Idle thoughts

Hmm. Just as I suspected we are starting to get party room reservations for groom's dinners. This always seems to happen a few weeks after Valentine's Day....

In other True Thai news did you know that Thailand has:

• 238 AM radio stations
• 351 FM stations
• 6 television stations (with many, many substations)
• 4 satellites

Hey! We're just a little country not much bigger than Minnesota and Wisconsin put together. Maybe we don't have so many TV stations as Americans, but we have many, many more Thai restaurants and much nicer beaches!

Beaches. (sigh) Don't Minnesotans ever get tired of all this snow and ice?

Chinese Valentine's Day!

Wow, wow, wow. Chinese New Year's and Valentine's Day both fall on Sunday, February 14, this year. I am not sure what it means for lovers that they are sharing their day with the Year of the Tiger but I am guessing that the lines at the better Chinese restaurants will be even longer than the lines at True Thai this Sunday. I think that couples celebrating Valentine's Day also need to know that the official gemstone for the Year of the Tiger is the diamond!

Were you born in a Year of the Tiger? Here is a chart that will help you to figure it out:

• 8 February 1902 - 28 January 1903: Water Tiger
• 26 January 1914 - 13 February 1915: Wood Tiger
• 13 February 1926 - 1 February 1927: Fire Tiger
• 31 January 1938 - 18 February 1939: Earth Tiger
• 17 February 1950 - 5 February 1951: Metal Tiger
• 5 February 1962 - 24 January 1963: Water Tiger
• 23 January 1974 - 10 February 1975: Wood Tiger
• 9 February 1986 - 28 January 1987: Fire Tiger
• 28 January 1998 - 15 February 1999: Earth Tiger
• 14 February 2010 - 2 February 2011: Metal Tiger

What does all this mean? Mostly it means that Chinese astrologers make good money this time of year. This, by the way, is not just any Year of the Tiger, this is the Year of the Golden Tiger! Here is what they say about people born in the Year of the Tiger:

Tiger people are sensitive, given to deep thinking, capable of great sympathy. They can be extremely short-tempered, however. Other people have great respect for them, but sometimes tiger people come into conflict with older people or those in authority. sometimes Tiger people cannot make up their minds, which can result in a poor, hasty decision or a sound decision arrived at too late. They are suspicious of others, but they are courageous and powerful. Tigers are most compatible with Horses, Dragons, and Dogs.

The Los Angeles Times says that Chinese New Year's has fallen on Valentine's Day only three times in the last hundred years, and will not do so again until 2030.

I am not Chinese so this all seems kind of silly to me. Thai people, however, do celebrate Valentine's Day. This Sunday True Thai will focus on Valentine's Day, a holiday they will be celebrating in Bangkok in much the same way Americans do. (This is a family blog so I will not go into details!)

Dried fruit for Chinese New Year's!

The new ya pears are in and I just had some mangosteens for lunch but for me the most exciting food news of the week is that True Thai is going to have dried persimmons in our lunch buffet this Friday!

OK, maybe you would rather have ya pears and mangosteens but they're in season now and will be around for a while. Dried persimmons, on the other hand, only come once a year and are eaten by Asians to help celebrate Chinese New Year's which will be this Sunday, February 14.

Maybe you have not heard of dried persimmons before, but if you put them into Google you get 229,000 responses. If you use the Chinese words for dried persimmons [干柿子], you may get even more. In China, there are over 2,000 kinds of persimmons. Chinese immigrants brought persimmons to California in the mid 1800s. Persimmons do not like snow, and are not fond of extreme heat.

Since there are so many different kinds of persimmons, there are many different kinds of persimmon trees. I thought this one looked pretty:


So remember: this Friday True Thai will celebrate Chinese New Year's by having dried persimmons in our buffet. Friday I will post again to let you know more about Sunday's Chinese New Year's/Valentine's Day celebration at True Thai.

Seward Market donations tallied

If you google the Seward Market shootings now, you won't find any recent links. Crime happens and then people move on.

