Cambodia Unesco claims denied
In response to a wave of public criticism sparked by social media posts, the ministry issued a detailed clarification on Tuesday. It said Cambodia had not submitted any Thai literary works for registration.
Instead, Phnom Penh had proposed The Royal Ballet of Cambodia, an ancient Cambodian performance art, which Unesco listed as an intangible cultural heritage item of humanity in 2003. The ministry also cited Unesco's 2003 convention, which defines intangible cultural heritage across five domains -- oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, knowledge of nature, and traditional craftsmanship. Literature does not fall within these categories.
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Bangkok Post
20 hours ago
- Bangkok Post
Why Thai people type '5555' to laugh online (and what '525255' means)
In Thai online spaces, you'll frequently encounter "5555" following sentences or standing alone as a response. This serves as the Thai equivalent to "haha" or "lol" in English, or "jajajaja" in Spanish. The connection lies in pronunciation: in Thai, the number five (5) is pronounced as "hah", making "555" phonetically equivalent to "hahaha". The length of the sequence often correlates with the intensity of amusement—the more fives, the funnier something is perceived to be. However, excessive repetition (like 555555555555555555555555555) can sometimes be interpreted as sarcastic rather than genuinely amused. Conversely, a brief "55" might suggest polite acknowledgement rather than genuine humour, indicating the person doesn't find something particularly funny but is responding out of courtesy. It's important to note that these interpretations aren't universal and can vary significantly depending on context and the reader's perspective. As a conversational tool, adding "5555" after a statement in online conversations can soften requests, reduce tension, add warmth, or provide face-saving opportunities—much like how emojis and emoticons function in digital communication. Alternative ways Thai people express laughter online 555+: Adding a plus sign indicates extreme humour without requiring extensive typing of additional fives. ฮ่า: This directly means the laughing sound "ha" in Thai script. ฮ่าฮ่าฮ่าฮ่า represents "hahahaha" through repetition. ฮ่าๆๆๆ: This also means "hahahaha" using the symbol "ๆ" (called Mai Yamok), which is placed after a syllable to indicate repetition of the sound. ถถถถถ: This represents laughter from Thai users who forget to switch their keyboard language from Thai to English. Since the "5" key corresponds to "ถ" on Thai keyboards, this becomes an accidental but recognised form of digital laughter. ๕๕๕๕: This uses traditional Thai numerals instead of Arabic numerals, where ๕ represents 5, maintaining the same phonetic principle as regular "5555". 552525252525 or 565555656: This represents a Gen Z evolution of Thai internet laughter. Instead of standard "5555", younger users intentionally scatter random numbers throughout the sequence to suggest they're laughing so uncontrollably that they're "mistyping" from the intensity of their amusement. Traditional Thai Numerals Reference For context, here's how Thai numbers are pronounced and written in traditional script: 0 - ๐ (sǔun) 1 – ๑ (nùeng) 2 – ๒ (sǎawng) 3 – ๓ (sǎam) 4 – ๔ (sìi) 5 – ๕ (hâa) 6 – ๖ (hòk) 7 – ๗ (jèt) 8 – ๘ (bpàaet) 9 – ๙ (gâo) 10 - ๑๐ (sìp) Understanding these variations provides insight into how Thai digital culture has evolved its own unique expressions of humour and emotion, adapting traditional language sounds to modern communication platforms while creating generational variations that reflect changing online behaviours.
