Gusto Thai Restaurant earns second Thai SELECT award

On August 9, Thai Ambassador Nikorndej Balankura and commercial counselor of the Embassy of Thailand Taneeya Foocharoen were welcomed to attend the celebration to award the Thai SELECT certificate to Gusto Thai Restaurant at No. 9 Phan Chu Trinh street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi.

Gusto Thai receiving the Thai SELECT award from the Thai embassy

This event validates the authenticity and excellence of the Thai cuisine and service at the restaurant. Gusto Thai's founder, Pham Do Lan Phuong, told VIR, "When the Thai Embassy came unannounced to check, we were completely unaware and had not prepared anything. We greeted them as if they were typical guests."

During a discussion with Ambassador Balankura, Phuong said that maintaining the originality of Thai food while adapting it to Vietnamese preferences is Gusto Thai's greatest challenge.

Since the head chef of the restaurant is Thai, there are tight restrictions on the ingredients used in the recipes. The taste of Vietnamese limes, which differ from those of Thailand, presents Phuong with difficulties as she searches for a typical Thai flavour.

A conversation between Gusto Thai's founder and ambassador Balankura

According to Phuong, the ideal Thai cuisine should have a balance of all four flavours including sour, spicy, salty, and sweet, with spicy being the most prevalent. The restaurant has put a lot of work into each item they serve.

The menu is separated into four degrees of spiciness, with Authentic Thai Flavor being the spiciest and Non-spicy being the least. The restaurant strives to make the meals as mild as possible for those who cannot consume spicy food.

Due to the importance of retaining the original flavour, the restaurant must explain to guests that some specific meals cannot be modified. This also distinguishes the meals at GustoThai, causing customers to cherish them and return again for the perfect Thai experience.

"This is actually my debut restaurant," Phuong said. "Whenever I go overseas, my friends always take me out for Thai cuisine, which leaves an unforgettable memory for me. However, there are no really genuine Thai restaurants in Hanoi even though Ho Chi Minh City has quite a few. This motivated me to open a restaurant serving true Thai cuisine."

"In addition to its delight and pride, the restaurant is also focussed on how to continue and gain the next certification," Phuong added.

Thai SELECT is a certificate that certifies the quality of cuisine, the flavour of food, and the style of service for Thai restaurants in Thailand and in other countries.

The Thai SELECT certification is certified by the Ministry of Commerce of the Thai government and is given with extreme precision, attention, and diligence. Therefore, it is fair to state that all Thai SELECT restaurants are well-known and have been selected by the Thai government to demonstrate to the world what authentic Thai cuisine tastes like.

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