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FIREHOUSE

FEATURED RESTAURANT

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VIA VAI

CORNERSTONE

BEIRUT

Order over 599 THB and get a FREE

Pasta Arrabiata

Buy 3 Pay 2 - Australia Wines

“THORN CLARK”

Order over 599 THB and Get a Free

Chicken Wings provencal

THE BLACK SWAN

MADAM T INDIAN HUT

Order a Full Baguette Sandwich and get a

Half one for Free

Order over 499 THB and get a Free Sago pearls in

coconuts milk with cantaloupe (146-82)

order any Two Curries( Vegetarian or Non Vegetarian) and get SAFFRON PEAS

PULAOO

THE CEDAR

MALEE

Order Over 599 THB and get a Free

Veggie Sandwich

buy 3 juices any flavours, get free

Lychee Juice one bottle

INDIAN HOST

Order Over 599 Baht and get 2 pieces of

Vegetable Samosas

LAST MONTH’S WINNERRebecca Mok won 4,600 THB

voucher with Spanity

2 winners will receive complimentary vouchers at

APRIL 2014

Located next to Seasons Boutique Hotel

opposite Q Bar at the top of Sukhumvit Soi

11, Firehouse is owned by two American

expatriates long based in Asia – Eric Roose

and Peter Oh. In part, Firehouse is inspired by

the mutual respect of the hard working middle

class ethic of the firefighting community in the

U.S., and is driven by the owners’ goal to deliver

high-quality American comfort foods at a good

value to locals and visitors alike. The red brick and

wrought iron decor was inspired by the red brick

firehouse where the fire fighters worked and lived

and their comfort food cuisine has become an

American Culinary icon. The pub and restaurant

is home to the largest collection of antique and

vintage firefighting memorabilia in the Kingdom,

the oldest piece being a 19th Century quilted

cotton handed painted Japanese fireman’s jack-

et from Tokyo.

Firefighters are famous for their food

which is little wonder as they are cooking

for themselves seven days a week. Environ-

ments create different food styles, this comfort

food style evolved from firefighters from multi-

ethnic backgrounds of Americans. Firefighters

would negotiate the menu among themselves

then ride the fire truck to buy the raw ingredi-

ents. An act of necessity that was an unplanned

bonding exercise, if a team of men from differ-

ent backgrounds could work together smoothly

in the relaxed atmosphere of a firehouse kitchen

they would work together in the stressful emer-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 >>

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gency environment. They never knew which

meal would be their last, at the end of the work-

ing day they tended to celebrate that they had

made it through in one piece.

While looking through the menu deciding which

dishes to taste I grazed on a bucket of Pickle Os

beer battered fried pickles with a side order of

ranch dressing. The light batter creates a nice

crunch before the sour taste of the pickles

balanced by the homemade ranch.

The burger is at the heart of American

comfort food. Here they have elevated a

simple fast food bite into a dish of qual-

ity and sustenance. They achieved this in se-

lecting quality meat, buying it in as prime cuts

and grinding it daily inhouse. This put them in

control of what goes into the patty as well as

enabled them to control consistency in qual-

ity and fat to meat ratio. The beef they use is

Thai-French from Pom Yam Kham Co-operative

Farm who have cross bred cattle with the finest

French Charolais and Limosine cattle which are

fed chemical-free naturally organic grass with

no hormones growth promotants, antibiotics,

animal food, imported food or artificial vita-

mins added to their diet. The beef is aged for

a minimum of 30 days before arriving at the

restaurant kitchen.

The standard Premium Burger boasts a 180

gm patty cooked as requested, served layered

with crispy lettuce, a thick slice of fresh tomato,

grilled red onion and splash of mayo in a freshly

baked Kaiser bun. The assembled burger stands

four inches tall on a wooden board and is served

with the choice of in house cut potato wedges,

French fries or crinkle cut fries which can be sub-

stituted with a green salad or onion rings for a

supplement of THB 30. Cutlery is placed on the

FEATURED RESTAURANTFIREHOUSE

Opening Hours : 11.30 am-Midnight (daily)

2013

Credit cards :

Price per person without drinks :

FBP partner since :

FIREHOUSE Pub & Restaurant33/26 Sukhumvit Soi 11Bangkok 10110

Phone: +66-2651-3643

www.firehousethailand.comwww.facebook.com/Firehouse-Pub-and-Restaurant

All major credit cards accepted

THB 350

table as a courtesy but the only way to eat any

burger is to grab it with both hands, open wide,

bite with gusto and enjoy. For non-beef eaters,

there are also a homemade Veggie Burger, Chic

Burger and Pan-Asian Pork Burger options on

the menu.

