Picture the scene – it’s dark and cold. The stars twinkle bitterly in the night sky as you wind your way through labyrinthine back-alleys with no moon to light your way. The hot smell of diesel fumes is all around you and all you hear is your feet crunching against the asphalt. As you round a corner, you see a Thai fire dancer – burning hot spirals into the night air. A tuk-tuk putters outside and an orange-robed monk beckons you in. You look around, could this really be for you? This is exactly the scene that greeted Angel’s guests on Monday night, and there was even more to come. The New Moon Party in Cape Phangnan was held at one of Cape Town’s newest, hottest clubs – The Orient inspired Dragon Room, and Angel had a guest list as swanky as the venue. Angel invited:
- Siv Ngesi (Award winning actor and comedian… and also her roommate)
- Kamini Pather (Angel’s 2girls1mic co-host and foodie blogger)
- Jordan Leschinsky (Model and all round awesome human)
- Lauren MacGregor (She of the famous (and gorgeous) MacGregor Clan – Actress, and bestie)
- Quentin Chong (2 x World Muay Thai champion and owner of Dragon Power)
- Aiden Bennetts (Top Billing’s hunky DIY guy, artist and designer)
- Egon Seconds (Professional Rugby Player)
- Conrad Jantjes (Professional Rugby Player)
- Marc Lottering (Comedian)
- Solly Philander (Comedian)
- Toni Philander (Solly’s wife)
- Angel Campey (The woman of the hour)
- And lucky number 13 – Boeta (Angel’s very own Buddha)
The guests were seated in a cosy nook overlooking the dance floor, finished off in full Thai décor, which became the entertainment area for the evening. After a generous Thai massage for each guest, Angel and her friends tucked into a delicious combination of chicken satay, with peanut sauce (104), duck, vegetable and chicken spring rolls and sweet corn cakes all served with sweet plum and sweet chilli sauces (113).
The party looked on from above as the rest of their feast was prepared in an impromptu kitchen nestled against the dance floor by Pachanuwat, one of Simply Asia’s real Thai chefs, and one of the company’s Head Chefs based at their Central Kitchen in Observatory, Cape Town. For the main course, he created an array of roast duck in flavoured soya sauce (261), a noodle dish with chicken, cashew nuts, spring onion, peppers onions, fried garlic and Simply Asia’s famous roasted chilli paste (514), Prawn Phad Thai (602) and exotic yellow noodles (524). In between feasting, a Thai dancer entertained Angel’s guests, paying homage to the ancient traditions of Thailand.
After the main courses, Angel’s guests were treated to the highlight of the evening and a slightly more violent Thai tradition – the Muay Thai exhibition. The Dragon Room soon resounded with grunts of pain and cheers of delight as Cape Town’s best Muay Thai fighters battled each other on the floor. Flying kicks and evil elbows were next up on the menu, but when the exhibition was done, Angel had more to entertain her guests. Along with their decadent, aptly named ‘Thai Angel’ dessert – crispy triangle filled with rich melted chocolate and finely chopped cashew nuts (911), Angel and her guests were to hold a battle of their own, a battle steeped in history and undertaken by only the bravest souls – beer pong. The war was intense, some even say more intense than the Muay Thai.
Sweat beaded on brows and nervous fingers gripped ping-pong balls that flew through the air with deadly precision. In the end – there could be only one. After fighting bravely and reminding us why he was so deadly on the rugby field, Egon Seconds emerged victorious – winning himself a bottle of whiskey for his valiant efforts. Coming a close second was Aidan Bennetts, whose bravery was rewarded with a cute, cuddly, toy turtle.
After a whole lot of fun, a whole lot of food and a whole lot of laughter, Angel’s guests slowly made their way into the night, returning to warm beds and dreams of Thailand. What we know for sure is that in future, they will be thinking Thai. Will you?
And don’t forget, it’s not just our bloggers who have a chance to win a trip to Thailand. You can too! All you need to do is order one main meal at a Simply Asia restaurant, fill out a form and put it in the box. It’s that easy!
