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Scapas Night at the Chedi-totally Scandinavian
Seafood delights and a new “take” on an old favourite
A very special night at The Chedi was held August 1, hosted by the hotel’s
guest chef, Jaakko Sorsa, with the aim of promoting his recently published
book, “Skapas Dining”.
Chef Jaakko Sorsa (centre) with management and
guests at the Chedi Hotel.
Jaakko works in Hong Kong at the famous “Finds” restaurant, bar and lounge;
the company has premises in Finland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden,
hence the name, FINDS! Not surprisingly, Jaakko’s speciality is Scandinavian
cuisine, little known outside Europe and heavy on meat, seafoods and that
delicious classic Scandinavian dish, Gravid Lax, literally translated as
“buried salmon”
Jaakko’s book concentrates on the Scandinavian lifestyle, and includes food
such as Scapas, (the Swedish version of Tapas), seafood, (particularly
salmon), drinks and coffee. His culinary inspiration comes from his two
grandmothers, Ida and Lydia, ensuring that, enhanced by his own special
flair, his recipes are authentic and traditional
Prior to sitting down for dinner next to the Chedi’s swimming pool, guests
at the exclusive event socialised whilst tasting the various scapas on
offer—washed down with some excellent wine. Once seated, they were treated
to amazing dishes such as prime Scandinavian seafood platter consisting of
Baltic herring, beetrot-gravad lax and Dover sole. ‘Signature Veal
Wallenberger’ a juicy veal burger served with potato puree, green peas, wild
lingonberries and red wine sauce was an immediate success as a new “take” on
an old favourite.
Limited stocks of “Skapas Dining” are available at the Chedi’s shop; the
ingredients necessary to reproduce the delicious dishes may be a little
harder to find!
Book discussion dinner to benefit
Soroptimists’ Single Mothers’ Project
‘Sustainable Cities in Chiang Mai: a Case of a City in a Valley’
An interesting evening including a dinner and a book
discussion will be held August 17 at Café Pandau on Soi 13, Nimmanahaeminda
Road. The book under discussion will be ‘Sustainable Cities in Chiang Mai: a
Case of a City in a Valley’, and is available from Café Pandau at a cost of
1000 baht. Its author, Dr.Duongchan Charoenmuang Ph.D, is the Secretary
General of the Urban Development Institute Foundation and a researcher at
Chiang Mai University’ Social Research Institute.
The book itself is one of a series by Dr.Duongchan on various cities, and
examines the history, the current climate and the possible futures of Chiang
Mai. Whilst a scholarly work, the book is eminently readable and explores
such topics as the origins and history of Chiang Mai and
Lanna/Buddhist/animist principles and values as applied to the city’s
current challenges of social, cultural and environmental preservation. The
author will be present to discuss the book in English and will answer
questions and share opinions as well as sign books.
The discussion itself will begin at 5 p.m., with dinner following at 7 p.m.
A vegetarian menu is available. Tickets, including dinner and one drink, are
400 baht per person, and include a donation to Soroptimists Chiang Mai’s
‘Single Mothers Project’, which supports Wildflower Home ex-residents who
have recovered from their traumatic experiences and are now struggling to
make their way in the outside world. Reservation can be made by email
through booking @cafepandau.com
Chiang Mai youth orchestra’s “concert with a difference”
Audience invited to dress up as movie stars!
On August 16, the Kad Theatre at Kad Suan Kaew will host a special
concert to be given by the newly –formed Chiang Mai Youth Philharmonic
Band and Symphony Orchestra, entitled “The Soundtrack Concert”. The
programme will include much loved tunes from major movies and will
feature clips from such epics as Braveheart, Lion King, Robin Hood,
Pocahontas, Pirates of the Caribbean and many more.
Special guests will include the ‘Chiang Mai Voice Studio Chorus’, who
recently represented not only Chiang Mai, but Thailand at the World
Choir Games held in Graz, Austria, and came away from the competition
with both a silver and a bronze medal. A remarkable achievement for a
group which was only formed last year!
The concert starts at 7pm and tickets are available at 500, 400, 300,
and 200 baht, with a special price for students of 100 baht. To liven up
the night, members of the audience are invited to dress up as their
favourite movie star! Tickets can be bought at the ground floor
Information Desk at Kad Suan Kaew. For further information, please call
053 224 444 x 19008 or 083 474 4751.
Expat Ladies’ Luncheon Group at Duke’s original restaurant
Mary Russell
For last month’s regular lunch get-together, the Expat Ladies’
Luncheon group chose the riverside setting of Duke’s, just as popular at
lunchtime as it is in the evening, and found themselves the second
ladies’ group enjoying treats that day.
