of herbs and spices. It was these spices the inspired European

traders to find a sea route from continental Europe to India

Our signature Muglai dishes are Kabuli Raan, Tandoori Chicken, Ro-

gan Josh, Chicken Malai Tikka, Daal Makhani and Chicken Makhan-

wala while Mutton Authority, Methi Malai Muttor, Dal Tadka and

Paneer Pasanda represent Punjabi cuisine.

Our neighbourhood has a lot of Thai-Indians, Indian expats and In-

dian tourists all of who are familiar with the Chinese cuisine served

in India and prefer it to the quite different Chinese food served in

Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. This is why we have hired

Chefs specialising in Indian Chinese cuisine to help us to expand our

menu.

For Thais who have never had Indian food it helps they try those

dishes they are more familiar with. From there they start to develop

a liking for other dishes we are serving. Of course, we already have

a lot of Thais as our customers, but the mass appeal is yet to kick in.

RENU BHATiA

Fresh, good quality Indian ingredients make the difference, most of

them have to imported as only a few are grown locally. Basmati the

rich long grain rice, grown in the waters of the Himalayas has it’s own

unique taste best appreciated in the royalty Basmati dish “Biriyani” .

Our society is becoming more Cosmopolitan, many Thai have been

educated overseas in particular in Britain where Indian food is popu-

lar and available on every street corner. When they return home to

Thailand, Indian Host is one of their favourite.