"It is destination dining," says managing director David MacKenzie." We like spots like we have on the river in Bangkok. We are always looking for that 'wow' factor."
"You don't just come to eat. You come to hang out and have fun with your friends," says Phithaya, adding that 70 percent of the clientele is female.
Thai food is now considered the world's No 5 cuisine, at least according to a recent poll of users of Ranking.com. Italian is No 1 and Chinese No 4.
Dishes vary among the country's four regions, reflecting cultural influences from China, Myanmar, India and Malaysia. Thai curries are marked by their use of coconut milk and fresh ingredients rather than the powdered spices used in Indian curries.
Northern dishes are mild, those in the midlands contain more small fish and river fare, while southern dishes show Arabic influences and are sweeter with more lamb. Yet many are still garnished with garlic, sugar, fish oil or spicy chilies.
The old spice and silk routes are now in the process of being resurrected after President Xi Jinping announced his vision in 2013 to restore centuries-old land and shipping lanes from South China through Southeast Asia via East Africa to Europe.
Meanwhile, Thailand gave the green light to a $23-billion deal last summer for two highspeed rail links with China to be built by 2021, and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha endorsed the restoration of a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and economic belt this February. That same month, the World Maritime News reported that a new $20-billion canal in South Thailand that China may be financing, called the Kra Canal, could be included in the plan.
Such bolstered trade routes should make the shipping of lemon grass, kaffir limes and other ingredients that much easier. At Mango Tree, the emphasis on fresh ingredients could hardly be stronger, as Phithaya demonstrated during a lobster pad thai class.
"The pad thai profile is sour, sweet and saltiness," says Phithaya, the hands-on CEO and self-effacing author of I'm Nota Chef But I Sure Am a Good Cook!" You add the salt and sugar last so as not to lose the flavor, and always use palm oil, not olive oil."
