Under the slogan “Take Charge of Your Health”, AIA Vitality is organizing its first virtual run: the “AIA Vitality Virtual Run 2018”. A virtual run is a flexible running event that meets the needs of running enthusiasts and health lovers who prefer to schedule the running time, speed and location themselves. Runners can participate from any location, at any pace, on a treadmill or even in another country. There are two running distances to choose from – 5 km and 10.5 km, and the running period is from December 5-16, 2018.

Other than the benefits of staying active and healthy, virtual runners will also be taking part in a good cause by donating 100 baht to one of Oxfam’s projects that focuses on the alleviation of global poverty. The donation is already included in the 530 baht entry fee.

The results of your run must be recorded using a GPS app (Garmin Connect, Fitbit, Apple Health, S Health, Runkeeper, Strava, Endomondo, etc.), a health app (Garmin Connect, Fitbit, Apple Health, S Health, etc.) or by taking a photo or a screenshot of your race result from other running events that you will join during December 5-16, 2018. If you did the run on a treadmill, you can also take a photo of the result once completed for your registered distance.

Those who submit their results within December 16 will get a chance to win a Garmin VIVOFit 3, worth 2,590 baht. Ten watches are up for grabs. The 10 lucky winners will be announced no later than December 25, 2018.

For more information on how to submit results, the race pack and more, see http://aiavitalityrun.com/

Daily activities include:

• Ceremony to welcome the Dawn of Happiness, offering dried food to Buddhist monks, along the route between Saphan Bun, Wat Traphang Thong and Sukhothai Historical Park, at 05.55 Hrs.
• Ancient Sukhothai Period market, local sports, sword and staff fighting show, thread-wound fist Thai boxing display, at the Four Pavilions
• Contemporary performances on stage and a market selling community products at Wat Sorasak (modern zone)
• Lan Thet Lan Tham (Sermon of the Great Birth), at Wat Traphang Ngoen, at 13.00 Hrs.
• Traditional Thai music, on the grounds in front of Wat Maha That, at 17.00 Hrs.
• Nang Nopphamat Beauty Contest, at the Dong Tan Stage, at 19.00 Hrs.
• Khon mask performance, at the back of Wat Chana Songkhram, at 20.30 Hrs.
• Performance of the legend of Thao Si Chulalak, and Loi Krathong activity, at the pond of Wat Sa Si (Traphang Trakuan), at 22.30 Hrs.
• Phlu, Talai, Fai Phaniang pyrotechnics (fireworks display), at the pond of Wat Sa Si (Traphang Trakuan), at 23.00 Hrs.

For Loi Krathong Day on November 22, additional activities are being organized:

• Procession to invite the royal inauguration flame and lanterns, at 08.00 Hrs. (prepare the float to go around town at 14.00 Hrs.)
• Royal Float, Loi Krathong Festival processions of nine districts, and a procession of Nang Nopphamat, at 14.00 Hrs.
• Floating the royal lanterns by the Chairman of the Ceremony to mark the auspicious occasion, at the pond of Wat Sa Si (Traphang Trakuan), at 23.00 Hrs.

In addition, a nightly ‘light and sound performance’ will take place on the grounds in front of Wat Maha That, Sukhothai Historical Park, on November 16-22, at 19.30 Hrs. On 22 November, there is an extra show at 17.30 Hrs.

At the same venue, the Khao Khwan Wan Len Fai Samrap Samran Ahan Sukhothai (Sukhothai Gala Dinner) is being organized on November 16-25, from 17.30 – 19.15 Hrs.

Click here to download the event programme.

For more information, please contact:

Tourism Authority of Thailand Sukhothai Office

Tel: +66 (0) 5561 6228-9

Email: tatsukho@tat.or.th.

For enquiries and tickets to the ‘light and sound performance’ and the Sukhothai Gala Dinner, call +66 (0) 64 538 9475.

A friend recommended a Thai-Chinese restaurant in Bangkok, figuring that as a frequent traveller to the Thai capital, I would be game for something fusion or at least, not traditionally Thai.

Boy, was I glad he told me about Je Ngor. That was four years ago, and I’ve been going back to the restaurant on Sukhumvit 20 every year since then. I’ve even become friends with the owner’s husband, Niphon Sajjavudh.

“Je Ngor is named after my wife’s best friend’s mother. She is a fabulous cook and when my wife and her buddy decided to open a restaurant, they used her recipes and named it after her,” Niphon told me.

The restaurant has two dishes listed in Bangkok’s Michelin Guide (as of 2017). The original branch in Bangkok’s Chinatown was opened 20 years ago, and there are now 11 branches in suburbs around Bangkok. The main one, however, is at Sukhumvit 20, opened 14 years ago.

So what makes this restaurant unique? Well, for starters, Mrs Je Ngor was of Teochew descent and the majority of dishes served here are Teochew. The other unique part of this eatery is the fact that 80 percent of its clientele are from Hong Kong!

“You’ve been here a number of times, haven’t you realised this?” Niphon chided me, adding that the rest of his customers are locals, mainland Chinese, Singaporeans and Malaysians.

For the purpose of this review, Niphon, a retired advertising bigwig, insisted we order the two Michelin recommended dishes – stir-fried shredded morning glory and stir-fried crab with black pepper.

First, the morning glory or better known as kangkung in Malaysia. All I can say is, wow! Actually, double wow! It was unlike any kangkung dish I have tried, yet relatively simple in its preparation. The chef, who’s been with the restaurant since its opening, uses only the stems of the morning glory and stir-fries it with lots of garlic. This was a great appetizer.

As for the crab, it was super fresh and had liberal doses of pepper – a little bit too much for my liking though.

Niphon explained that the restaurant gets all the seafood, meat and vegetables they use every morning. They do not keep anything for the next day. “We’ve been doing this since day one,” he said.

Our next dish was the deep-fried minced seafood spring ball. These are traditional Teochew-style dumplings that have minced pork and shrimp mixed together. We gave them the thumbs up for their crunchy exterior and juicy interior.

An interesting side to the dishes were… the sides! There were so many dips, we counted at least eight, sour, sweet, spicy, etc., and they all went with specific dishes or you could have them all on your table and try each one.

Just to prove that Je Ngor does traditional Thai too, the chef brought out the Som Tam or papaya salad. Yes, you can’t get more Thai than this. The difference was that the server asks you beforehand what level of spiciness you want for the dish: extra spicy, spicy or mild. This is to suit the foreign palate as Thais mostly like it super spicy.

Speaking of super spicy, Je Ngor’s tom yum is the bomb! A few mouthfuls of either the seafood or chicken variety, and you’ll find yourself sweating profusely. But if you really can’t take the spice, I would suggest you skip this soupy dish as the heat and various spices are really what keep it together.

To end the meal (before dessert), we had the fried rice. And it wasn’t just any fried rice. The chef uses salted and oven-baked salmon in the dish and this gives it that extra oomph. Despite being full, I greedily enjoyed a second bowl.

Finally, the dessert. The menu indicates a wide variety, but we chose the mango sticky rice (when in Thailand, right?) and the traditional Teochew ningow or fried taro sprinkled with fine powdery icing sugar. Both were excellent and a fitting end to a truly enjoyable meal.

Dinner for two at Je Ngor, with an appetiser, two mains and dessert plus drinks, should set you back 1,500 to 2,000 baht. It’s a bit pricey, but I would still recommend the restaurant for its ambience, service and quality of food.

JE NGOR

68/2 Soi Sukhumvit 20

Khlong Toei

Bangkok, Thailand

Tel: +66 2-258 8008

Open daily, 11.30am-11.30 pm