Raw ingredients

Dr. Cracknell first gave us a lesson in the nature of food; why we eat the way we do, and how to eat healthier. “Look at your teeth. It’s been noted that only 12% of our teeth are meant for meat. Humans are omnivores. We’re meant to eat everything, but meat just isn’t healthy for us.” The 64-year old triathlete told us how he first stopped eating all meat, except for chicken and fish. Then, he took out fish. He then became a full on vegetarian, then a raw vegan. The process spanned about four years.

“Food today is heavily modified. Vegetables and fruits are injected with pesticides, and animals are full of hormones and painkillers. When you eat a steak, you’re also eating everything that cow was poisoned with. An animal in a farm dies in pain and anguish. That energy flows into the food, and you eat it. I think that’s quite harmful.” After spending time doing research, he decided he would take the challenge: going vegan. Four years later, the results of his experiments are in his shop, for everyone’s benefit and enjoyment.

We followed five recipes; pesto sauce, tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, combined them into a lasagna and then made chocolate brownies. We made each sauce from scratch with ingredients that Dr. Cracknell provided. With each step, he asked us for the next ingredient, helping us to remember the recipes. As we finished each sauce, we took a taste test. The verdict was unanimous: we made the best pesto, tomato and ricotta cheese sauces we had ever tasted.

Impressed with our saucy creations, we moved to the lasagna. We peeled strips of raw zucchini and layered them with each of the sauces, as you would with regular lasagna. After the addition of garnish, the finished product was on the plate.

We were all surprised. It was the quickest lunch we had ever made. After eating it, we concluded that it was also the tastiest. We learned that the best part about raw food isn’t just its health benefits, it is also the ease and convenience of preparing it. Our entire view of vegan cooking changed, and the transition started with our taste buds. Oh, and our committed carnivore isn’t so committed anymore.

In addition to the wellness house, Dr. Cracknell runs a shop and restaurant where he sells vegan cookies, power bars and breakfast bars; all made on site using natural ingredients and homemade dehydrators.

As of December 1st, his restaurant will become fully organic, which provides the people of Phuket even more incentive to go and try the food. The class goes from 9:00 A.M. until noon, and costs 2,500 Baht. If you can spare a Thursday morning from the beach to go learn from Dr. Cracknell, you should do it, the experience is worth it.

Living right and raw: a not-so-cooking lesson with Dr. Richard Cracknell is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Succulent dishes every night.

Tuesday night is Indian night. On Monday it’s Italian and on Saturday its Thai streetfood.

Banyan Tree Phuket, flagship of the worldwide Banyan Tree group, is offering themed cuisine evenings until March, 2011.

Chef Benoj Pother, from India, which has a history with the Banyan Tree through several large scale weddings at the hotel, is the man who prepares food such as an Indian starter with a slight Thai twist of marinated pumpkin and cashew nuts.

Another is a goat’s cheese salad with yellow curry, Pilau or basmati rice with a varietty of curries, including lamb dopizaa, chicken korma and fish curry.

But that is just the Indian fare. Apart from the Monday, Tuesday and Saturday nights already mentioned, on Wednesday Thai food, Thursday Chinese, Friday Seafood and Sunday a Sunday BBQ.

Banyan Tree is probably better equipped than most Phuket based hotel chains to mount an “around the world” cuisine night. Already it has hotels in China, Korea, Indonesia, the Maldives, Mexico, the Seychelles and United Arab Emirates with other planned for India, Vietnam, Portugal, Greece, Morocco and Oman.

Eat Your Way Around the World Banyan Tree Style is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Ani Phyo: Forget the cooker; eat it raw. - Photo courtesy AniPhyo.Com

Hungry? Yes? Feel like cooking? No? Ani Phyo has the answer – raw food cuisine – and she’s bringing her version of it to Phuket at the end of January, with a class at Mom Tri’s Villa Royale.

Ani, who was born of Korean parents but is thoroughly Californian, has been making a name for herself in the States with her raw food, “uncooking” banquets for hundreds, appearing in magazine and newspaper articles and on TV food shows.

As she explains on her website, “My belief is that illness is created by toxins we put into our bodies. Eating raw foods helps me detoxify, stay healthy, strong, fit, weigh my ideal weight, and look my best.

