Phia Sing
Encyclopedia
Chaleunsilp Phia Sing was royal chef and master of ceremonies to the kings of Laos
, and in this capacity he worked at the Royal Palace in Luang Prabang
. He was also, according to Alan Davidson
, "physician, architect, choreographer, sculptor, painter and poet". In addition he was mentor to the Laotian princes Souvanna Phouma
and Souvannavong
, and accompanied them when they studied at the University of Hanoi in the 1920s.
Shortly before his death Phia Sing wrote out in two notebooks the recipes used by him as royal chef. He entrusted them to prince Souvanna Phouma, who lent them to Alan Davidson in 1974. Davidson published some of the recipes in his Fish and Fish Dishes of Laos in 1975, and afterwards arranged for them to be translated in full by Phouangphet Vannithone and Boon Song Klausner. They were published in a bilingual edition, illustrated by Soun Vannithone, in 1981.
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, and in this capacity he worked at the Royal Palace in Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang, or Louangphrabang , is a city located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong River about north of Vientiane. It is the capital of Luang Prabang Province...
. He was also, according to Alan Davidson
Alan Davidson (food writer)
Alan Eaton Davidson was a British diplomat and historian best known for his writing and editing on food and gastronomy. He was the author of the 900-page, encyclopedic The Oxford Companion to Food .The son of a Scottish tax inspector, Davidson was born in Londonderry, Northern Ireland...
, "physician, architect, choreographer, sculptor, painter and poet". In addition he was mentor to the Laotian princes Souvanna Phouma
Souvanna Phouma
Prince Souvanna Phouma was the leader of the neutralist faction and prime minister of the Kingdom of Laos several times, from 1951–1952, 1956–1958, 1960 and 1962-1975.-Early life:...
and Souvannavong
Souphanouvong
Prince Souphanouvong was, along with his half-brother Prince Souvanna Phouma and Prince Boun Oum of Champasak, one of the “Three Princes” who represented respectively the communist , neutralist, and royalist political factions in Laos...
, and accompanied them when they studied at the University of Hanoi in the 1920s.
Shortly before his death Phia Sing wrote out in two notebooks the recipes used by him as royal chef. He entrusted them to prince Souvanna Phouma, who lent them to Alan Davidson in 1974. Davidson published some of the recipes in his Fish and Fish Dishes of Laos in 1975, and afterwards arranged for them to be translated in full by Phouangphet Vannithone and Boon Song Klausner. They were published in a bilingual edition, illustrated by Soun Vannithone, in 1981.