Next a Cobb Salad, a classic American

main dish salad, according to Martha

Stewart wins over the most reluctant sal-

ad eater. Here the bowl overflows with crispy

Romaine lettuce, Iceberg lettuce, chopped

grilled chicken breast, crispy bacon, tomato,

avocado, cheddar cheese, chopped hard boiled

egg, crumbled Gorgonzola bound together with

the Firehouse dressing, a pleasing meal for the

weight watcher. It’s so fresh the crunch is au-

dible.

Tex-Mex is the American comfort food take

on Mexican cuisine and is at home in any

Firehouse. I tasted their excellent Baja Fish Taco

– laid out with pieces of grilled fish, grated ched-

dar cheese, Pico de Gallo, crispy lettuce present-

ed looking similar to a small pizza a flour tortilla.

Fish taco is among the most sought-after fare

in Baja due the abundance of marine life in the

Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean around its

coast line. It came to the American table thanks

to US college student Ralph Rubio, who fell in

love at first bite while on a spring break in San

Felipe. He got the recipe from its creator then

served his adaptation in the chain of restaurants

he went onto open after graduation.

When you feel in need a fix of home

cooked American comfort food, drop by

the Firehouse, their burgers are ringing the bell

of many in Bangkok, some say that they are the

best in town, but you be the judge of how good

they are; I loved them.

THE CEdaR

PERSONALITyOF THE MONTH

RAFIC

”Cedar is very much as it always been when my father opened

the first The Cedar in 1977 at 27 Soi Pipat,” says Rafic. “The

decor is like a Bedouin tent with a 70’s feel. Bamboo furniture, sand

coloured floor tiles and olive jars used as planters. There are framed

press cuttings dating from when the original restaurant first opened.

He taught me the importance of treating every guest equally, with the

same respect as if they were a family friend coming for dinner at or

home.”

”Our restaurant customer base is made up of 60% regulars,

the rest are recommended by that customer base,” he says. “To

ensure they don’t get weary with the same menu we have added a

few new signature dishes.”

“ For past two years we have expanded our business to increase

production of our pita bread which some say are the best in

Bangkok,” he says. The secret comes from cooking at high tempera-

tures, this creates steam inside the bread, which causes the flat bread

to puff up creating the pocket. It tears comfortably in the hand, the

lightly toasted outside contrasts the the soft fluffy interior. Our regular

customers often call and ask us to deliver to the home. We don’t have

an on sight deli, we don’t deliver so we refer them to Food by Phone

who do.”

”We have also expanded to provide outside catering for local

community gathering, who invite selected restaurants to set up

booths to feed their guests. This gives us the opportunity to net-

work with potential new customers and to project a high profile im-

age of Cedar Restaurant. At these events we serve freshly made pita

sandwiches filled with either leg of lamb or falafel for vegetarians.”

”This lead me to think about the concept of pita sandwiches

and checking the internet I found that there are many restau-

rant around the world that only sell them. After discussions with

Food by Phone I created a new concept Rafic’s Pockets a selection of

six pitta bread sandwiche Eggplant Magic Smoked Eggplant with a

yoghurt garlic sauce and salad; Falafel Extravaganza traditional home-

made falafel with tahini sauce, salad and the house spicy sauce; Egg

Delight a traditional creamy egg salad with a Lebanese touch and;

Three Musketers of Lamb, Chicken or Beef, the meat is marinated,

grilled and sliced served with our silky smooth ever popular yoghurt

garlic sauce. They are not available from the restaurant, only deliv-

ered to your office or home by Food By Phone.”