“When I eat whole fresh organic foods, manufacturers can’t sneak in chemicals, perservatives, artificial colors, flavorings, or other toxins into my food. I go straight to Mother Nature as my source for nutrient-rich foods.”

This, combined with her creative take on the combination and presentation of ingredients has won her considerable acclaim, and has fueled sales of her book, Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable, Living Food Recipes, available through Amazon.

If you’re expecting steak tartare, sushi, larp lerd or similar meat-eaters’ delights, you’ll be disappointed – Ani’s recipes are unashamedly vegan and “guilt-free”. No sugar, even, or wheat. But one look at the chef should give anyone assurance that Ani’s food is good for her and, presumably, for others.

Ani’s four-hour class will take place at Villa Royale on January 24, from 1pm to 5pm. She will present six recipes which participants will, naturally, get to eat afterwards. Tickets cost B800 in advance, or B1,000 on the door.  To book, contact Sylvie Yaffe be email or by calling +66 (0) 76 333 569.

For those who cannot make it to the event, videos of her at work are accessible through her website, where there are also plenty of recipes, or through her YouTube channel.

Raw food expert Ani Phyo heads for Phuket is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Expect dance performances, both traditional and modern, at the festival.

The Old Phuket Foundation will hold its fourth Local Life Festival on December 27, with Thalang Rd and Soi Romanee lit up, live music and huge amounts of local food and drinks. Admission to the event, which starts about 6pm, is free.

The foundation’s president, Dr Prasit Koysiripong, noted that this year the lighting of the buildings should be particularly attractive as the Phuket Town Municipality will have completed its project to put all power lines in Thalang Rd underground (the same was done in Soi Romanee a year ago).

As a result, all the power poles and swags of cables on the buildings will have been removed, allowing the Sino-Portuguese shophouses to be seen unobstructed for the first time in decades.

Food will range from local Chinese delicacies to Thai curries and Muslim specialities. The organisers have planned things so that up to 4,000 people can eat and drink their fill.

Stage performances, said Dr Prasit, will be “second to none”. They will include a band from the Yamaha Music School, a performance by local musician Tanit Prateep na Thalang and several local duos and trios.

A wide variety of food wil also be available. The organisers are catering for up to 4,000 people this year.

The performing arts will be represented with a couple of plays and a short film by Dr Marut Lekpetch, winner of a Best Short Film award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival.

Phuket Thai Hua School, Satree Phuket School, Phuket Wittayalai School, and local municipality schools will all be putting on performances as well.

In addition, street musicians will entertain along Soi Romanee, providing a quiet getaway from the crowds expected in Thalang Rd.

“There is no entrance fee for this event,” Dr Prasit added, “though everyone is encouraged to buy food and drinks.
“The purpose is to attract people to the old town, to celebrate the coming New Year, and to allow expatriates and visitors to mingle with and meet the locals.”

For more information email Dr Prasit or call +66 (0) 8-1719-5493, 8-1552-3790, 8-1892-0618 or 8-6272-4466.

Festival to showcase best of Phuket food and entertainment is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Cheerfully warm - guests at the food tasting evening.

Those with longish memories of Phuket – say eight or nine years – will remember the opening of Gitano bar and restaurant near Robinson in Phuket Town. It was like nothing the town had seen before – fresh, brightly artistic, playful, sexy, sassy and fun, with good food, great Mojitos and an enormous range of music, from hip-hop to samba to jazz to blues.

Sadly, it lasted only a couple of years before going the way of so many bars and restaurants – into oblivion.

Miguel and Lin have put their heart into the new Gitano. We don't know who Lois is.

But now Gitano is reborn. The original owners, Lin and Miguel Kirjon, have opened up Gitano redux just over a kilometer east of the Heroines Monument.  It’s fresh, brightly artistic, playful, sexy, sassy and fun, with super food and, of course, Mojitos. Lin and Miguel are (who isn’t?) eight years older, and two children the wiser, so this reincarnation is more restaurant than bar, and even has a playroom for kids.

Decor is in Miguel’s inimitable style, with sunny oranges, yellows and reds predominating, and the music is still eclectic – more in the background than previously, but still enough to set toes tapping. Lin is in charge of the kitchen – and everything else.

