NOVEMBER 2011

Le Pre Grill French restaurant and Wine Bar

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ScaN DeLIBuy any main course and get a FREE portion of Pancakes with Strawberry Jam [145-21]

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

I am originally from Oregon in the USA, but I have been overseas most of my life. I lived in

Thailand for five years being as a kid and returned in 2006. What I like most about living here

is the quality of life: having good friends, a good job. I play golf frequently and I eat very well.

I like Food by Phone because it offers a variety of options for lunch and dinner, and the service is reliable, convenient, friendly and prompt. With so many choices it would be hard to name one favourite dish, but at the moment I am quite partial to Beirut’s Couscous. Three of my favourite restaurants are Masala art, Bacco and Bourbon Street.

I’ve been using Food by Phone for the past five years placing an order at least four times

a week. Food by Phone is responsible for about 20% of my calories!

Travis WhiTeDirector of Business Development - Hotels Division, Minor International

RINgeR HuTGet a FREE portion of chicken Karaage with every order over 500 Baht

LAST MONTH’S WINNERcRISTIaNa MaRRa wins

a complimentary voucher of 1,000 THB

from Madam T

MONTHLYCOMPETITIONFor a chance to win a 1,000 THB voucher atLe Pre grill restaurant

please go to www.foodbyphone.comand answer a few simple questions.

FeaTUreD resTaUraNT

Travis’s favourite restaurants

Le Pre Grill first appeared on the Bangkok dining

scene in November 2005; it was located in

a small house on Lang Suan Soi 4. The business

grew, and later accommodation was needed; so

the restaurant relocated to a larger standalone

house at the beginning of Narathiwas Road

between Suriwong and Silom Roads.

There are three dining areas; on arrival

guests will notice a fresco terrace, covered

by a large red awning the same typical style

of a pavement cafe in France. On entering the

restaurant guest will walk pass the bar which

leads to the main dining room. The tables

are formally laid with a gold table cloth,

starched white linen napkin, elegant cutlery

and crystal wine an water glasses. A large

cork screw chandelier hangs from the ceiling

directly over the aquarium with smaller

circular crystal chandeliers forward and behind.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 >>

MaDaM TOrder any 2 main courses and get one FREE portion of Appetizers: Wrap or Spring Rolls [146-6,146-7,146-8]

The restaurant has a chilled walk in wine

cellar where 30% of the wines and

champagnes are from France, the remainder

are mostly from the New World in particular

from Chile and Argentina. The wines were

selected to be not too expensive and easy

drinking to suit current tastes.

chef Jai Lafon is half French, half Thai. He

was brought up in Paris where he learnt the

art of classic French cuisine. “To ensure

I deliver an authentic French product,” says

chef Jai, “our meats and Foie gras are

imported, but I am using local fish, seafood

and vegetables. Running a French restaurant

in Bangkok is a tough business, the market is

2 Narathiwat Road, Suriyawongse, Bang-rak, Bangkok 10500

Tel: 02-266-5899 / Fax: 02-266-5898

Mobile: 08-6354-7372

Website: www.lepregrill.com

Opening hours

Credit cards

Price per person without drinks

FBP partner since

5pm-1am / last orders

midnight

All major cards

THB 700

2010

FeaTuReD ReSTauRaNTLE PRE GRILL FRENCH RESTAURANT AND WINE BAR

looking for a cheaper price for the same

qual i ty, which chal lenges my cul inary

creativity. Today, the majority of my customers

are Thais who understand French dining.

The basic taste of my classic French dishes

remains unchanged but I am sympathetic to

strengthening the flavours when asked to

whiteout compromising authenticity.”

The dinner Chef Jai prepared for me started with

sautéed baby scallops and shrimp with

garlic and parsley served with rocket salad.

There was a pleasant combination of the two

types of seafood piled together in the middle

of the plate and worked well with a garlic

parley sauce that has an assertive but not

overpowering taste.

Then arrived duck leg confit, slow cooked

duck leg cooked in goose fat served with

sautéed potato, garlic, parsley and orange

sauce. This dish had what I was looking for

in duck confit, a marriage of two texture

a crispy skin and moist meat pair with a the

traditional French caramelized orange sauce,

pleasingly this one was not too sweet.

To be followed by roasted sea bass filet

with a White wine cream sauce and again

with this similar texture combination of crispy

skin and soft moist meat, the White wine

cream sauce had just the intended taste

I was expecting.

When the main course was over, the fine

dining tradition was observed of clearing

everything off the table before serving dessert.

