Thai cooking is dangerous in London

Smoking pot of chillies mistaken for a chemical attack by British cops

LONDON: The emergency services feared London was under a chemical attack. A thick cloud of acrid smoke hovered in the air. Residents and shoppers ran for cover, eyes streaming and throats stung by a noxious smell. Police sealed off three roads in the thronging Soho area in the heart of London.

Firefighters wearing specialist breathing equipment entered the deserted streets to locate the source of the attack. The ambulance service sent in its Hazardous Area Response Team Unit to stand by in case of any injuries from the ‘chemicals’. After a three-hour search the source was located. A smouldering pot of dried chillies!

A Thai restaurant in Soho had been preparing a 9lb pot of their special Nam Prik Pao sauce and it was the smell of the extra-hot bird’s eye chillies which had been left dry-frying that had set off alarm bells. The super-hot Thai dip to be eaten with prawn crackers is only prepared by the restaurant every six months.

“To us it smells like burnt chilli and it is slightly unusual. I can understand why people who weren’t Thai would not know what it was. But it doesn’t smell like chemicals,” said Chalemchai Tangjariyapoon, the chef at the Thai Cottage preparing the dip.

The Thai Cottage was also evacuated during the search for three hours and staff told there was a chemical attack. “I remember saying to someone that maybe the smell was the chillies, but then we brushed it off saying that was not possible,” said Supranee Yodmuang, the waitress on duty at Thai Cottage.

The door to the restaurant was smashed in and police and fire brigade stood guard outside it as the shocked staff returned to the premises three hours later.

“The smoke didn’t go up into the sky because of the rain and the heavy air,” said Sue Wasboonma, owner of Thai Cottage. “It is the hottest thing we make, we are very proud of the dip. It is home cooked and our customers love it,” she added.

The next time they prepare the dip, which is in about another six months, the restaurant is thinking of putting up posters to warn people in the area. “We have been here for 17 years and cooking the dip twice a year and this has never happened before,” said Wasboonma.