August 27, 2014
By Megan Gallagher | SanDiegoVille Contributor
On Friday, August 15, the Thai Trade Center of Los Angeles, the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) and the Thai Restaurant Association of San Diego hosted a night of fine dining as part of their latest campaign “Thai Food for Health.” The event was not only a great opportunity to sample traditional Thai dishes from some of the best Thai restaurants in San Diego County, but was an interesting glimpse into Thai culture. It also served as a preview event for Thai Restaurant Week, taking place September 1-7, across San Diego and the United States.
The event began with a toast to Queen Sirikit of Thailand, in honor of the Thai Mother’s Day, which took place on August 12, and was followed by a welcome speech by the Consul General.Guests were then treated to a traditional Khon dance, during which costumed performers portrayed portions of The Ramayana Epic, a work that was an important part of the cultural development of Thailand and several South East Asian countries. The performers dazzled the crowed, making their way through the tables to include the audience in the performance.
After speeches by Mayor of Escondido Sam Abed and Mayor of Oceanside Jim Wood, the time finally arrived for guests to indulge in the many tastes of Thai available for the evening. More than 30 restaurants were in attendance, each of which were applicants to receive the “Thai Select” award, an official certification of authenticity and excellence for Thai restaurants, given exclusively by the Thai Government. A roundtable of judges was in attendance to grade the restaurants on food presentation, food quality and taste, to qualify as a “Thai Select” location.


It was a winning night for all as each of the restaurants represented at the event rightfully earned their “Thai Select” certification. The winning restaurants, as well as more than 30 Thai restaurants across San Diego will have another unique chance to share their cuisine during Thai Restaurant Week, the first week of September. During this time Thai Select restaurants will be offering a 15% discount on all meals, to encourage restaurant patrons to venture outside of their palate’s comfort zone to see all that Thai food has to offer. For the full list of San Diego restaurants participating in Thai Restaurant Week, click here.