Latest news with #Khao
Straits Times
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Heritage food, DIY workshops, exclusive SG60 keepsakes: How your family can celebrate National Day with nostalgia
Meet traditional vendors, discover home-grown brands and join in on some hands-on activities as Great World rings in SG60 From designing your own customised beaded bracelets to interactive storytelling where kids dress up as Samsui women and hawkers, your family will find plenty of hands-on National Day activities at Great World in August. Great World was one of Singapore's most iconic entertainment grounds before its transformation into a bustling retail mall today. Known as Great World Amusement Park in the 1950s and 1960s, families flocked there for weekend movies, rickshaw rides and open-air fun. It was noisy, messy, joyful – a slice of everyday life that defined a generation's idea of fun. From Aug 1 to 10, Great World marks Singapore's 60th birthday by transforming into a vibrant showcase of local heritage and flavours. Shoppers can explore a pop-up marketplace at Level 1 Atrium, featuring some of Singapore's traditional snack vendors alongside brands dedicated to craft and community. Anchoring the event is a series of photo-worthy installations inspired by familiar icons of daily life. Snap photos and wefies with your family and friends at the playful vignettes featuring buses, trains and even a family of otters – each set designed to capture the spirit of Singapore in charming detail. A celebration of play and local flavours Throughout the 10-day fiesta, parents can bring the young ones for free workshops and hands-on activities, creating memories together. Activities range from free temporary tattoos from Khao, balloon sculpting and custom beaded bracelets to a do-it-yourself pouch station where Great Rewards members can decorate keepsakes. Or join the interactive storytelling by Liliewoods Social x Glotter Kids, where children can become Samsui women, hawkers and more with props. A 4-m tall ferris wheel offers a moment of old-fashioned delight, perfect for little ones to experience a miniature carnival. No tribute to Singapore's past would be complete without the food. Heritage vendors will be serving up familiar flavours, from the crunchy chickpeas of Peace Centre Kachang Puteh, gu kueh and muah chee by Ah Mah's Legacy, to the delicate tutu kueh crafted by family-run Traditional Tutu Kueh. With its mix of local brands and popular home-grown food vendors, Great World is a destination to discover unique finds and support local businesses. PHOTO: GREAT WORLD Right next door, the Mama Shop by SnacKING Retro Biscuits fills shelves with retro snacks and colourful card games that recall a time when play was simple and sweet. Singapore brands worth discovering This celebration of heritage extends beyond the pop-up marketplace. Across the mall, you will find a mix of home-grown businesses offering shoppers the best of both tradition and modernity. KedaiKueKue has built its reputation supplying traditional kueh to five-star hotels using time-honoured recipes. Sky Sky Fried Chicken draws on both global influences and classic Chinese cooking to create a menu that feels familiar yet distinctly local. At Ritz Apple Strudel, nearly two decades of practice have perfected the golden layers of their signature pastry, now offered in flavours from apple and mango to durian and chocolate. Beyond the tastes of home, there's plenty to explore. Family-Com, a local favourite for gamers, stocks everything from retro consoles to the latest titles. Motherswork curates design-led essentials for modern parenthood that balance style and practicality, while Our Second Nature and Atlas Kind produce wardrobe staples with a quietly Singaporean sensibility, blending sustainability with comfort. Delighting fashion-conscious individuals, The Editor's Market reimagines everyday fashion with a minimalist aesthetic and an approach that prizes quality and accessible prices. Together, these brands demonstrate that home-grown businesses can feel both rooted and refreshingly current – heritage that looks forward as much as it looks back. Indoor play and more family fun at the mall Beyond the bustle of the atrium event, families can make their way to Playland on Level 2, tucked just behind Putien. Here, little ones can climb aboard a pirate ship, slide down a colourful hot air balloon or hop onto a charming mini train. Every corner has been designed to spark curiosity and joy. Indulge in freshly baked pastries at Windowsill Pies and authentic dishes at Ryan's Kitchen, two well-loved eateries offering special SG60 deals at the mall this August. PHOTO: GREAT WORLD The sense of discovery extends to the limited-edition SG60 travel items* created in collaboration with local illustrator, Lee Xin Li. Receive a luggage strap (redeemable with a minimum spend of $120) and a foldable travel bag (with a $300 spend minimally), both feature illustrations celebrating what makes Singapore feel like home. These retailers are also offering exclusive SG60 deals only at Great World in August. Get $6.60 pie slices and $0.60 mini croissants from Windowsill Pies, or enjoy any four dishes at Ryan's Kitchen for just $60. Getting to Great World is also easier than ever. With three exit points, the Thomson-East Coast Line exit 6 links directly from the MRT station to Basement 2 of the mall, right by Meidi-Ya Supermarket, so you can arrive comfortably, rain or shine. Shop at Great World for heritage eats and home-grown brands while collecting exclusive SG60 travel gifts like the commemorative luggage strap and foldable bag. PHOTO: GREAT WORLD And for those who love a little extra, Great Rewards members can enjoy exclusive promotions throughout August. The loyalty programme is free to join and lets you earn points as you shop. As a special offer, readers of The Straits Times, who sign up with the promo code GWSTSG60, will receive a $5 Great Rewards e-Voucher. The offer is limited to the first 200 new sign-ups between Aug 1 to 31. Make plans to visit Great World at 1 Kim Seng Promenade this August to celebrate Singapore's heritage. *800 redemptions are available for luggage strap and 500 redemptions are available for foldable travel bag at Customer Service Counter, Level 2 from Aug 1 to 31 for Great Rewards Members. While stocks last.