At a pre-opening tasting last night she and her crew (three in the kitchen, two to wait tables), produced a feast for eyes and taste buds and took note of comments from the experts present – all neighbours of the couple.

Sizzling platter of seafood with green peppers.

The menu is Asian fusion, light on the chillies but full of flavour. Offered up for the critics were chicken and lime (eight bite-sized pieces for B90),  breaded prawn balls on lemongrass skewers (five pieces for B90), a salad of marinated beef (B90), an Isarn-informed suki-style hot pot (B190 for sea food or B150 for a variety of meats – enough for two people), crunchy chicken panaeng (B90), squid stuffed with pork and noodles in lime juice (B120), pork ribs with white turnip and Chinese mushroom (B90) and a sizzled seafood platter with fresh green peppers for B150.

Inimitably Miguel: the jewel-like gents'.

To wash it all down were the usual beers, very good Montemar Spanish house wine (Catalunya or Chardonnay) or, of course, such staples as Mojitos or Caipirinhas.

A place to park the kids - with toys and children's movies.

Lin plans to serve lunch specials, varying from day to day, at B60 a plate and, in the afternoon, tea or coffee with cookies, cakes or cheesecake. The coffee deserves a mention. Miguel, a coffee freak, has discovered a blend called Victoria, from Australia, which he pronounces to be superior to any Illy or Lavazza. He has a point. A very good one.

So the food’s great, the wine and coffee are great, there are cookies and cakes, there’s somewhere to park the kids (with animal-shaped meals to tempt tiny appetites – think dinosaur-shaped spagetti with meatballs, for example). And there is free Wifi. Phuket Observer may just move its offices to Gitano.

The new Gitano opens officially on Tuesday (Oct 13). To get there, go to the Heroines monument and turn east towards Pa Khlok/Yamu/Ao Por. The restaurant is on the right, 1,200 metres from the monument. Opening hours are 11am to 10pm (closed on Wednesdays). To book, call 076 350118 or 08 1892 2419 or email Lin.

Gitano reborn: a new venue for Phuket foodies is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

The restaurant has panoramic views of Phuket Town and the east coast of the island.

Phuket View restaurant, on two levels, is tucked into the east side of Rang Hill and surrounded by giant forest trees. Both levels are open to wide views, but the upper level has a roof, reducing the heat of the day and keeping the occasional shower from spoiling dinner.

The menu is extensive, with a variety of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes, curries and soups. There are even some Western items listed, though we wold not recommend these as highly as the Thai ones.

However, the restaurant’s version of Penang, a spicy red curry with pork or chicken, is highly recommended. Richly flavoured with a coconut milk base, it gets a lift from the addition of crushed peanuts, a speciality of the house.

Or try the Pla Dook Foo – catfish that is raked with a fork and then fried, resulting in a crunchy, frizzy dish, only slightly spicy but delicious.

Another recommendation is the Yam Tua Pu – wing-bean salad. Wing beans are about four inches long, and star-shaped in cross-section. Sliced up with shallots, mint, basil and a touch of chili, they make a delightfully refreshing dish. For soup, the tom kha gai is recommended, with its aroma of lemon grass and galangal.

Phuket View is a fine place for watching the sunset. Even though it’s on the east side of the island, the sky above  catches the glow of the sunset. It’s also cooler at that time of day. Service is friendly and attentive; you’ll find it quite difficult to empty your glass before it is refilled.

At any time of day or night, the panorama is magnificent, with the southeast coast of the island spread out in front of you, from Koh Sirey on the left, to the Giant Buddha atop the Nakkerd Hills on the right.

In front is Cape Panwa, the calm waters of Chalong Bay, and Koh Lone. Closer by are the tightly clustered roofs of the century-old centre of Phuket City.

The restaurant is surrounded on both sides and above by old forest, and bordered in front by frangipani and bougainvillea, a stunning floral display during the winter season. Crickets and cicadas can get so loud at sunset as to almost drown out conversation, and during the day there is always birdsong. Definitely a place to linger, appreciating good food and tropical nature at the same time.

Phuket View is halfway up Rang Hill, next to the Channel 11 TV station. Take the small road up the hill from the lights next to Vachira Hospital, which is on Yaowarat Rd. The restaurant is large, so usually it’s necessary to book only on public holidays. Tel: 076-216865/222169.

