Nearly
touched Paradise
Just recently, the Cordon Noir Thailand under the leadership
of Marco
Brueschweiler had a weekend gathering in Chiang Mai to
inaugurate
a new member
to our prestigious and Gourmet Club
18 members sighed up for this event and so did I and I was
glad I did
,what followed was one of the nicest and diversified weekend filled
with
sunshine, fun, friendship and great food, all put together seamlessly
by our
Cordon Noirians from Thailand
Let me start from the beginning, some of us arrived from Malaysia,
Bangkok and
me from Hong Kong, after a smooth transfer from the Airport to the
Furama
Hotel, we meet at the lobby and went out to a northern Thai noodle
restaurant
(shop) recommended by our driver. the food was very good and extremely
economical,
Hannes, Fon & Marco at
Curry Mee
we
felt refreshed and went for a little sightseeing which
included one temple, very beautiful and a little bit unusual
as it
was done
entirely out of wood .
the only fully wooden
build temple in Thailand
Royal
gate sight seen
Next was the local market, and our focus was on the dried fruits and
nuts; and
they were delicious. We then got a little city tour by our cab driver
before we
returned to the hotel and meet up with the rest of our members and
friends and
some of us had a refreshing beer at the bar before we went to our rooms
and
changed to our evening cloth for dinner.
By now we are nearly completed and went for the
Northern Thai Dinner at Khum Khantoke; a very nice venue with a big
outdoor
entertainment area… and our seating location was perfect and
comfortable. The
food was very good and authentic and with our local ladies at the
dinner table
we even got it spiced up a little, as the evening went on, we enjoyed
easy
table conversation together with good wine and other beverages.
The entertainment was grand and very diverse, a big assemble and many
beautiful
costume, by the time we were done we really felt like we have arrived
in
beautiful Thailand.
We returned relatively early at our Hotel for good reasons as most of
us had
traveled from afar, some had a one hour time difference, and we also
had to get
out of bed at 4 am next morning, to witness the sunrise on top of the
Doi
Intanon, the highest mountain in Thailand 2565 meter above sea level.
So when our President Jochen
Kern called us from Malaysia at 10:30 pm, he was
surprised that most of us were already in bed.
The morning came fast and we all assembled once again in the lobby at
4:45 am
to experience our big day. After collecting our Breakfast boxes we were
transported in two very comfortable vans for 2 hours towards the
mountain top
and heaven.
We arrived at that beautiful spot a few minutes late; but never than
less
witnessed a beautiful sunrise welcoming and celebrating a new day and a
fantastic event for us.
The weather was surprisingly chilly, only between 9 to 14 degree
Celsius, depending
which thermometer you were looking at.
While the sun was warming up the earth, we kept warm by a brisk hike to
the top
and to the summit cafe to enjoy some hot coffee and hot chocolates. The
local
coffee was very good.
Then we carried on for a beautiful jungle walk, plenty of Fauna and
Flora and
fresh air filling our city lungs.
Back at the car we headed to a place close to paradise: and way beyond
my
expectation. It was a wonderful scenery with two big monuments; the two
Chedis
in honor of the King and Queen on two different hill tops surrounded by
stunning gardens with hundreds of different European types of flowers
decorating it . Very rarely in the past I had seen such an organized
arrangement of vibrant colors... we were at the Versailles of Thailand!
The
weather was mild and that explained why they are able to grow such
beautiful
flowers.
Too
soon we had to leave this magical place and we were driven down to road
to the
Royal Project which is located in the Khun Klang Village, this project
started
by the King in 2009 to educate the hill tribe people in terms of
farming and
land accommodation.
They
had been encouraged to cultivate cash crops instead of opium and
improving
their living condition significantly. Also agricultural carriers had
been given
to the Karen and Hmong people in their community, and they now grow a
variety
of cool climate vegetable and fruits, their strawberries are so sweet
and over
the top.
We
visited also a Sturgeon and Trout farm, tasted some of their caviar,
which
originated from the Siberian Sturgeon and it was of good quality at a
fair
price.
We
also seen the plant nursery, and everything from coffee plant to swiss
chard,
from rosemary to thyme and parsley, even small merlot grapes, they also
had
zucchini and fennel and of course the strawberries orchard and the rice
terraces on the hills.
