Thai Chef Lily

Taj Holiday Village Resort & Spa, Goa

Ms. Thomthong Sungkaha or Chef Lily as she is fondly known as hails from Thailand. She believes in innovating, standardising and popularising Thai Cuisine while achieving a perfect balance between International taste and authenticity. Her family consists of her parents, husband and son – based in Thailand and her dearly loved cat Nini.

She brings with her 27 years of rich experience as a professional Thai chef along with passion and love for authentic Thai food.

Before joining the team at Banyan Tree, Taj Holiday Village Resort & Spa Goa, she started her career at the Sukho Thai Hotel Bangkok. Celadon Thai restaurant. She grew up the ladder and worked in the The Leela Hotel Bangalore - Zen Asian restaurant & The Leela Hotel Chennai - Spectra as the master chef. She has been an entrepreneur as well and had her own restaurant business Krua Ton Tan and a food delivery venture as well.

Chef Lilly is skilled in other Asian cuisines as well, like Indonesian, Burmese, Malaysian, Vietnamese, etc. She is a strong supporter of the Garden to Plate concept and believes food tastes the best with freshest of ingredients plucked from home – grown gardens.

Her dedication is apparent and even in her free time she loves reading cookbooks and experimenting with the cuisine. Applying practical local techniques of cooking to authentic Thai food is one of her favourite ways of creating unique dishes.
She loves playing around with desserts and experimenting with salads.

Her motto in life is to serve the best of what her land has to offer and strives to give the most personalized experience to the guests as per their palate & preferences – to ensure happy faces and spread around the love for authentic Thai food.


Q & A with Thai Chef Lily


1. The main influences that made me interested in food and cooking as a career... 

My mother – she was the one who taught me and my influence. Also when I was young we had a counter in the market which was run by the family and which sold all local ingredients and items for cooking.

 

 2.  My earliest memory in the kitchen ... 

My mother used to cook the yummiest food and then we all used to sit together and eat and enjoy our food.

 

3. My favourite dish from childhood ...  

Rice Noodle Soup – because we used to make the noodles at home and it was a fun experience for all the children.  This noodle soup was also made in large batches and we used to sell it in small packets in the local market. I remember long lines of people waiting to buy my mothers soup.

 

4. My favourite dish to cook... 

I love to make Phad Thai – it is fun, tasty and nutritious – Everyone loves to eat this dish especially in my village – they fondly call it Lilys Phad Thai.

 

5. A cuisine that I want to learn...  

I want to learn a little of everything and bakery too and make and create new and interesting dishes.

 

6.  My secret to great food...  

When you cook with your heart and passion, the technique and love for food and cuisine automatically shows.

 

7.  A culinary show or movie that I love to watch... 

Iron Chef  - Thailand

 

8. In my free time, I would like to... 

Explore Goa, and discover the culture and cuisine and inculcate it in my cooking.

 

9. My guilty pleasure... 

Coffee..!