Time Out New York

Eat Out: Wedding Your Appetite

By Salma Abdelnour, February 11-18, 1999

Saffron 59 Catering’s Irene Khin Wong, a native of Burma (now Myanmar), also puts on lavish wedding banquets for clients. A Vietnamese feast might include fish served whole with spicy-sour tamarind sauce, roast chicken with caramelized lemongrass and “longevity” rice sticks with vegetables, served on the lacquered trays that Wong acquired during her travels to Vietnam. For a Burmese wedding, Khin Wong may suggest own no kauk shwe, a coconut-noodle soup with chicken traditionally served on special occasions. The dish is served buffet style with such condiments as crispy fried shallots and chili flakes. “Everyone creates their own bowl of soup, then goes back for refills,” says Khin Wong. “This dish can be used to symbolize abundance.”