And
in the middle of it is an semi outdoor restaurant, where we had a great
lunch
together with some bubblies supplied by Hannes, (thank you) the food
was
plentiful and we enjoyed it very much in the shade of a bamboo roof but
still
outside in nature, surrounded by all the plants and vegetables and a
waterfall
in the distance.
Rudi & Toni at the Royal
Lunch
After
lunch and on our way back we stopped at a local street fruit and
vegetable
market; where we bought more dried fruits and nuts and also some fresh
fruits
like Strawberries and other cold climate types.
farm
lunch Jeffry and Friends
After
a very good snooze in the van we arrived back at the hotel and once
again refreshed
ourselves at the bar before moving on the get changed and ready for the
grand
dinner:
the
very core reason why 18 people travelled to Chiang Mai.
the senior chefs
Wissmer and Pozzato waiting for the Cordon Noir Dinner
We
met at 6 pm in the lobby, all of us nicely dressed and decorated with
our
Cordon Noir Medal, a symbol of fraternize and belonging.
The ladies wore their
best summer dresses and the Gentlemen looked somehow respectable
too.
We
arrived at the Monkey Kitchen Restaurant just in time for the cocktail,
the
place was small but cozy, and it was closed for other guests and there
a long
table was beautifully decorated with linen, chinaware, silver, glasses
and
flower arrangement and seats for 18 persons.
Executive Gourmet Thailand
& VP at Menu Check
The
chef/owner aim is to become a member of good standing in our club and
therefore
she; Phattanant Thongthong must together with her crew; cook a dinner
for us
which contains caviar in at least one course, she had it in all
courses.
Chef
Thong Thong is a rising star in the culinary scene and she made a name
for
herself in competing and winning at food competition as far away as
Hong Kong.
Now
to the Menu and food:
We
started off with a beautiful pan fried prawn on a little potato mash
topped
with Sevruga caviar and a thing crispy potato ring standing and giving
crisp
and height to the dish, the combination was very good and went well
with the
white wine selected by Hannes.
The
next course was very nice a light eggy savory pannacotta, reheated and served in an eggshell and
topped with caviar,
placed on a wooden board in a small bird nest, what a great tasting
dish this
was.
Next course: A to perfection slow cooked and lightly smoky salmon was served next with a bit of plain yogurt and a black coal wafer and of course once again topped with caviar ,this time chef used the local caviar from the farm we just visited earlier on in the day, also a very nice dish
The
soup followed and if I remember correctly (sorry I lost the menu) it
was a very
fine green pea soup with a bit cream and again decorated with caviar
and some
flowered oil.
The
caviar really added that extra kick and flavor to the soup.
So
far the food was very good and the team of 5 young chefs in the kitchen
and the
two servers on the floor did a great job, it was seamless and the food
came out
at the right temperature, including the plates… and at the right time,
also the
wines, now we were into the red Bordeaux and water was replenished at
all the
times.
After
a little break we had a small but very refreshing lime-basil sherbet to
cleanse
our pallets and to get us ready for the main course.
The
main course looked great, it was a roasted lamb loin coated in a lamb
farce I
think it was, and then gently steamed and panfried, not an easy dish to
do, as
you cannot get the core temperature to high, so that you don't overcook
the
lamb, this was achieved and while the farce was cooked, the lamb in the
center
was still pink, this dish was served together with a celeriac
puree i
believe , glazed baby carrots some broccocino, a mixture
between cauliflower
and Broccoli, according to the chef and the vegetables came again from
the
Royal Project which we visited earlier on. Not to forget, there was
caviar for
the main course too and a nice lamb juice. Great dish.
And
finally we moved on to the dessert, it was a symphony of colors, and
reminded me
of the garden we visited earlier on , there was a sphere with vanilla,
ice
cream, Strawberry and blueberries (all local) and some
molecular fruit
caviar, beautiful presented with some fluffy chocolate sponge.
And
that was the menu; I must say it was an outstanding meal coming out of
such a
small kitchen, with such a young team and such a talented, humble young
chef.
We
went on with inauguration right away and everybody was in full
agreement that
she will make a great member in our Club and she will bring a wealth of
culinary treasures and knowledge with her to us and enriches our Cordon
Noir
Club
Thank
you chef Thong Thong for giving this great Epicurean
experience
At
this point I would also like to say thank you to Marco and all the
members and
friends which came along and have given the support and made this a
great
weekend in spirit of our founder Jochen Kern
Vice President Rudy Muller
Sunday Tour
The Sunday Hart Core
riding
Elephants 
and
visit the long neck clan