A night of dining at the Patara Restaurant at Soi 11, Sathorn Road, came as a result of a discussion we had with our son Tom. It was more like an argument, about the merits of Thai food, and how it is spreading around the world. We, Mitch and Steve, claimed that to be good, Thai food has to be universal, that is, a restaurant in New York had to be as good as a good restaurant in Thailand. Tom disagreed. Thai food can be innovative, basically Thai but with Western influences.

It doesn't take a genius to know the answer. Chilies. It's a known fact, as the Thais love hot spicy food garnished with hot chilies, so do the Mexicans, which brings up the question--which is hotter, Mexican or Thai chilies?

We have been auguring the point for the last couple months. Once a week we (Mitch and Steve) go out for dinner, each week it's a different place, a kind of "food safari" we call it. And what better place is there to do this than Bangkok. Being a cosmopolitan city that it is, and the capital of the country, embassies from every country around the world are represented. What results are ethnic restaurants that spring up representing these countries, and many with the strangest, and often exciting, native cuisines? We live in Bangkok, thus dining out can be an adventure. Even for visitors.

For some people dining out is simply a matter of satisfying one’s hunger. They feel there are more important things to do. An evening at the Thara Thong Restaurant at the Royal Orchid Sheraton they are certain to change their minds.

We are two people, a man and wife team, who like to eat, Michelle and Harold Stephens. Michelle is Thai/Filipina and Steve is a long time resident of Thailand, having first arrived in 1961. Readers may remember us from Outlook in the Bangkok Post where we had a weekly travel page for more than ten years. We not only traveled to every corner of Thailand, dining on local food, but also to nearly every country in the world, sampling the food there.

We like that you call us Mitch and Steve, bylines we used when writing for the Post, and we will tell you some secrets about dining in Bangkok and beyond, secrets you would not imagine. Our motto is quite simple -- try it. Steve will put on a tie and coat and Mitch a long dress to dine at The Oriental Hotel’s famous Le Normandy or at the Shangri-La's Angelini, and we are honest when we tell you what we liked and did not like.