Lunch with Chef Jet Tila

Sunday. May 22, 2016

20 of us met at Ruen Pair restaurant in Thai Town. This is a tour that Melting Pot Tours in conjunction with Chef Jet Tila does several times a year. $140 a pop but well worth it. Chef Tila gave us lessons in proper Thai manners. How to eat with fork in left and and spoon in right hand and basically use the spoon for most of the eating. Also how to fold hands under our chins and slightly bow as a greeting. He attempted to teach us the proper Thai words for greetings but I think that was above us. He turned out to be a very funny, likable, personable person. Grew up the area but also has lived in Garden Grove and Alhambra. Is a Buddhist but went to Catholic grade school and was an altar boy. He liked the extra gigs that the church did because it gave him a few coins in his pocket.

His relatives started the chain of Royal Thai restaurants and a few are still operating today. His father founded the Bangkok Market on Melrose. That is next on my adventures along with Stir Market.

Chef Tila was appointed by the Thai government to be the official Culinary Ambassador of Thai cuisine to the United States. He started the Wazuzu restaurant at the Wynn's resort in Las Vegas and has appeared on numerous shows on the Food Network  He also is a partner in Stir Market in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles. A European food hall.

We stared out with 2 food dishes at Ruen Pair, a fabulous papaya salad, much better than I have had before and a Pork Jerky with sticky rice.  Jerky has good flavor, the sauce was very potent. I tried a bit but passed on using it.

Next stop was Sapp Coffee Shop.  There we had a dish called Boat Noodles,  A 5 spice  broth with rice noodles and different proteins. You can pick and choose. really good, deep flavors. Next was my favorite dish of the day. Jade Noodles. Noodles are a wheat pasta. mustard greens which gives the noodles a light green color, hence the name "Jade" noodles. Also had duck and pork in the dish. Since this was a "coffee" shop we all had either a Thai coffee or Thai Cold Tea.  I went for the tea which was almost like a thin shake. I could get addicted to this drink.

From there we went down a few blocks to the Bang-Luck market. Fascinating.  Got a lesson in Thai produce and fruit along with spices and condiments. They do not use salt at all, rely on fish sauce.  White pepper only. 

Back down the street to check out a couple of shrines and see the metal posts that were installed with one of the Deity's on top.

Last stop on the tour was the Red Corner Restaurant.. There we had Spicy Basil Stirfry. We had it with ground beef but you can specify your protein. Had a fried egg on top. I was stuffed at this time and ate just a small amount. It also was heavy in the spicy basil.

I find that basil, cilantro,  ginger and lemongrass go a long way with me. I can handle loads of garlic but the others just don't really do it for me.

This was a fun, informative tour. Learned alot about Thai food and culture.