Bangkok Post
20 hours ago
- Bangkok Post
The best of land and sea at Espresso
Espress at InterContinental Bangkok becomes a playground for beef buffs and seafood connoisseurs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, during which the Premium Seafood Dinner Buffet with a special addition of Australian wagyu beef are served. The latter is a time-limited add-on, available until the end of August, to the already sumptuous and expansive dinner buffet that Espresso is known for. Located on the mezzanine level of InterContinental Bangkok, the weekend dinner buffet at Espresso is an indulgent one indeed, as you'll be spoilt for choice with many delicacies from various cuisines to savour. With the two highlights being seafood and Australian beef, you can technically enjoy all the surf and turf you want. There's a corner behind a stylish partition, perfect for those who want semi-privacy. Alternatively, you can find a table near the glass railing to overlook the beautiful lobby below, while being serenaded by a live jazz band from 6.30-9.30 pm on Friday and Saturday. Various counters and stations can easily increase your appetite, but none may be more so than the seafood on ice display, which showcases fresh fruits of the sea and DIY caviar sets. The catches come from far and wide, from Irish and Fine de Claire oysters, Chilean king crab legs, New Zealand green mussels, Canadian lobsters, Swimmer blue crab claws and more. Dig around and you may find a lobster claw that's bigger than your phone. Assemble a caviar tasting set by yourself with a selection of salty and savoury pearls, including Avruga, ikura and lumpfish roes. Of course, the Thai-style seafood dipping sauce is on standby to add zest to any seafood. More savoury seafood awaits at the BBQ station, which serves Marinated tuna steak, perfectly grilled Grouper with dill crème sauce and succulent Rock lobster with seafood sauce. On the freshwater front, don't miss out on Goong Ta khrai. The aromatic Thai-style roasted river prawn is enhanced with garlic, lemongrass and turmeric. From the Chinese BBQ station, Chinese favourites like Peking duck, Crispy pork belly and BBQ pork are available next to delicious dim sum. The good news is that Peking duck comes neatly wrapped for you. More Asian delights await at the Indian corner, where pre-cooked dishes can be enjoyed with naan bread or jeera bhaat. Of course, Japanophiles should check out the tempura, sushi and sashimi selection, which includes Aussie beef nigiri topped with tobiko, at the Japanese food station. More importantly, pair your seafood with time-limited premium Australian beef for a truly indulgent dinner, and you have many choices to choose from. Combine the best of land and sea, if you will. Espresso's grill station serves a rotation of MBS (Marble Beef Score) 8-9 wagyu topside beef from Margaret River and the famed Sir Harry's MBS 6-7 citrus-fed rump cut. The latter deserves a special mention for its combo of succulence and mouth-watering aroma. Meanwhile the carvery features a rotation of the 200-day dry-aged MBS 4-5 Ebony Prime Grain Fed Ribeye and tomahawk steaks. The Aussie beef is also presented in the form of pre-cooked dishes — red wine-braised brisket, beef massaman curry, crying tiger grilled beef, to name but a few — that you can help yourself to while waiting for your cook-to-order succulent beef steaks or lamb chops to be served at your table. Save some room for desserts for a sweet (and decadent) end to your meal. The selection of Thai desserts alone is quite expansive. You can go for crowd-pleaser Thai mango with sticky rice or something less known like Pumpkin custard or Thai gocchi in coconut milk. Or enjoy made-to-order Crepe suzette or bathe fresh seasonal fruits with a chocolate fountain. The Premium Seafood Dinner Buffet at Espresso is available every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 6pm-10.30pm with the addition of Australian wagyu beef available until the end of August. It's priced at B2,250++ per person and B1,200++ per child. Email InterContinental Bangkok at call 02-656-0444 or visit to book a table. Don't forget to bring a big appetite.
Bangkok Post
a day ago
- Bangkok Post
Cross-cultural mooncakes
The Mid-Autumn Festival is tied to the traditions of the autumn harvest, when cakes were made as offerings to the Moon. Mooncakes have different symbolic meanings across various the Asian countries, where their flavours and forms differ, shaped by local ingredients, climate and culinary heritage. For the first time, three Singapore chefs have collaborated with Asia's Best Pastry Chef 2025, Dej Kewkacha of Kyo Roll En, to launch a limited-edition mooncake collection in Thailand. The one-of-a-kind collab brings together the culinary expertise of the Singaporean-Chinese chefs with Michelin-starred restaurants to deliver Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean flavours. Chef Jason Tan of Euphoria Renowned for his "gastro-botanica" cuisine that highlights botanical elements in French sauces, chef Tan has chosen to make a quintessential Singaporean-flavoured mooncake. Kaya Toast is inspired by Singapore's iconic snack and features a kaya custard filling with a touch of salted peanut butter. "I am always open to interesting collaborations and I know Kyo Roll En and chef Dej has being doing mooncakes for years. This is my first time creating and making a mooncake. My mooncake flavour is inspired by my childhood breakfast. I