It’s a mistake to only eat at this restaurant when you feel the need of
a “meat fix”! The steaks, ribs and salads, of course, are superb, but
the lighter menu which was chosen in advance for the occasion, (with
professional guidance from the “man” himself), was also delicious. For
starters, a mixed salad with avocado and artichoke proved incredibly
fresh—full of distinct flavours which did not overpower each other. The
three choices for the main course were Crab Cakes with Mango Salsa,
Chicken Florentine and, for the vegetarians present, Shiitake Mushrooms
with Cheese Ravioli. All were light, full of flavour and nicely
presented. Unsurprisingly, many of the ladies managed to sample all the
dishes. For dessert, the ever-popular choice was White Chocolate Cake
with sliced Pear. Rich, light and not over-sweet.. Everyone declared
themselves stuffed full—but nobody left even a crumb of cake! No
surprise there, then! Coffee and tea finished the meal off to
perfection. Definitely an experience to repeat.
Local Rotary Club’s “Grandma Cares” project to support AIDs orphans
Enjoying a few minutes in the sun.
A local women’s Rotary Club of Chiang Mai, Thin Thai Nam, district 3360,
recently held an event at the Chiang Mai Red Cross, to celebrate their
“Grandma Cares” Partnership Programme, which helps assist the children
of HIV/Aids sufferers and provides psychological and social support to
families within Chiang Mai. The programme, which trains grandmothers and
other relatives responsible for taking care of children with deceased or
sick parents, also provides supplements to the basic needs of these
children and their grandparents. Volunteers work with family members who
provide home-based care for people living with AIDS. Rotary clubs around
the world, plus other clubs, companies and private individuals, are
invited to participate in raising funds for the project. Activities of
“Grandma Cares” include quality life training, skills for life training,
living assistance and education assistance consisting of $400 yearly
funding. Grants are paid twice a year, according to the Thai schools
term. At present the project has 72 families under its care.
New Asian and Western
GLBT Group in Chiang Mai
Pictured are some of the twenty attendees at
LYC’s last “Coffee Night”,
held on July 31 at 94 Coffee on Nimmanahaeminda Soi 9.
The Long Yang Club Chiang Mai (LYC-CNX) is a new social group promoting
friendship between Western and Asian gay men and lesbians, and is part
of Long Yang Club International - the world’s largest network of gay
Asian/non-Asian groups. There are over thirty-five LYC chapters and
member groups in four continents around the globe.
Chiang Mai’s LYC chapter was founded in October of last year by a gay
couple who saw the need for a social outlet in Chiang Mai that would
give gay and lesbian singles and couples an opportunity to make friends
and build an extended social network. The group has quickly grown to
include a member list of over eighty.
LYC-CNX holds regular social events, which have included a buffet lunch,
regular Pot Luck/Gay Theme Movie nights, a picnic, coffees, and dessert
receptions. There is no cost to join, and almost all LYC’s events are
free. Their next event is a monthly Pot Luck on August 14 at a member’s
house. To attend, or to become a member, send an email to lyc.cnx@gmail
.com and ask to be added to the mailing list.
To learn more about the group, be sure to visit its website at
lyc.cnx.googlepages.com
Major new AIDs/TB organisation to be based in Chiang Mai
Local country presence with global mandate
At the 17th International AIDS Conference held in Mexico August 3-8, it
was announced August 7 that formal merger negotiations would take place
between
Health & Development Networks (HDN) and the International HIV/AIDS
Alliance, creating a new joint organisation with a global mandate as
part of the Alliance family.
The new organisation, to be based here in Chiang Mai, will build on the
Alliance’s presence in 39 countries globally. It will also accelerate
HDN’s global implementation of the National Partnership Platform
strategy, which will strengthen and promote the inclusion of community
voices and views within HIV and TB programming. The new organisation
will benefit from HDN’s knowledge management, communication, information
and dialogue experience, helping to share learning across the Alliance
and beyond.
Nadine France, Executive Director of HDN, explained: “Bringing together
a substantial country presence with an increased information exchange,
dialogue and advocacy capacity will facilitate more coherent civil
society voices and mobilisation around AIDS and related priorities such
as TB.” Local and national community responses to AIDS and TB are at the
core of both organisations’ strategies. Both recognise that civil
society has to fight for its place in national responses. The new
organisation will take advantage of this shared focus, similar values
and common work directions, and, building on lessons learned from recent
joint initiatives, will strengthen the position of civil society in this
struggle.
“In terms of maximizing impact and joining forces to control the
epidemic, this merger is an innovative and bold move”, said Dr. Peter
Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director. The announcement comes in a changing
environment, characterised by the integration of AIDS and TB responses
into the broader health and development agenda. “Understanding and
committing to greater impact requires NGOs and other types of
organisations to examine how they can be most effective,” commented
Alvaro Bermejo, Executive Director of the Alliance. “Organisations need
to adopt higher standards of accountability, respond to stricter
reporting requirements and communicate better with critical and
well-informed stakeholders. The planned joint organisation will strive
to develop a reputation for transparency and providing reliable
information about its work.”
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