Getting high on Thai food at Phuket View restaurant is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

The restaurant floats a little way from the mangrove-covered bank of the klong.

Most visitors to Phuket stay, naturally, on the west coast. This is, after all, where the best beaches are. Some may venture to the other side, particularly when heading for a day out in Phang Nga Bay. But even these people will probably miss the Bang Rong Community restaurant with its excellent, cheap, halal food.

The waves that grind up dead coral to make that fine, white, powdery sand for which Phuket is so famous are gradually eroding the island’s west coast, eating it away. The breakers have already eaten through the land bridge that once connected Phuket to neighbouring Phang Nga.

The all-wood restaurant creaks slightly as people walk around.

Not to worry; while the island is receding on the west side, it’s growing on the east coast, thanks to the remarkable mangrove. This weird tree, standing above the tide on its extraordinary tangle of roots and with the ability to absorb sea water and eject the salt, holds together the mud that flows down the island’s klongs, creating new land that can eventually be colonized by other plants.

Mangrove forests are also the nursery for many types of crabs, shrimps, prawns and reef fish. Mangroves form one of the three major marine ecosystems in tropical Asia, the other two being sea grass forests and coral reefs.

The uniquely twisted roots of the mangrove tree allow it to process sea water into fresh water.

Local fishing communities have long known this and have in some cases had serious confrontations with other people, particularly prawn farmers, whose activities threatened to damage or destroy the mangrove ecosystem that supported the fishermen’s livelihoods.

Just seven years ago one local eco-warrior was shot dead and another seriously injured in Phuket during a deadly dance with a prawn farm owner, who was eventually arrested on conspiracy charges. His right-hand man was jailed for murder.

In Bang Rong, however, the mainly Muslim community is well organised to nip such confrontations in the bud. Eleven years ago local people set up the Bang Rong Community Fund with 20,000 baht. Apart from preserving the environment, the fund was also aimed at helping the poor, particularly the elderly. Assets now top 20 million baht.

Central to the fund’s income, and certainly its most visible manifestation, is the floating restaurant near Bang Rong Pier, one of the main jumping-off points for boats heading into Phang Nga Bay.

About 100 crab-eating macaques live among the mangroves.

Reached via a raised walkway along the edge of the water, the restaurant floats on the muddy Klong Bang Rong, with views of mangroves on both sides. The menu is halal, mostly southern Thai, with very fresh fish and shellfish taken live from large keep-nets in the middle of the restaurant or from “farms” in the klong. Because this is a mainly Muslim community, only soft drinks are served. The food is delicious, in generous portions and prices are very reasonable, especially given the surrounding scenery.

Kayaks are also available for hire at 200 baht per boat per 30 minutes, with a local paddler provide for those who are not too sure of their skills. The half-hour is ample time to paddle up the klong, taking a look at the fish and shellfish farms along the way, and watching kingfishers and swiftlets on the lookout for food.

Mangrove forests have a complete mini-ecosystem, at the apex of which is the crab-eating macaque, a medium-sized monkey. There are about 100 of these in the neighbourhood of the restaurant. Presumably they do catch and eat crabs from time to time, but they’ll also take any other food that’s going – whether willingly donated or snatched.

One venerable member of the troupe, a one-armed chap, even goes every day to one of the local shops for his morning wake-up – a can of iced coffee.

After a good lunch, visitors can take a gentle canoe tour of the klong and mangroves.

Despite the animals’ apparent charm, visitors are advised not to feed the monkeys, which can sometimes be bad-tempered, especially if one teases them by offering and then withdrawing titbits. These animals have long, sharp teeth and strong jaws, and can move frighteningly fast. Admire them from a distance.

The klong itself teems with fish, especially the one Thais call pla khem, or needle fish. Schools of these long slender fish, each with its yellow-tipped snout, hang around the restaurant waiting for anything diners care to throw to them. Prawn tails and bits of crab shell are very much appreciated.

In the next couple of years the community fund plans to build a walkway through the mangrove forest, allowing visitors to get close up to these remarkable trees and to watch the wildlife that thrives among their roots and branches.

In the meantime, the restaurant is well worth a visit for a leisurely lunch and a lazy afternoon with friends. And with no alcohol served, it’s also a fine hangover cure.