used to like eating bread with kaya and butter, which is traditionally Singaporean. However, I used to add peanut butter, too, for the savouriness. "I liked this combination so much that when I was at Corner House [the chef's previous restaurant], I used to have a dessert called 'My interpretation of childhood breakfast' on the menu. I created a dessert called 'Peanut Butter Kaya'. Naturally, for this mooncake collaboration, I thought of these flavour combinations. The filling is kaya and there is a thin peanut butter fritter centre. The pastry is made of brown sugar. "I don't think people usually associate peanut butter and kaya because it's usually just kaya and butter. As a child, a sweet breakfast did not really appeal to me, I wanted something sweet and savoury. "Dej created the prototype and got someone to deliver it to Singapore for me to taste and make sure it's how I wanted the mooncake to be. It went back and forth for a while before we achieved the exact flavour and consistency of the mooncake." Chef LG Han of Labyrinth The first Singapore restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star for modern cuisine, Labyrinth's chef LG, as he is affectionately known, is renowned for his innovative exploration of Singapore's culinary heritage. Mooncakes aren't left behind either, though with an interesting twist. "Doing a Singaporean flavour-inspired mooncake was quite natural to me, the culinary philosophy of how I came up with the idea of the flavours is the same as how I create the menu at Labyrinth. "Being 100% Singaporean, but being half Thai, I wanted to do something that I love and also has crossroads with Thailand. So I chose orh nee, the Teochew yam paste dessert. In Singapore, we cook the yam paste with sugar, coconut cream and ginkgo nuts. I really enjoy eating this at the end of a Chinese meal. "I discovered through my discussions with Dej that there's a Thai version, which has a similar base -- the yam paste -- cooked over fire with water and sugar and ginkgo nuts, which is similar. The difference is that Thais also add water chestnut, salted egg yolk sauce and goji berries. I thought it might be the perfect flavour to introduce to the Thai market, considering the similarity or familiarity. "Getting the balance right was a bit difficult since there is a lot going on in one mooncake. I gave Dej a traditional recipe and we had a back and forth of three to four prototypes before deciding on one. I was quite surprised the flavours didn't overpower each other. The key was the consistency of the yam paste. "I am at an age where I don't like my desserts to be overly sweet and I prefer it to be more natural, which also fits into Dej's dessert philosophy. I wanted to keep that ethos of who Dej is as a chef and who I am as a chef." Chef Zor Tan of Born Known for his skilful blend of French and Chinese techniques for a unique East-meets-West fine dining experience, chef Tan's flavour is sweet potato and oolong tea. A refined blend of Japanese satsuma imo, or sweet potato, and rich Chinese oolong tea, are flavours derived from the chef's signature dessert at the Michelin-starred Born. "The dessert at Born has Japanese sweet potato, different textured sweet potato, an oolong Chantilly and sea salt ice cream. I wanted to make a mooncake of these flavours that connect to me and to Born," said chef Tan. "As a child, I loved sweet potato, my mum always cooked it with rock sugar. Mooncakes always have three layers, the crust, the filling and the inner filling. My crust is potato and oolong, then oolong tea and the inner filling is baked sweet potato." Chef Dej Kewkacha of Kyo Roll En Asia's Best Pastry Chef 2025, chef Dej's mooncake this year will be a Yuzu Lava, which has the aromatic yuzu from Kochi in Japan, and when warmed, presents molten "lava". "This year, the highlight for me is the mooncake crust, which while you're eating it will taste more like cake and less like a mooncake," said chef Dej. The limited-edition mooncakes are packaged in a handbag-style gift box with a bamboo-shaped handle, wrapped in traditional Singaporean batik fabric, a national textile pattern symbolising joy and friendship. The box is refined with intricate laser-cut detailing that frames illustrated scenes inspired by the Mid-Autumn Festival. With each box comes premium yuzu Sencha tea from Kyoto, Japan, infused with yuzu peel, a perfect pairing for the mooncakes. Traditional mooncakes Chef Dej is also offering a traditional Cantonese mooncakes, apart from the limited-edition mooncakes. "For these, we use millennia-old recipes of classic flavours that can be kept for a longer period [max 60 days] at room temperature," he said. The flavours are Cookie Crust, which is Thailand's first ever crispy cookie-crusted mooncake filled with almond and cheese; Pistachio Lava, buttery pistachios with flavour notes reminiscent of the viral Dubai chocolate; Lava Custard, which is a traditional Cantonese style with oozing salted egg yolk; and the Thai favourite, Durian Lava, where Monthong durian is used for the filling. Presented in two sizes, the eight-piece is a two-tier jewellery box with a clear acrylic lid and includes two pieces per flavour. The four-piece comes in a chic, handbag-style hard paper box, adorned with illustrations of a Full Moon and rabbits, longstanding symbols of abundance and prosperity in the Mid-Autumn tradition. The mooncakes are open for orders with delivery beginning from Aug 25 to Oct 12.
