Lee Cafe

A couple weeks ago, I was in Bangkok to meet a friend and talk business.  My sister and I picked him up at the airport. It was almost midday. Our friend had a little to eat on his flight. He must be starving. I suggested we grab an early lunch.  We went to my sister's place to drop off his luggage  so we didn't have to drag the big suitcase around. It was his first visit to Thailand. His trip was strictly business. We took him to Lee Cafe for a Thai food experience to make his two-day stay memorable.

Kluai Buat Chi Plating And Decoration

I had the privilege to witness the kitchen staff's hands-on training for one of the most popular Thai desserts. Kluai buat chi or bananas in coconut milk is fuss-free recipe but tastes great. You simply cook not-so-ripe bananas in sweetened coconut milk and Voila - you get a satisfying treat!

Anyway, the staff were grouped in three teams, with four people in each. The executive chef demonstrated cooking  techniques. When he finished cooking, he ladled the bananas into a bowl and decorated the plate for presentation.The dessert was laid on a banana leaf. It was served with a scoopful of vanilla ice cream on the side. Once the chef presented his plated dessert,  each team went to its respective work stations to recreate the recipe.  Funny how the groups came up with different plating decoration ideas.

Surprise Birthday Cupcakes

These cupcakes made a little girl's birthday so special. She was not aware that we had something prepared for her. Wondering why the colors were  familiar? I had some leftover frosting from the batch I served at brunch. Tossing it would be a shame so I thought why not make a cupcake platter for her. Sunday's always crazy at work. It would set me back had I chosen to baked her a cake,  I went ahead with my plan, I made the girl a simple treat with these vanilla cupcakes.

Colorful Vanilla Cupcakes

These colorful vanilla cupcakes are the newest addition to the resort's Sunday brunch dessert menu. Similar  to what I make for the nightly turn down service except that I opted to stick to the original recipe I found on the web.  As for the frosting, I tinted it into bright colors.   I used three piping nozzles. The open star piping tip for pink cupcakes, the round piping tip for burgundy and the small closed star piping tip for blue. I added a sprinkling of colored sugar to achieve that perfect finishing touch.

Frosting the cupcakes required  a great deal of time but the result was rewarding. They were a huge hit not just to kids but the grown ups as well.

My First Attempt At Making Lemon Meringue Pie

Back in the days when I was teaching in Bangkok, I did a one-on-one tutoring with a Thai primary student, One time while reading the book Amelia Bedelia with her, I came across the dessert called lemon meringue pie. Neither of us had any idea what it was. I told her not to miss a chance if she found one. I said I would do the same and  for a while it made me wonder what it's like.  I didn't care much about sweets back then so  the thought of it was completely forgotten. Then the most unexpected thing happened.. I made a decision to leave my university teaching job after ten long years to pursue a culinary course. 

Prior to attending classes, I started collecting cookbooks to help prepare myself  as I had no strong background in baking. It was while browsing one of the cookbooks when I happened to see something familiar. It was lemon meringue pie! It got me excited. Would I ever learn it at the culinary school? I was going to a French school. I would be studying mostly French contemporary desserts.  I doubted they would even cover the subject. I got it off my mind for the second time.