To get to Bang Rong Pier, drive east from the Heroines Monument for 10 kilometres. On the right you will see a large mosque under construction. Turn right just before it. At the end of this small road is a kiosk where a man collects a fee for parking in the car park next to the pier. Tell him you are going to eat, and you will be exempt from this fee. The entrance to the restaurant is on the left just as you get to the car park. It is open from 9 am to 6 pm.

Halal food amid the mangroves of Phuket is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Basic kway tio. Click on the picture for a pictorial guide for making perfect noodle soup.

You go into a restaurant – anywhere in the world. You order your favourite dish on the menu. Big disappointment. It just doesn’t taste the way you think it should. Maybe they’ve left a couple of ingredients out, or they’ve decided to get fancy and add some ingredients that just don’t belong in there.

You can chuck some salt or pepper, or both, into the mix to distract your taste buds, but unless you’re one of those people who send bottles of wine or meals back just to demonstrate how important they are, you’re probably going to eat the darn thing while quietly swearing to yourself that you’re never going back to that restaurant again.

Thailand has the perfect answer to this: noodle soup that you tailor to your taste exactly. It’s called kway tio, and you’ll find it served up by the roadside and in food halls everywhere in Thailand. Look out for places that have a small glass box standing on the counter containing a variety of noodles, typically the triad of thin rice noodles (sen mee khao), wide, flat noodles (sen yai) and yellow egg wheat noodles (ba mee).

The broth – chicken, pork or beef – is kept simmering in deep metal pans all day. Depending on what the cook serves, you can also opt for additions of sliced pork or shredded chicken, or meat balls (look cheen) made from prawn, squid, fish, beef, chicken or pork.

The soup with noodles is delivered to your table, usually garnished with fried garlic, fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves and chopped spring onion, and with a side plate of vegetables, typically fresh bean sprouts and sliced cabbage.

You are now ready to start creating the soup of your dreams.

On the table you’ll find a bottle of fish sauce and pots containing chilli powder, fresh chilies in vinegar, chilies in fish sauce, sugar, crushed peanuts and other spices, sauces and condiments. (Click on the picture above for a pictorial guide.) The basic soup contains no chili, so if you’re really not into spicy food, kway tio is still the perfect dish. Taste your soup. Should it be more salty? Gently add a few drops of fish sauce. This is powerful stuff, so don’t shake the bottle too vigorously or you’ll end up with soup that is inedible. Too sour? Add some sugar. Too sweet? Add some vinegar (you can avoid the chillies). The peanuts add body and a nice nuttiness to the soup. Add some bean sprouts and cabbage for crunchy texture.

Experiment, adding tastes a little at a time so as not to overdo things. There’s no rush, is there? So take your time to create a noodle soup precisely to your taste. Kway tio is traditionally eaten with a spoon and chopsticks but if you’re not a dab hand with knitting needles, you’ll find you can manage just fine with the spoon alone.

If the shop has a small boat in front of it (the kind you see in all the pictures of the floating market outside Bangkok), this means it serves kway tio reua – boat noodle soup. The broth for this is dark and much stronger – many places add fresh blood to thicken it up (say, “Mai ow lerd” if you don’t want this), and the soup is served in small bowls with a large variety of fresh veg on the side. Some of these places offer a sixth bowl free for anyone who can get through the first five bowls. You’ll often see diners with towers of bowls next to them.

If you don’t want to eat by the roadside, most of these little restaurants will give you a take-away kit, with everything in plastic bags. You’ll end up with a lot of bags, big and small, so please dispose of these responsibly.

Price per bowl is about 25 to 30 baht. So if (despite this guide) you manage to make a mess of things, you can afford to start all over again with a fresh bowl…

DIY soup for the perfect taste is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Making karfay boran - ground beans in the net, add hot water and away you go. - Photo by Heinrich Damm.

Think coffee. If you’re American, that’s probably Starbucks (they’re here on Phuket). If you’re European, then you’ll probably be looking for the Illy logo.  What you may not realise is that Thailand has been growing coffee for ages. In Southeast Asia, only Vietnam and Indonesia produce more.

