Dine in with these home cooks
I am all cooked-out. These work from home, stay at home and cook at home hashtags have worn me out. Back in the good ole days (early March this year), I ate out a lot. Well, mostly because the job demanded it and I like to eat out. Though these days, I long for food not cooked by me. Just simple home-cooked food and the one thing this pandemic has given rise to (apart from the obvious) is home cooks. And there are a wide range of them offering a variety of cuisines. Here are a few:
Kunanun "Mike" Lertpisitkul is a mechanical engineering graduate from Imperial College London, who decided to call it quits and become a chef. He enrolled at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America and after graduation gained work experience in Michelin-starred restaurants like Frantzen in Stockholm, Sweden, Benu in San Francisco and Chambre Separee in Ghent, Belgium to name a few.
Mike and his business partner and girlfriend Passorn Sittinawawit operate Torsk By Mijke out of their Bangkok apartment. "We don't even have a dishwasher and we work in a 5m² tiny, tiny kitchen in our one-bedroom apartment." Mike set up the business to "offer a more approachable option to dining/delivery in the city". Using his background, his menu is done with the level of refinement and precision seen in Michelin-starred kitchens. "We make it a point to cut back on looks and fluff, and laser in on taste. Honesty is what goes into our cooking and dishes."
Before Covid took over lives, Mike was doing menu development for his "brick and mortar restaurant project". Though, his plans to gravitate towards a casual natural wine bar are still in the pipeline.
MENU: Torsk By Mijke's menu is small, but not without a punch. Swedish meatballs (Yes, better than Ikea. The Swedophile in me has spoken), Japanese curry rice, Cereal fried chicken, Currywurst, Chicken jollof and Galbijjim.
ORDER: Message @torskbyMijke on IG or Line @TorskbyMijke.
If you fancy a taste of what Indian home-cooked food is like, Curry From Home is your best bet. Priya Keswani, who has lived in Bangkok for 26 years, was born and brought up in Kanpur, India. "Cooking started off as a necessity but slowly became my hobby and passion. While I was working as a teacher to children with special needs, I took a few cooking courses to enhance my skills." A former restaurant manager, Keswani now runs this home-cooking business, as well as is a private tutor and a voice artist.
Curry From Home is a family operation and runs on teamwork, as she puts it. "My husband and I source fresh ingredients, plan out the menu and experiment with new dishes in the kitchen. My son handles the marketing and customer service, including our social media. It's like a well-oiled machine, everyone plays a significant role."
It all started when Keswani sent a few of her dishes for her son's office party. His colleagues liked it and asked for more dishes, even offering to pay for the home-cooked Indian food. Curry From Home was thus born and now they deliver to five offices and even do home deliveries.
MENU: The menu changes every two weeks and there are a wide variety of dishes available, from chicken curries to paneer dishes, including vegan lentil soups and masala potatoes. Chicken shami kebab is a fan favourite. Everything is made from scratch and there are no added preservatives or colour. Keswani's main ingredient, she says, is love. She has three signature dishes: Her grandmother's Chicken curry, Daal tadka and Aloo gobhi.
ORDER: Line @curryfromhome or order via IG @curryfromhome.
The name gives it away. Three sisters, Chanida, Nisarat and Saowalak Chuengcharoenchaisak with Teochew roots have come together to start 3 Sis Selected Goods. "Our dad loves eating and our mom likes cooking, and we are passionate about doing business," say the sisters.
Though the main family business is selling auto parts and lifestyle ware, it took a hit with the arrival of Covid-19. With almost zero revenue, high expenses and a determination not to lay-off staff, 3Sis Selected Goods project was born. "For years, we have been making and giving our relatives, friends and customers free Chinese sticky rice dumplings, especially during the annual Dumpling Festival. The festival is also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, which is celebrated by the Chinese on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar.
MENU: Their signature dish is the Chinese sticky rice dumpling, which is sold only until June 20. They also offer frozen salmon, frozen burikama or yellowtail collar and frozen hotate or scallop. Though the sisters are not sure for how long they will continue the food part of their business, they are popular.
ORDER: Line @3siss or FB.com/3sisselectedgoods or via Instagram @3sis_selected_goods.
Wen Chia Ho is from Penang, Malaysia and has been living in Thailand for 17 years. She is the founder and director of a software company Plecotech, which provides IT solutions in business intelligence. She and her husband also own a small shop developing old school film in Sam Yan. However, since both businesses took a hit with the lockdown, Wen decided to turn her passion of baking and her husband's passion of roasting coffee into a home business.
Initially, they planned to offer a range of sweets but decided to focus on just one product, which is quality controlled and checked by her five-year-old daughter, Myra. Everything is made from scratch with quality ingredients. In the future, they plan to add more flavours and a bit of decadence, as well. They also offer single origin coffee from their little micro roaster. "All our coffee beans are sourced directly from organic farmers in Thailand. Our single origin latte pairs very well with our bomboloni," adds Wen.
