Buddhist Thai food delights Malaysia`s Muslim palate

Bangkok - At "To Dine For," a restaurant chain serving Malaysia`s Muslims the cuisine of pork-loving Buddhist Thais, religion is no barrier to success.

Businessman Thanee Laivarintr, a former architect, has won a national Malaysian award for best Halal Asian restaurant, for "To Dine For," the top outlet in his chain of 13 fine-dining eateries in Malaysia, a Muslim country with strict halal rules.

Halal, an Arabic word meaning permissible, forbids consumption of pork, blood and alcohol, and any other meat must be slaughtered according to Islamic rites.

Just like in neighboring Thailand, Thanee`s best-seller in Malaysia is a fiery dish known as tom yum, a fragrant soup steaming with chilies, although Malaysians like it with prawns instead of other meat.

"It`s a best seller here because we cook it with an authentic taste that can burn the mouth of a Westerner," Thanee said over lunch at one of his fancy restaurants.

"We are now in a Muslim country. We have to make them confident about our food," said Thanee, 53, who decided to settle in Kuala Lumpur with his Chinese-Malaysian wife after 20 years as an international architect.

ASIAN FUSION
The menu at "To Dine For" includes favorites such as stir-fried chicken with cashew nuts in a crispy taro basket, and Bangkok Naked Duck, crispy duck topped with sweet chili sauce.

At the upscale restaurants, spotlights filtered by a bamboo screens throw a soft glow over tables covered in crisp white cloth. Metallic green silk curtains hang from a high ceiling and the food is served by Malaysian staff in Thai-style dress.

The average price for a three-course dinner is about 40 ringgit ($11.70) per person.

The signature tom yum dish is made from lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galanga, shallots, lime juice, fish sauce, tamarind and crushed chilies. In Thailand, it is eaten at any time of day, in restaurants or from street stalls.

"Most Thai dishes are fused from Chinese, Malay and Indian. That`s why it`s easy to satisfy people here," Thanee said.

Thanks largely to Malaysia`s tom yum lovers, about 80 Thai restaurants, excluding food stalls, are spread throughout the country, where 60 percent of the population is Muslim.

Thanee, who opened his first eatery with an initial investment of $235,000 in 1999, now has 13 outlets, mostly in Kuala Lumpur. He expanded to Singapore, where he has one diner and plans to open two more next year.

"I explored many countries, but Malaysia offers the lowest cost in this region, even lower than my hometown," said the Bangkok-born Thanee.

"I am an architect, so I can put image and culture into my restaurants. I can`t cook, but I can tell what is good taste."

($1= 3.425 Malaysian ringgit)

Source: news.yahoo.com (21 November 2007)
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