H.E. Mr. Nopporn Adchariyavanich, Thai Ambassador to Sri Lanka recently gave an interview to the fourth issue of Sri Lanka’s Gourmet Circle Magazine in April-May 2014 about Thai Food as one of the most popular cuisines in the world as well as “a tool of Thai diplomacy”.

     The Ambassador firstly explained about the significance of rice in Thai cuisine. Steamed white rice is the staple food for Thai people. Moreover ,In Thailand, there is a unique aromatic rice, called Jasmine Rice which gives out special fragrance when it is cooked. Despite its small scale of output each year and consequently high price in the world market, a large number of people from other parts of the world are willing to purchase Thai Jasmine Rice in order to get the maximum flavours of Thai cuisine.

     In the interview, His Excellency expresses his view about the worldwide success of Thai cuisine. Despite the distinct feature of Thai cuisine from different part of Thailand, the perfect balance of all flavors: sweet, sour, spicy and salty, are artistically created by Thai chefs to suit every taste. The ambassador also mentioned the recent success of Thai Food Festival at Cinnamon Grand Hotel, in February 2014. The said Festival was jointly organized by the Royal Thai Embassy in Colombo, the Tourism Authority of Thailand in Mumbai and Cinnamon Grand Hotel, which was greatly boosted the popularity of Thai food in Sri Lanka.

     Gourmet Circle Magazine is a bi-monthly food magazine which aims to promote foodand restaurants to the expatriates and the local high-income earners in Sri Lanka, who are alsoThai food enthusiasts. Presently, there are 6 Thai restaurants in Sri Lanka, most of which are located in 5-star hotels, business district or expatriate area in Colombo. This year, a couple of new Thai restaurants are planned to open in Colombo and other cities.