Calgary Herald
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Hum: Thai food gets a street-style upgrade at these new Ottawa restaurants
Article content Panang curry with beef ($22) was especially rich with dollops of coconut cream. Rather than the more usual yellow chicken curry, we chose a yellow curry-based chicken stir-fry ($22) that won us over. Article content I've never had room for dessert at Khao, although mango with sticky rice and crème brûlée are available. Article content Article content Much further east, Chopp Chop Thai Street Food opened in an unassuming Orléans strip mall in August 2024. Taking its name from Thai slang for 'I love it, I really love it,' Chopp Chop is a more modest, unlicensed eatery of just a few tables. Takeout orders likely account for a lot of its sales. Article content While I didn't love everything I had at Chopp Chop, its best dishes were good enough or interesting enough to make me look forward to return visits. Article content Article content Of Chopp Chop's large, single-serving soups, khao soi ($20.95), which starred a chicken leg in its vibrant broth, was fine. Less impressive were the tom yum soup with fish balls and barbecue pork ($20.95) and the wonton soup with barbecue pork ($19.95). I wanted more comforting vibes and better pork from both. Article content Article content Of two chicken appetizers, I preferred flavourful satay skewers ($12.95) to fried wings ($14.95), which, while massive and juicy, were under-seasoned. Article content Better was Chopp Chop's rendition of 'Thai railway fried rice,' dubbed 'Crazy Train Fried Rice' ($18.95), which took its earthy flavour from dark soy sauce and was packed with chicken, egg, Chinese broccoli, tomato and onion. Article content Chopp Chop's Thai basil stir-fry ($18.95), made with ground pork or chicken and served with rice and a fried egg, was one of its most satisfying dishes thanks to big flavours and an umami punch. Pad Kee Mao ($18.95), my preferred Thai noodles, also delivered the thrilling combo of spicy, savoury and salty flavours I craved. Article content While I preferred Khao's street food to Chopp Chop's, I hope that both inspire imitators. We need even more of those Thai dishes that, for now, are more easily seen on YouTube than in Ottawa. Article content
Vancouver Sun
17-06-2025
- Vancouver Sun
Hum: Thai food gets a street-style upgrade at these new Ottawa restaurants
5929 Jeanne D'Arc Blvd., Unit 5, 613-852-8111, Hours: Wednesday to Monday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed Tuesday Prices: most dishes between $18 and $22 Access: no steps to front door or washrooms 205 Richmond Rd., 613-722-6464, Hours: Monday 4 to 10 p.m., Tuesday to Friday noon to 10 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Prices: most dishes between $18 and $22 Discover the best of B.C.'s recipes, restaurants and wine. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of West Coast Table will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Access: no steps to front door or washrooms I'll bet that most adventurous culinary tourists have 'visit Thailand, pig out on street food' on their bucket lists. On the rise since the early 1960s, Thailand's street food culture comprises at least 150,000 vendors whose wares are so popular, convenient, and tasty that they've essentially displaced the habit of home cooking. 'Fewer and fewer Thais cook at home now,' Thai food authority David Thompson told Gourmet Traveller . As enticingly documented on YouTube clip after YouTube clip, Thai street vendors whip up dishes both familiar — pad Thai, satay, papaya salad — and lesser known — crab omelettes, prawns on glass noodles and more. You name it, they make it. The Michelin Guide even recognizes the best Thai street food vendors . Interested? I'd love to buy you some plane tickets and send you to Bangkok. But first, I need to win the lottery. Until then, I recommend that you head out to Westboro or Orléans. There you'll find newer Thai restaurants with 'street food' in their names. Both promise a wider range of Thai dishes than you'll find at their older, more established peers. Also, the new restaurants tout that culinary white whale — authenticity — which for some is synonymous with street food. I've had repeated enjoyable meals in the past month at Khao (Street Food Thailand and Bar), which opened May 1 in Westboro, where a long-closed Fiazza pizzeria location had been. After extensive renovation, the post-pizzeria space is festive, youthful and eye-catching — a far cry from the placid temple-vibe of old-school Thai restaurants. The narrow, open-kitchen eatery seats 42 inside plus 23 on a patio looking onto Richmond Road. Behind a six-seat bar, which hopefully will be licensed soon to dispense Thai-themed cocktails, some of those YouTube videos of Thai street food explorations play on a big TV. The dining room soundtrack consistently features bossa nova versions of pop and rock tunes. The restaurant's name, which means 'rice' in Thai, might lead you to think it's an offshoot of the well-established ByWard Market Restaurant Khao Thai. The two eateries are separate businesses, although