| >> FOOD: Rare Deal |
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Where little on the menu is filling, and no dish is heated above 42 degrees When you see dishes like celery soup and banana tahini smoothie chalked up as the specials of the day, you will know you have found the Raw Food Café. The café is an outdoor affair connected to the Rasayana Retreat, a full-service spa. Four sturdy wood tables are located in a cove-like patio. Foliage surrounds the walled-in area. Water trickles down a big clay urn; the soothing sound mixes well with the spa music playing low in the background. The relaxing atmosphere is appealing, but it isn’t the most interesting aspect of this café’s profile. This kind of food is exceedingly rare in Thailand. As the restaurant’s name declares, it only serves food in its natural state. No cooking, processing, pasteurization, meat, wheat or dairy play a part in any of the dishes. The theory goes that once food is cooked, it loses 80 percent of its nutrients. Each dish uses a different medley of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds that are not heated above 42 degrees Celsius. Raw food, also called a living food diet, has caught on in the West like a brush fire; cities like Los Angeles and New York proliferate with these restaurants. Some call it a fad or a craze, but many vegans and vegetarians have embraced it as a healthier way to live. Raw foodists, who also include fruitarians, sproutarians, and juicearians, say their bodies absorb nutrients better. A raw diet is theorized to lead a person into an improved state of being; more energy, better health, weight loss, natural detoxification and a stronger immune system. This is because raw food carries enzymes that are not broken down by heat or any other processing. The food in its natural state also has an abundance of oxygen. Thais, who customarily feast on stir-fried goodies, boiled meat with veggies and the necessary side of rice or noodles, have not exactly been swept off their feet by the Raw Food Café’s preachings. Most customers are farang who discover the café after getting a spa treatment in the adjacent building. The lack of interest is no surprise; the food needs a nice introduction and then some getting used to. One must remember that the dishes listed on the menu, such as pizza, pasta and lasagna, do not have the same meaning as they do in the cooked-food world. Everything is served cold; every soup is gazpacho in temperature. “Bread” is made of dehydrated vegetables and nuts; “linguini” is shaped like the wide flat Italian noodle, but is actually made of long cold shavings of zucchini, instead of flour; “pizza” is not made of dough, but a base of dehydrated flaxseed. It doesn’t sound all that appealing for the average 7-Eleven diner, but raw food is more about lifestyle than palate pleasures. In this respect, the Raw Food Café gets it all right. Their menu describes the concept of raw food and also designates which ones can be used for the spa’s cleansing program – detoxification of the digestive system. There are a variety of juices, appetizers, soups, salads, entrees and even deserts. One customer, Geoff Pickup, who has been visiting the café regularly for the past two years, says his favorites are the flaxseed tacitos, flax chips topped with Mexican salsa, and the avocado ice cream. There are many other interesting dishes. Barley sushi replaces rice with barley and uses vegetables, avocado, and coconut melatin inside. You might find that to properly fill up you have to order at least two if not three dishes. The Thai pasta is heartier than most dishes; it is made with coconut noodles, onion, chili, garlic, ginger and tamarind. Another “meaty” choice is the sun burger; the patty is a mixture of almond, celery and sage and is served in a cabbage leaf. You can top off your meal with a fancy cocktail made of wheatgrass and your choice of fruit juice. The dishes, unlike the spa treatments, won’t set you back that far. They range in price from 70 to 150 baht. For
many, raw food is a lifelong love affair, but you don’t
have to give it more than a one-night tryout. Source:
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