Bringing asean closer through culinary treats:street wise

Good news for the gathering leaders is that according to a recent poll the majority of Thais know what Asean stands for. Unfortunately, the poll showed that most Thais believe that the meeting will not help solve the economic problems. But that does not mean that they have lost all hope from the gathering.

Thailand is upbeat about the meeting. It should be, for the meeting has been delayed twice because of political conflicts. The Highways Department has spent Bt138 million to improve the landscape of the road leading from Bangkok to Hua Hin. Shop owners in Cha-am and Hua Hin have also dusted their venues in preparation for visitors.

Even MK Suki is joining the force.

Visiting the sukiyaki chain now, one is greeted with paper place mats that highlight the most popular dishes in the 10 nations, including lahpet from Burma, laksa from Singapore, adobo from the Philippines, amok from Cambodia, gado gado from Indonesia, chicken soup from Laos, nam from Vietnam and ambuyat from Brunei.

The dishes come with brief descriptions as well as cartoon characters carrying names commonly found in the countries.

This is a good idea. Food is one of the four basic necessities. Now that Asean leaders are coming down to Bangkok, many may think about visiting their countries in return. And with MK's guidance, they will know how to order the traditional food.

Yet there could be a question from kids: "Where's the dish from Thailand?" Tom yam kung was among them, of course, but shrimp is spelt in a much-less-popular way as goong.

Moreover, it appeared on the mat referring to "Siam", the old name of Thailand that we stopped using when the country embraced the first waves of modernisation.

Certainly, nobody at the meeting would address Abhisit Vejjajiva as the prime minister of "Siam".