the co-owners of Khao Street Food, Pusanisa Soon and executive chef Nathaporn Suwanachit, are related to some of Khao Thai's principals. I was excited by many dishes on Khao's extensive menu simply because they aren't available elsewhere in Ottawa. Even better, many were delicious. Foremost among them was Khao's boat noodle soup ($19), a generous bowl filled with sliced beef, dense, chewy, beefy meatballs, rice noodles, bean sprouts, fried pork crackling and more in a rich, thick, gravy-like broth. Khao soi ($22), the northern Thai single-serving soup made with a rich yellow curry-like broth, soft and crispy egg noodles, sour pickled mustard greens and our choice of sliced chicken or beef, was another hearty winner. I've also tried two shareable seafood-based noodle soups ($30), one spicy and the other sweeter and pinker. In both, the seafood was admirably cooked. Among appetizers, a thrilling standout was moo manao ($12) — a choice of sliced beef or pork, lettuce and mint in an intense, fiery and complex 'Thai spicy seafood sauce.' Lemongrass chicken wings ($12), crispy slices of pork belly ($12) and look chin tod meatballs ($10) were well-made, extra-savoury treats. I imagine them being even better with beer once it's available at Khao. Chicken satay skewers with homemade peanut sauce ($12), were more plump, juicy and flavourful than what I've had elsewhere, and they came, apparently as they do in Thailand, with toast on the side to sop up the sauce. Laab — the bracing Thai salad elevated by an acidic, savoury, herbaceous dressing — was made here with raw salmon ($22) rather than ground chicken or pork, apparently because that's trendy in Thailand. Waterfall beef ($22) embraced a similar flavour profile, although when I ordered it level-two spiciness on the five-point scale here, it was too subdued for my liking. At my next visit, my server discouraged me from ordering some level-four papaya salad with shrimp ($20). It turned out that level three was plenty fiery. I also liked a less incendiary mango salad ($20), including its crisp-fried anchovies. Some stir-fries here were familiar, others less so. The common Thai basil-enhanced stir-fry, in addition to being served as part of a shared, family-style dinner, also came in a more solo diner-friendly format, with rice on the side or underneath and a fried egg. Khao's renditions with pork, chicken, beef or seafood ($23) or deep-fried chicken ($25) packed a compelling flavour punch. We also enjoyed a less spicy, but still persuasive oyster sauce-based stir-fry ($21) in which deep-fried and then fried Japanese eggplant and chicken starred. Pad Thai ($21) was properly tangy rather than cloyingly sweet, and it was bougied up with a lattice of fried egg on top, plus crushed peanuts and chilies on the side. That said, I remain a devotee of the more funky and spicy pad kee mao ($20). Panang curry with beef ($22) was especially rich with dollops of coconut cream. Rather than the more usual yellow chicken curry, we chose a yellow curry-based chicken stir-fry ($22) that won us over. I've never had room for dessert at Khao, although mango with sticky rice and crème brûlée are available. Much further east, Chopp Chop Thai Street Food opened in an unassuming Orléans strip mall in August 2024. Taking its name from Thai slang for 'I love it, I really love it,' Chopp Chop is a more modest, unlicensed eatery of just a few tables. Takeout orders likely account for a lot of its sales. While I didn't love everything I had at Chopp Chop, its best dishes were good enough or interesting enough to make me look forward to return visits. Of Chopp Chop's large, single-serving soups, khao soi ($20.95), which starred a chicken leg in its vibrant broth, was fine. Less impressive were the tom yum soup with fish balls and barbecue pork ($20.95) and the wonton soup with barbecue pork ($19.95). I wanted more comforting vibes and better pork from both. Of two chicken appetizers, I preferred flavourful satay skewers ($12.95) to fried wings ($14.95), which, while massive and juicy, were under-seasoned. Better was Chopp Chop's rendition of 'Thai railway fried rice,' dubbed 'Crazy Train Fried Rice' ($18.95), which took its earthy flavour from dark soy sauce and was packed with chicken, egg, Chinese broccoli, tomato and onion. Chopp Chop's Thai basil stir-fry ($18.95), made with ground pork or chicken and served with rice and a fried egg, was one of its most satisfying dishes thanks to big flavours and an umami punch. Pad Kee Mao ($18.95), my preferred Thai noodles, also delivered the thrilling combo of spicy, savoury and salty flavours I craved. After one of my dine-in meals, house-made coconut ice cream was a perfect refreshment. While I preferred Khao's street food to Chopp Chop's, I hope that both inspire imitators. We need even more of those Thai dishes that, for now, are more easily seen on YouTube than in Ottawa. phum@ Want to stay in the know about what's happening in Ottawa? Sign up for the Ottawa Citizen's arts and life newsletter — Ottawa, Out of Office — our weekly guide to eating, listening, reading, watching, playing, hanging, learning and living well in the capital.