But not in Seward. Here our thoughts are still with the families of the victims. I am proud to say that True Thai's customers donated over $600 to the memorial fund set up by Seward Redesign.

I think of you as my family now, and I am very proud of how we responded to this terrible tragedy. This is a good neighborhood, and recent events have proven that to me. The people of Seward did not hide in their homes after the shooting. Hundreds of you came out for the candlelight vigil, and hundreds more dropped money into collection boxes for the families.

I thank you on behalf of the victims' families, and I thank you on behalf of True Thai Restaurant where we are proud to be a part of the Seward community.

Eggs: not just for breakfast anymore

Anna with a plate of Thai Eggs

When I had our kitchen staff come up with an egg dish to put on the menu, everyone told me that Minnesotans would not eat eggs except for breakfast. Wow, were those people ever wrong! Even our vendors have commented on how many eggs we've been going through.

True Thai's Thai Eggs aren't quite like anything I've had in Thailand. There are many Thai egg dishes, many of which use eggs that do not come from chickens. I think maybe our most famous recipe would be the infamous Son-in-Law Eggs (Khai Look Koie). They are very round, and there is a reason for that.

“The mother-in-law will cook these for her son-in-law if she thinks he is being unkind to her daughter − it will remind him that his family jewels could well end up fried on a plate if he doesn’t clean up his act,” laughs Cecilia Brooks Brown, author of “World Vegetarian Classics” (Pavilion, $24.95). “But the dish sure is a treat to eat!”

I suppose I could put these eggs on our menu as well, but I'm not sure the story that goes with the eggs is appropriate for mealtime reading.

The story of True Thai's Thai Eggs is that you should do what you think is right, even when people disagree with you.

True Buffet!

Each day from 11 until 2 True Thai serves a lunch buffet. Did you know that you can pick buffet items for your group?

If you are planning to bring a group to True Thai for lunch on a weekday, email me two days in advance with your buffet preferences and we'll do our best. No, you can't pick out the entire buffet, but with your input we'll try to serve as many of your preferred dishes as possible.

True Thai has always focused on quality, not quantity in our lunch buffet. Less than a dozen items, but each one given the same careful preparation as an a la carte menu item.

My suggestion? If your group is daring, ask us to prepare some off-menu items. If your group is not so daring, pick a couple of dishes you know they'll like and we'll do our best. And if you'd like something really spicy, we'll make sure to make a dish or two that will meet your needs.

True Thai is Thai the way you like it.

Seward Market reopens

The Seward Market reopened Thursday. I walked over about eight to do some shopping and to show some support. There were seven guys behind the cash register. I was the only customer. It was very sad. I even cried a little.

I know that it is not easy being in a new country and trying to make a living. But I know it is good to have a community to support you. I don't think there were seven guys working at that market last night. I think there was one guy working at the market, and six friends showing their support.

There are many ways of showing your support. The jar by our cash register is stuffed with donations. Or you can do like Bob Olson did. He was a long time Seward neighborhood resident who recently passed away at the age of 82. He left his money to his neighbors, the City of Minneapolis, and the University of Minnesota's libraries.

When you invest in your time and money into your community, everyone benefits. Right now the families of the three shooting victims need our help.

Seward Market Memorial Fund
c/o Seward Redesign
2619 E Franklin Avenue
Minneapolis MN 55406

Thank you for whatever you can do.

Seward Market Memorial Fund

I just wanted to share with you the official memorial fund announcement for the families of the Seward Market shooting victims:

Seward Redesign and the Seward Neighborhood Group have established a memorial fund for the immediate family of the three individuals killed at the Seward Market on January 6, 2010.

You may contribute to the fund in any of the following ways:

1. Drop donations in collection jars at local businesses.
2. Drop off donations at Redesign's office .
3. Drop off/deposit donations at the Wells Fargo at 2600 Franklin Avenue.

Checks should be written to Seward Market Memorial Fund.

You may call Amy at Seward Redesign with any questions, 338-8729, x101.

We have a donation jar by the cash register and so far True Thai's customers have been very generous. Thanks to those who've donated, and those of you who will be making a donation next time you come in for your favorite Thai food.

