The Royal Thai Consulate and Starwood Hotels in Shanghai Present a Month-long Thai Food Festival With Two Award Winning Thai Chefs From September 10th - October 12th

The Royal Thai Consulate and Starwood Hotels in Shanghai Present a Month-long Thai Food Festival With Two Award Winning Thai Chefs From September 10th - October 12th

September 06, 2007

    SHANGHAI, China, Sept. 6 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Starwood Hotels & Resorts is excited to provide Thai
gourmet lovers an excellent opportunity to broaden their
culinary experience through a month-long Thai Food Festival
from September 10th to October 12th at various Starwood
hotels in Shanghai, including: St. Regis Hotel, Shanghai,
the Westin Bund Center Shanghai, Le Royal Meridien
Shanghai, Four Points by Sheraton Shanghai Daning, Four
Points by Sheraton Shanghai Pudong and Le Meridien She Shan
Shanghai.

    The festival is supported by the Royal Thai Consulate
as a post event of the main Thai Festival to be held at
Super Brand Mall during September 7th-9th. The extensive
network of the six Starwood hotels in Shanghai allows
residents an easy access to experience quality Thai food
from two award-wining guest chefs - Mr. Wannapan and Ms.
Punggarroenkijkul, both the Royal Orchid Sheraton Bangkok.
Both chefs will feature some of the finest Royal Thai
cuisine and regional cuisines of the northern, northeast,
southern and central Thailand respectively in all six
participating hotels:

    September 10th-16th        The Westin Bund Center
Shanghai    
                               Tel: [phone]
    September 17th-21st        Four Points by Sheraton
Shanghai, Daning            
                               Tel: [phone]
                               Four Points by Sheraton
Shanghai, Pudong            
                               Tel: [phone]
    September 22nd-23rd        Le Meridien She Shan
Shanghai                      
                               Tel: [phone]
    September 24th-30th        Le Royal Meridien Shanghai  
                       
                               Tel: [phone]
    September 5th-12th         St Regis Hotel, Shanghai    
                       
                               Tel: [phone]

    "This is the first time we have pulled our
Shanghai hotels together to work with a foreign consulate
to bring authentic tastes and memorable dining experiences
to our guests, and we are very excited about it," says
Mr James Ramage, Regional Director of Sales & Marketing
for Starwood Greater China.

    About Thai Food
    Thai food is one of the most popular cuisines in the
world. Whether mild or spicy, sweet or sour, the
tantalizing aromas of the cuisine are part of the
fascinating cultural life of Thailand.

    The central region prefers hot, salty, sweet and sour
flavors. Thai Jasmine rice is the most popular ingredient
usually served with different types of chili pastes and
soups, including Tom Yam Kung (prawn soup with lemon grass)
- Thailand's most famous soup.

    People in the North love food that is mild or hot,
salty and sour, but never sweet. Sticky rice is served with
boiled vegetables, nam phrik oong (chilli paste with minced
pork and tomatoes) and soups or curries.

    Food in the Northeast is fiery hot, salty and sour.
People use a lot of condiments but no many spices. Their
favorite dishes include papaya salad, sour chopped meat
salad or sour minced meat salad.  

    Southerners like their food chili-hot, salty and
sour-tasting. They are also fond of the bitter taste
imparted by a flat, native bean called sataw. Curries of
the South are popular and made with a lot of spices and
condiments. Fish and seafood are the main ingredients,
usually coated with a mixture of turmeric and various herbs
and spices.

    The Royal Thai cuisine is renowned for its authentic
taste. It is not as fiery as most of the other regions,
while maintaining all the subtle flavors of authentic Thai
cuisine. All the ingredients used in the dishes, including
the herbs, cherries and rice, are cooked in the most
traditional Thai way to ensure an unforgettable tropical
taste.

    Though each region has its own distinctive cuisine
styles and flavors, the major portion of Thai food is
however described as being tasty and chili hot. The use of
herbs and spices not only provides flavor but also benefits
our health.

    Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

    Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of
the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with
approximately 890 properties in more than 100 countries and
145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.
Starwood(R) Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator
and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following
internationally renowned brands: St. Regis(R), The Luxury
Collection(R), W(R), Westin(R), Le M¨¦ridien(R),
Sheraton(R), Four Points(R) by Sheraton, AloftSM, and
ElementSM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation
Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and
operators of high quality vacation interval ownership
resorts. For more information, please visit
http://www.starwoodhotels.com .


    For more information, please contact:

     June Seah
     Marketing Manager, Greater China & Taiwan
     Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. 
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]