If business goes well, the wife and husband entrepreneurs plan to open a small café in Sam Yan near their film development shop and continue delivering bomboloni all over Bangkok.
MENU: After learning how to make a proper Italian doughnut, the bombolone, from an Italian chef, Wen has decided to put this one single item on the menu. "It was what I was looking for and decided that I wanted to offer this to customers. Our bomboloni have different fillings, though they are also available without any filling. The fillings are: homemade Nutella, custard cream, lemon curd, peach and apple jam and cinnamon sugar," she says.
ORDER: Call 083-252-0555, Line @CuriousM or FB.com/curiousMKitchen.
Siripat "Siri/Tang" Chayopas is a self-taught cook and baker and has a food diary on her phone. Her home baking business is named after her beloved beagle Richie. "I work in the marketing and educational advising field, and due to the pandemic, I have to work from home. Since I resorted to buying groceries online, it was surprising to see many things out of stock, like cream cheese and butter. I couldn't find them at the well-known supermarket near my house, either. Most local baking supplies shops only sold wholesale amounts like 2-3kg. I desperately wanted to make cheesecake at home, so I bought the 3kg," says Siri. Since she had to find a way to use the 3kg, she made brownies and cheesecakes to give friends and relatives, who encouraged her to start a business.
Photos: Rawai Home Made Sweets
Siri first started selling her homemade bakery items on her university alumni Facebook page. "The baking business has helped stay mindful and cope with anxiety and stress. I started to appreciate the small little things, like the 'ding' sounds from the oven, cracking eggs or the smell of freshly baked cheesecakes and brownies."
She hopes to continue the baking business even after resuming normal working hours. "As long as there are orders from customers. I might have to add extra days pre-order since I want to make sure my goodies are freshly made. I bake, take photos, take orders and deliver. I have homegrown organic vegetables, rice and fruits to launch in the near future. I'm hoping to expand my products and try new things. Right now, I'm just really happy and excited with my small little project," Siri adds.
MENU: Peach cheesecake and Cheese tart are Siri's signature dishes. Though she also sells S'more brownies or Nutella brownies, Wholewheat bread and White chocolate cheesecake. A "Healthy brownie", Cheese cup and "Vegetables from my garden" will be added to her menu in due course.
ORDER: Pre-order two to three days in advance via Instagram @RichiesKitchenBKK.
Miss Wang Dim Sum is another home business born out of the pandemic. The owner, Golf Suwanbodee's day job is hotel general manager of Thavorn Palm Beach Resort, and is from the southern province of Songkhla. Golf has been living in Phuket since 2004, when she started university. She has travelled extensively throughout Thailand, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Australia and spent four months a year in Kunming, Anhui and Shanghai during her university years, being the typical foodie. With her business partner, Nancy Mhuadchan, who is also her niece and a chef in Phuket, they found themselves out of work when Phuket closed
Photos: Miss Wang Dim Sum
"We have always wanted to open a restaurant in a year or two, but with the on-set of Covid-19, decided to roll the dice and start a home business making dim sum to test the market. We offer a limited menu, since it's just the two of us, but concentrate on the quality of produce and product," says Golf.
MENU: They offer Kanom jeep (dumplings): pork, crab, prawn and crystal prawn or har gow . Also, on the menu are Sala pao or pork buns, Phuket slow braised pork belly buns, char siu bao , minced pork with egg buns and minced pork with salted egg buns. "We plan to add more items as we expand but at this stage, we plan to focus our clientele, which are local Thai and expat. We have found that we have had many farang customers who have lived or come from places like Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, England or Russia and are looking for that authentic style dim sum," she adds. Miss Wang Dim Sum signature dish is the Sala pao moo hong or traditional Phuket slow braised pork belly, which is renowned for being served with rice as a main meal.
ORDER: Place orders via FB.com/misswangdimsum or call 085-471-9922.
Celeste Dean grew up in Australia and when she moved to Thailand, she noticed the lack of pastries. To make up for the lack and to give herself a taste of home, she started baking her own. "I have been making food and sweets ever since I could walk. It is in my blood and I have had years of practice," she says. Rawai Home Made Sweets is her labour of love and to cater to people's sweet tooth.
Photos: Rawai Home Made Sweets
MENU: Rawai Home Made Sweets is known for all things chocolate. The chocolate chip cookies, brownies, cakes, cupcakes and cheesecakes also come in flavours other than chocolate; vanilla, earl grey, Oreo, strawberry, raspberry and made-to-order desserts. The signature is "The Ultimate Cake", which has 10 chocolate chip cookies, 10 dark chocolate chip cookies with white chocolate, a batch of brownies, 1kg of their famous homemade Oreo buttercream, Oreos, Hershey's white and milk chocolate, topped off with chocolate and icing sugar. All the sweets are made in-house and no preservatives are added.
ORDER: FB.com/rawaihomemadesweets or Instagram @rawaihomemadesweets.