By popular demand

I continue to be amazed at how much curry sauce we've sold since offering it as a take-home purchase. You add the protein and veggies of your choice and our sauces help to True Thai-ify your kitchen. (True Thai-ify? OK, maybe that is not a word, but I think you know what I mean.)

In addition to Red Curry, Green Curry, the peanut-licious Rama Curry, we are now able to offer you yet another True Thai staple: TRUE THAI STIR FRY SAUCE.

Just add a little to some of your home cooked stir fry and watch in amazement as your kids eat their vegetables!

Because it makes Anna happy to know you eat well at home, just like Anna does.

•••••

I thought I should also mention that there is now a memorial fund for the victims of the recent shootings. You can send your donations to:

Seward Redesign
2619 E. Franklin Ave.
Minneapolis, MN. 55406

Checks should be made out to Seward Market Memorial Fund

A suspect has been arrested and the other perpetrators should know that the entire Seward community is working with the police to solve this terrible crime.

Tragedy comes to the Seward neighborhood

I like the Seward neighborhood. Lots of old hippies and young immigrants make for an interesting place to live and do business, but last night tragedy struck our peaceful community.

Early in the evening armed thugs shot and killed three men, all members of the Somali family that owned and operated the Seward Market & Halal Meats just east of True Thai Restaurant. From the Star Tribune:

Police said they don't know the motive behind the killings but believe it was an apparent failed robbery at a south Minneapolis market.

The shootings shocked residents of what a police spokesman called "a pretty good neighborhood" and brought the city's 2010 homicide count to four just one week into the year.

Police did not identify the victims of the shootings at Seward Market and Halal Meats, on E. Franklin and 25th Avenues, but Abdirizak Bihi, director of the Somali Education and Social Advocacy Center in Minneapolis, said they were Somali immigrants, cousins who had pooled their money to buy the market.

"They come from a well-known family in the Somali community, a hard-working family," Bihi said. "This is very shocking."

One of the victims, he said, has seven children.

Everyone in the neighborhood is shocked and saddened. I understand that there are Americans who do not like Muslims, but there are many Somalis in the Seward neighborhood and we all get along just fine. Some in Seward have lived here all their lives, some are immigrants, and some of us just do business here, but we all consider ourselves a part of the community and what hurts some of us hurts all of us.

I do not know why grocery stores are victimized by violent crimes when sit down restaurants so rarely are. Maybe it's because grocery stores are sometimes mostly empty but restaurants always have lots of customers and staff (eyewitnesses) around.

KARE-11 says police are asking eyewitnesses to come forward:

City officials are asking anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward with information. Calls are being taken by Minneapolis Sgt Kjos at 612-673-3085 and Sgt. Porras at 612-673-3572.

I hope they get lots of good leads because Seward will not sleep well until these killers are caught.

(You can see pictures from last night's memorial service here.)

My old church

My old church got quite the facelift this year. I have told you about how eight Catholic families fled Vietnam a hundred years ago and came to Thailand to raise their children. The Catholic church in Chanthaburi has gone through many changes over the years but this year they went all out.

This is the church I grew up in. Our house was a block away, right behind the Cathedral.


It's changed quite a bit this last year thanks to many donations (including one from Anna!) and a lot of hard work. So much so that I even found a blog post about the renovations written by an expatriate Brit living Chanthaburi.



I grew up thinking it was the most beautiful church in the world, but after seeing pictures of the newly renovated cathedral I cannot wait to go home and see it again. At first I could not believe my eyes. It was as if my church had been replaced by Disney's Church of Tomorrow!


The celebration of the unveiling of Mary was spectacular!


Even from behind our new Mary is quite impressive. Her apparel is made from precious stones.


All I can say is wow. This all began with eight families who grew to be 38,000 Thai Catholics. Speaking as one of those Thai Catholics, I am very proud of my new old church.

Happy New Year's!

Happy New Year from Anna!

Remember, True Thai is open for New Year's Eve, but will be closed on New Year's Day.

Have fun, drive carefully, and watch out for the other guy!