”The restaurant business has become more and more com-

petitive,” he says, “customers are looking for value for mon-

ey. No matter how small the item they are ordering they expect

the same high level of service. To meet this expectation we must

be passionate about what we do, motivate our staff, constantly

train them, treat them as if they were of the Cedar family and to

respect and maintain the hospitality heritage established by my late

father.”

”Mistakes will happen,” he admits, “learn from them and

don’t let them happen again. Make sure that every customer

leaves the restaurant happy with the service he received. It’s the

only way be be sure that they will return, and that’s what is most

important to me.”

13th-15th

22nd April 2014, 7-10pm Royal Bangkok Sports Club

6th April 2014 12.30pm Royal Bangkok Sports Club

26th April 2014, The Ballroom, The Amari Watergate 6.30pm drinks reception

22-23 April 10am-9pm Bangkok Inter-national Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC), Bangna

2-27 April 2014, Tuesday -Sunday 3-8pm WTF Cafe & Gallery, 7 Sukhumvit Soi 51,

April Songkran

Russian Night Charity ConcertTkts THB 800, THB 500 for Students

Conflicted Visions

Chakri Cup

St George’s Society 52nd Annual BallTkts THB 3,200 or THB 29,000 for a complete table of 10.)

Bangkok International Gift Fair and Houseware Fair 2014

The three day holiday Maha Songkran, the 13th April is the time of the year when days and nights are of equal length. It’s followed by Nao Day on the 14th April and the new year itself starts on the 15th April. With there has to be a differ-ence on the Eastern seaboard it starts later and ends later in term of sacred celebration, but they don’t wait to start fight-ing with water, what Songkran is better known for worldwide and a reason why many tourists come to Thailand and this time of year. If getting a soaking is what you are looking for in the hottest month of the year the two major water war zones are Silom Road and Khao San Road. If you don’t want to get wet stay in doors. However without except is fair game to be greeted with sabai dee pimai to have a white powder paste dabbed on you checks and a good soaking.

Under conductor Tan Lochotinan, with soloist Vanessa Benelli-Mosell they will perform three Russian classics, a scene from Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No 2 in C Major by Rachmaninov and Suite for Variety Orchestra by Shostakovich. All proceeds from the concert are going to the Association of Children & Youth for Peace in the South-ernmost Provinces of Thailand.

It’s little known and rarely spoken about but there has been horse racing in Bangkok for the last 100 years. Meeting on turf are every Sunday alternating between RBSC or as it’s some-times know the Pratunam Racecourse and the Army Turf Club in the Dusit district. The Chakri Cup is one of three major races in Bangkok and the second most valuable with prize money of THB 1,345,000

WTF gallery is on two (2nd and 3rd ) floors of a typical Bangkok shop-house located on a small alley minutes from the buzziest area of the capital. Their aim is to bring great art to the people of Bangkok; to make it accessible, uplifting and transformative. Since 2010, political unrest in Thailand has given rise to unprec-edented public expression, with almost every demographic in the country voicing often long-repressed concerns and griev-ances. This is contemporary political art exhibition titled ‘Con-flicted Visions’ by 7 Thai artists Prakit Kobkijwattana, Sutee Kunavichayanont, Manit Sriwanichpoom, Pisitakun Kuntalang, Jakapan Vilasineekul and Miti Ruangkritya

The evening kicks off with Baron of Beef Ceremony a grand parade through the Ballroom accompanied by the Ghurkhas. The British Ambassador Mark Kent will be invited up to taste the Beef and de-clare it fit to eat. A very traditional ceremony for St George’s Society events across the world. A five course gourmet English dinner finish-ing with Port.and Stilton, free flow wine and beer a traditional Eng-lish sing-a-long and charity raffles. A St George’s Pub in the corner and Premiere League football on the big screen.

One of ASEAN’s leading international trade fairs for trendy gifts and lifestyle products recognised as Thailand’s excel-lent platform for designers and new entrepreneurs to show their latest collections.

When? What? Description More info?

charityconcert.org

stgball2014@gmail.com

WHAT TO DO IN BANGKOK

Tel 0-2662-6246 somrak@wtfbangkok.com

Tel 0-2507-8309 big@ditp.go.thwww.bigandbih.com