There was a duo of temptation for dessert

a chocolate mountain delicious cake with

a light sponge shell with a rich warm dark

chocolate sauce in the centre and a deliciously

flavorful strawberry sorbet.

There was a duo of temptation for dessert

a chocolate mountain delicious cake with

a light sponge shell with a rich warm dark

chocolate sauce in the centre and a deliciously

flavorful strawberry sorbet.

Diner at Le Pre grill is an authentic taste

of traditional Parisian cuisine served in the

heart of Bangkok at an affordable price

“Opening a restaurant is like having a son,” he says, “you want to do your

best for them but they can be very demanding. When I first opened here, we

were serving lunch and dinner but after a year I realised that it wouldn’t

work serving traditional French food at the price customers are willing to pay

for lunch. Rather than compromising the integrity of our product,

I decided to open only for dinner. Timing is between 5-7pm with Happy Hour

when selected wines, beers and spirits you will receive 50% discount.

“I come from Manila in The Philippines,” says Joanna, After graduation I worked in sev-

eral restaurants in Makarti Place where I was cooking western food. I started working at

The Dubliner as chef de Partie in May 2000 under the opening Executive Chef Irishman

Jason Skidmore who taught me the culinary taste of the emerald isle. I had never cooked

Irish food before I came to The Dubliner. But what I could offer was that I could read

English and could understand how to interpret any recipes I was given.

Due to my lack of experience of Irish cuisine I was nervous to start with, but I quickly got my

confidence, as the recipes were well structured. In addition, as I was trained about the taste

of Irish food so I soon saw a similarity between this and the western food I had been cooking

back home in The Philippines. The difference was the gravy there tends to be more like a clear

soup while the authentic Irish version is much thicker.

I was promoted to Head chef five years ago and I put my stamp on the food by fine

tuning some of the recipes. When we opened we had been using tinned plum tomatoes

in our gravy. But now we can get good quality fresh ones and I am using them for my

sauces plus carrots, celery and basil for a richer taste.

Indian curry was another dish I had never eaten before coming here, and I felt so

honoured when the first one I cooked just by following a good recipe earned me praise

from our customers. The heart of all of our sauces is a home made stock, which we

simmer for four to five days, for my Indian curry I add garam masala, cayenne peeper,

paprika, tinned plum tomatoes coriander, onion and tomato paste. This is now my favourite

dish in our menu. My favourite Irish dish is pork sausage served with bubble and squeak

and a rich caramelised onion gravy as adding the cabbage to the mashed potato adds

more texture rather than serving plain mash - its typical Irish comfort food.

I am a great fan of pies whether they are filled with fish, chicken and ham or steak and

kidney topped with soft crust pastry likewise Shepherd’s Pie, the combination of the rich

meat ragout balanced by the simplicity of mash.

For dessert my favourite is apple crumble, mostly for the crumble; we add crushed

cashew and walnuts to give it more crunchy. The Dubliner is my second home and I

am lucky to have such a good boss.

celebRity chef

Joanna Poblete

THe DuBLINeR440,Sukhumvit Road,.Soi 22-24 Klong toey,Bangkok 10110

COOK BOOK OF The MONThaSIaN FLavOuRS

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Nov 2010

AVAILABLE:

ISBN-13:

Kinokuniya

Asia Book

978-0470889350

by Eric Ripert

In Avec Eric Chef Eric takes the reader on a culinary journey from Italy

to California in this companion piece to his PBS series of the same name.

He aims to share how his cultural adventures spark the creative process.

While he falls short of his overall goal, his recipes and the amazing

photos that outnumber the dishes more than make up for this lapse.

The roasted pork loin with wild mushrooms, garlic, and sage pan jus from Tuscany will

tempt even the most faithful of vegans, while heirloom tomato salad with black garlic and

white balsamic, and white asparagus with anchovy-herb butter, both from Los Gatos in

California, proclaim the supremacy of vegetables. Marshall, California, showcases fruits from the

sea, a subject Ripert knows more than a little about; oyster sangrita and whole roasted red

snapper with Thai spices and coconut rice accent the freshness of the ingredients, and Ripert

includes sidebars on oyster shucking and tasting, which complete the oyster encounter.

Journeys to Italy’s Livorno, Mugello, and Fonterutoli as well as the Sonoma region of California

and the Cayman Islands have rounded out Ripert’s expedition. While the randomness of his

destinations makes the book seem like an afterthought, the array of appetizing dishes that Ripert

offers was worth the price.

