CONFESSION: I'M AN ADDICT!

It was a Chinese chicken curry in Leeds which made me realise, 30 years ago, how bland the British diet really is. But even as the first burning mouthful began to slide down, even as I "did a Bradshaw" and tried furiously to breath while reaching for the napkin, even THEN I knew I was hooked!

Moving south career-wise and curry-wise, it was an Indian in Leicester which made me realise how mild Chinese curries really are - and started me on years of Madras, phals and vindaloos. By the mid 80's I was in London and it was the celebrated 'My Thai' in Wembley which began to steer my taste buds towards this fair Kingdom. Believe me, TAT, Thai food really does does whelp to sell Thailand abroad.

Whether all those restaurants back in the west know it or not, they are your unpaid travel agents! But, recalling the old adage that anything you enjoy is "illegal or immoral or it makes you fat!" I have always wondered what harm really hot food might be doing to my innards. Comforting, then, to read this month's main feature, though a follow up from another food writer (which we'll print next month) does warn that the hottest chillies can cause scarring, ulcers and burns in the gullet, also blindness if accidentally contacting your eyes.

"Moderation in all things" and the Lord Buddha's "middle path" would seem to be the wisest way.

PS: Never realised what a trend-setter I was all those years ago. Chicken curry has now officially overtaken fish and chips as Britain's favourite meal!

What's so hot about chillies?

Shaheen Perveen, whose native India now claims to produce the hottest, explains.....

Shaheen Perveen

Hilltribe handover - how your gifts will be given!

Loy Kratong Festival

Cool season's biggest or big season's coolest?

Chiangmai and the North

My Chiangmai

David Hardy

Nong Khai Commentary

MESSING ABOUT ON THE RIVER

Riverbank Stone

Chiangmai Pool League

WIDE OPEN WITH ONE MONTH TO GO!

Night Fowl

Reasons to Relax

FOLLOWING THE FOOD CHAIN

Ric Klein

Financial Affairs

DIRECT DEALING - TODAY'S ESSENTIAL STRATEGY

Anthony Purkis

The Drinks Page

Night Fowl

Letters

DOES CHIANGMAI HAVE ITS OWN ATLANTIS?

Does Chiangmai have it's own Atlantis - right on it's southern doorstep? Local historian Garry Harbottle-Johnson thinks so. (...).

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