Ottawa Citizen
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Ottawa Citizen
Hum: Thai food gets a street-style upgrade at these new Ottawa restaurants
Article content Panang curry with beef ($22) was especially rich with dollops of coconut cream. Rather than the more usual yellow chicken curry, we chose a yellow curry-based chicken stir-fry ($22) that won us over. Article content I've never had room for dessert at Khao, although mango with sticky rice and crème brûlée are available. Article content Article content Much further east, Chopp Chop Thai Street Food opened in an unassuming Orléans strip mall in August 2024. Taking its name from Thai slang for 'I love it, I really love it,' Chopp Chop is a more modest, unlicensed eatery of just a few tables. Takeout orders likely account for a lot of its sales. Article content While I didn't love everything I had at Chopp Chop, its best dishes were good enough or interesting enough to make me look forward to return visits. Article content Article content Of Chopp Chop's large, single-serving soups, khao soi ($20.95), which starred a chicken leg in its vibrant broth, was fine. Less impressive were the tom yum soup with fish balls and barbecue pork ($20.95) and the wonton soup with barbecue pork ($19.95). I wanted more comforting vibes and better pork from both. Article content Article content Of two chicken appetizers, I preferred flavourful satay skewers ($12.95) to fried wings ($14.95), which, while massive and juicy, were under-seasoned. Article content Better was Chopp Chop's rendition of 'Thai railway fried rice,' dubbed 'Crazy Train Fried Rice' ($18.95), which took its earthy flavour from dark soy sauce and was packed with chicken, egg, Chinese broccoli, tomato and onion. Article content Chopp Chop's Thai basil stir-fry ($18.95), made with ground pork or chicken and served with rice and a fried egg, was one of its most satisfying dishes thanks to big flavours and an umami punch. Pad Kee Mao ($18.95), my preferred Thai noodles, also delivered the thrilling combo of spicy, savoury and salty flavours I craved. Article content Article content While I preferred Khao's street food to Chopp Chop's, I hope that both inspire imitators. We need even more of those Thai dishes that, for now, are more easily seen on YouTube than in Ottawa. Article content
USA Today
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Moo Deng is raising brows. See famous pygmy hippo's new look.
Moo Deng is raising brows. See famous pygmy hippo's new look. Moo Deng, just shy of her 1st birthday, lives at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand. Show Caption Hide Caption Moo Deng debuts fancy, temporary eyebrows The famous pygmy hippo, Moo Deng, was munching on a tray of vegetables in her enclosure, when the keeper put pieces of leaves on her head. The world's favorite pygmy hippopotamus is stunning in a new, all-natural look. Moo Deng, the pygmy hippo who first stole hearts last summer, is going viral once again for videos and photos showing her sporting two green leaves as eyebrows, captured by zoo attendees on May 31. Watch the video above. Moo Deng is known for making a mess of her food dishes, stomping around and flinging platters full of veggies all over herself. But her new look was done on purpose. Moo Deng's zoo keeper at Khao Kheow Open Zoo told Newsflare that he placed the pieces of leaves on the hippo for a bit of fun, removing them later. Khao Kheow Open Zoo did not immediately respond for comment about the "eyebrows" when contacted by USA TODAY on June 5. More Moo Deng: Who's that baby hippo on your timeline? Meet the wet, chubby 'lifestyle icon' captivating the internet Animals: Why do we love Moo Deng, Pesto and other baby zoo animals? Psychologists explain Who is Moo Deng? Just shy of her first birthday (July 10), Moo Deng lives at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Bang Phra, Thailand. She gained popularity last summer for countless videos of her yelling at zoo keepers, resting in water buckets and enjoying baths in the sun. In Thai, Moo Deng's name means "bouncing pig." Born to Jona, 25, and Tony, 24, she has two siblings: Pork Stew and Sweet Pork. Moo Deng is also the granddaughter of Thailand's oldest hippo, Malee, who is 59 years old. What are pygmy hippos? Thought of as the smaller cousin, pygmy hippos are about half the size of common hippos, weighing less than one-fourth of a full-sized common hippo, according to the Pygmy Hippo Foundation. Pygmies are native to West Africa and their average life expectancy is 27 years. In 2016, pygmy hippos were deemed an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A 1993 survey conducted by IUCN found that only about 2,000-3,000 pygmies remained worldwide. Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@