“I was thinking like a home cook who invited friends to my home for a simple meal, following the

seasons and using those ingredients to create one amazing experience that would allow me to

mingle, eat and drink with my guests. The recipes and ingredients always reflect a place and

the inspiration I took away from that place.”

aBOUT The aUThOr

Born in France and Eric was taught to cook by his grandmother from a young age. He moved to

Paris at age 17 and worked for two years at La Tour d’argent from where he went to work at

Jamin under Joël Robuchon and was soon promoted to Assistant Chef de Partie.

Then he went to work at Le Bernadin in New York and due to the untimely death of Gilbert Le

Croze he was promoted to executive chef when he was just 29. He was responsible for Le Ber-

nadin to be the only restaurant to win four stars from The New York Times for four consecutive

years as well as being rated 3 stars by Michelin guide.

GeT TO KNOWOUR MANAGER!

Originally I am from France, and before

coming to Bangkok I have been working in

Las vegas first. I opened a wine store and

then a bistro; I have a total of 15 years-

experiences in the hospitality industry.

I came to Thailand two and a half years ago

to open our Cafe with my husband. We are

a family business, and our aim is to build a

good working relationship with each of our

customers and to make each and every

visit a unique experience. Nothing beats

w o rd o f m o u t h , b a s e d o n c u s t o m e r

experience, to promote a cafe such as ours.

Our biggest strength is our Thai staff,

who I find smooth and easy to work with.

I communicate with them in English, French

and Thai. I resort to Spanish when cursing,

and when those four did not get the message

across, I would turn to International sign

language. I will do whatever it takes to build

a strong local team; to train them to have

the skills and empower to deliver a service to

please our customers and exceed their

expectations. What I l ike most about

Thailand is the kindness of the people; the

least is the torrential rain.

I am not having a one woman show and

would like to share this stage with a fellow

team member, chef Nok (Jutharat Takai).

She’s from Bangkok with 12 years hospitality

expe r i ence . She was one o f the f i r s t

employees to join us when we opened and

had previously been working in the kitchen

at Thai airways First and Royal Orchid

Lounge at the airport. With her previous

experience dealing with International travelers

from around the world, it is easy for her to

cook our French bistro cuisine.

Manager of Tartine CafeAgathe Verge

We are going through a progressive re-design of Deals on Wheels and feel

it’s appropriate to ask you, our readers, what else you would like to see in

the newsletter. In return for your constructive feedback we will give you in

return a free delivery with your next order. Simply share your ideas with

us by sending an e-mail to marketing@foodbyphone.com and your next

delivery is on us.

editor in chief:Laurence Civil

Email: laurence.civil@gmail.com

Publisher:Asia Media Studio Co., Ltd.

Email: info@asiamediastudio.com

Sales: Email: marketing@foodbyphone.com

PlOeNChiT Fair 2011The Ploenchit Fair has grown to be one of the biggest and much loved events in Bangkok’s social calendar. It was first held in the grounds of The British embassy in 1956 to support a range of diverse charity projects in all regions of Thailand. Now, it is one of the largest charity fair events held in Asia. Every year approximately 2000 volunteers assemble to help put on the Ploenchit Fair. Over 250 corporate Sponsors are involved.

It’s a family fun day based on an english Fairground where most British and many others join together to create a unique atmosphere for all while raising funds to help the less fortunate in Thailand. Last year it attracted some 10,000 visitors from the international communities and raised THB 5 million.

This year the 54th Ploenchit Fair will be held on Saturday, 26th November in the grounds of Shewsbury school with an array of outdoor attractions and entertainment for a fun-filled day with family and friends. Enjoy shopping and activities, including the Ferris Wheel, Carousel, Go-Karts, Euro Bungy, Giant Wave Slide, Mini Golf and 20 or more stalls with games of skill and chance. There is going to be over 50 shopping outlets at the Petticoat Lane that has charity stalls, sell ing a vast assortment of treasures ranging from clothes, gifts, and cosmetic products to food from many restaurants to taste.

“Food by Phone has always been an active member of the local community,” says Marc Hagelauer, Managing Director, “We have been participating for many years for many reasons. It is an opportunity for us to give back to the community and to meet our partner restaurants socially in a way that benefits the less fortunate.”

The easiest way to get there is to take the sky train to Saphan Taksin and then the shuttle boat to Shrewsbury School. For those driving the address for your satnav is 1922 charoen Krung Road (expressway exit Chan Road), limited parking is available.