There’s always a food porn entry at the end of each visit. That’s the entry where I slack off the written part and basically just show you photos of all the stuff I ate, mostly at the hospital.
But I thought I would have one special food issue that follows up on a street food vendor who has become quite famous. I am talking about Jay Fai, a lady who owns a very small street level 6-table restaurant. She has become super famous, as I highlighted in this ENTRY back in March 2018. Jay Fai won Thailand’s first restaurant Michelin star. With so many fabulous restaurants in Bangkok, the first to win a 1-star rating was a street vendor. This created some challenges for her as I outlined in that entry, but she has become super famous. You can learn more about her HERE.
The reason I bring her up is that since winning that Michelin star rating, it’s pretty clear that Jay Fai has branched out. While at my local 7-Eleven, I noticed a Jay Fai frozen dinner. It seems that she has spread her street vendor wings and gone into mass produced meals.
I had to buy one, a Pad Kaprao meal, and give it a try. Into the microwave it went. Fortunately not the convection oven part as I have yet to figure out how that works. And truthfully, it took me 10 minutes to figure out how to get the microwave to work. But once I figured it out and the cooking began, the meal was ready a few minutes later.
While I’m sure it tastes nowhere as good as an actual Jay Fai meal in her restaurant, it was a way for me to have a limited Jay Fai experience. It was okay, very spicy and bit heavy on the rice to meat ratio. The meal cost $2.50, which is a lot by Thai TV dinner standards, but we’re dealing with a star, so there is an additional branding fee, I’m sure. (Many TV dinners at 7-Eleven cost about half as much.) However, it was pretty good for a TV dinner. And after all at $2.50, I wasn’t expecting a gourmet experience.
It’s pretty clear that being a 1-star Michelin chef means you have additional business opportunities. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing, but more power to Jay Fai. She has worked so hard over the years and deserves some level of financial success. Interestingly enough, it says on the label that 100% of the profits on this food go to charity. It seems like Jay Fai not only has a big Michelin star but also a big heart.