Nanphun Srakhunthod and Una Lancaster are daughters of two of the oldest Thai families in Ireland, who opened Baan Thai, Ireland’s first Thai owned restaurant, in 1998. Now on the eve of the Lantern festival, the two girls sit down with Dee to shed some light into a culture that we at Spice Bags love but know very little about. We hear about what it was like to grow up between Ireland and Thailand, and also something of the close-knit Thai-Irish community on our doorstep. We learn about a great-grandfather who tried to overthrow a monarchy. And of course, Una and Nanphun introduce us to the complicated maze of Thai food while sharing some favorite dishes of their own.   What is the legacy of Thai street food? How did Japanese-Portuguese-Bengali Maria Guyomar de Pina become the queen of Thai desserts? Are Irish palates favoring more authentic Thai dishes, and if so, how are restaurants meeting this demand? From dishes like moo ping (pork skewers with coconut cream), som tam (green papaya salad), and santaya (pandan custard), there is something in this interview to whet everybody’s whistle.   Spice Bags note:   Blanca, Dee, and Mei were first introduced to Una and Nanphun at “Eat like a Thai,” part of a series of dinners at Baan Thai, highlighting some of the more authentic Thai flavors, and overseen by Nanphun, who was most recently a chef at Pichet. It was truly a sensational meal. Sadly, these events have been postponed but when it is rescheduled, we will be there, and think you should be too.   For the “Eat Like a Thai” menu & more information about Baan Thai nights https://baanthainights.eventsmart.com/events/eat-like-a-thai/   About Baan Thai https://www.baanthai.ie/ Spice Bags is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network (https://headstuff.org/podcasts)