For the baristas among you, Arabica beans are grown in the highlands of northern Thailand while farmers in the hotter lowlands of the coastal provinces along the western edge of the Gulf of Siam produce Robusta beans.

Companies such as Boncafé, a Thai-Swiss joint venture, export large amounts of both in a variety of blends, which you can also buy in supermarkets on the island, either as whole beans or ready-ground. If you want to buy it without the supermarket mark-up, there’s a Boncafé shop not far from Tesco-Lotus in Phuket Town.

But when in Rome… The coffee to drink in Thailand is karfay boran (traditional coffee). This is served in a glass with condensed milk in the bottom of it. It looks like an upside-down Guinness. Yecch.

Actually, not yecch – the coffee is so strong that you’ll hardly notice the sweetness, and if it’s the morning after a tough night out, this is what you need to set you up for the day: a karfay boran and some patango – light sticks of dough that are flash-fried for a crunchy and revivifying mouthful or two. Patango are also great for dunking in your coffee. You’ll find this combo in most markets around the island, but get there early; they usually run out around 7:30 am.

Coffee to go: the sign on the roof of the bike says "Karfay Boran". - Photo by Marshall Astor.

In Muslim communities around the island (even more so if you take a trip to the deep south of Thailand) bars selling alcohol are a bit thin on the ground, but people make up for this with coffee shops. The premises are mostly fairly basic, but the coffee is usually excellent.

Thais also make great iced coffee. If you like it with milk, then ask for karfay yen. For black, ask for o-liang. Both are delivered in a glass with a straw and plenty of ice. Thais understand that coffee has to have TASTE, and that ice dilutes it as it melts, so they make it good and strong.

For a hyper-caffeine jolt, you’ll need a bottle of Krating Daeng. It means “Red Bull”. No, Krating Daeng is not a copy of the Red Bull you find in European discos. It’s the other way round. It’s a Thai invention that was copied and taken to Europe. The only difference is that the original Thai version is a bit sweeter.

Finally, for solid coffee (handy when driving, for example), check out Kopico. This is a cappucino-flavoured hard candy that you’ll find in just about any shop that sells food or drink anywhere in Thailand.  One baht a pop.

Think you can stay awake now?

Coffee – Feeling Full of Beans on Phuket is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Stunning costumes are a hallmark of the annual performance of the Tale of Princess Mahsuri.

Go back 300 years or so, and most of the people living on Phuket were Muslims of Malay extraction. Even today, about 30 percent of the island’s population are Sunni Muslim, and preserve Islamic traditions.

These traditions are celebrated annually in the Hilal Town Halal Food Festival, this year at Saphan Hin (on the southeast edge of Phuket Town) from April 30 to May 3.

Hilal is Arabic for “the full moon”, while Halal Food is food prepared according to Islamic rules. So – no pork, no alcohol, but stacks of great food, including some of the hottest curries you’ll ever come across. If your tongue can’t manage half a ton of chilies in one go, try the gaeng massaman (Muslim curry) – potatoes and chicken or goat meat in a rich coconut gravy (okay, it’s got chilies too, but just a handful).

For a buzz, get some of the local coffee. You can’t miss the people selling it – they mix it by pouring it from one jug held high overhead into another at waist level, with not a drop spilled. It’s strong.

The festival features stalls selling all sorts of good stuff – batiks, embroidered headscarves, and a raft of souvenirs.

Masters of batik create colourful works at the festival.

There are also stage shows showcasing Muslim music and dancing, and culminating in the annual performance of the Tale of Princess Mahsuri, about a Malay princess from Phuket, in the early 1800s, who married a prince of Langkawi. Wrongly accused of adultery, she was sentenced to death. When she sentenced to death. She swore that she was innocent and that, if her blood touched the ground, Langkawi would see neither peace nor prosperity for seven generations.

When she was stabbed, her blood flowed out white, not red, a sign of her innocence. Her curse pretty much came true. It was not until very recently that Langkawi, with its quiet beaches and bays, saw any kind of prosperity, with money invseted by the Malaysian government and tourism dollars coming in from passing yachts.

The lavish performance, featuring stunning costumes, features Sirintra Yayee in the role of the princess. She is believed to be a seventh-generation descendant of the original Princess Mahsuri.

Phuket’s Hilal Town Halal Food Festival is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.