Julie is Finance & Administration Manager for the California Rice Commission, and a big proponent of trying new recipes- especially if they feature California rice.
Every year my daughter Jaime and I plan a birthday escape from the crowds and hectic schedules in search of new adventures. This year we followed the Pony Express Trail through Nevada and headed over to Zion and Bryce National Parks for a week of hiking and exploring.
We stayed in the small community of Springdale, Utah, surrounded by the scenic sandstone and soaring towers of Zion.
For a birthday celebration dinner, we decided on Thai Sapa, known for their fusion gourmet dishes from Thailand, Indochina and Japan.
The name “Thai” honors both Thailand and the Chinese/Vietnamese word of the same spelling which means “Great”. The name “Sapa” stands for a hill tribe community at 5,000 ft. in Vietnam at the Chinese border. Thai Sapa was born out of Chef Tung’s love of cooking in her café in Viet Nam. Everything on their menu is homemade, truly natural and very delicious. When we asked what type of brown rice was served, Chef Tung gladly replied that they only use Lundberg Family Farms Golden Rose Brown Rice.
Chef Tung added they also use a variety of produce from their own garden and orchard as well as from the town’s local farmers. Interesting enough, they have an aggressive recycling program, which includes the use of their used fry oil in their various friends’ old diesels. Our meal was excellent and the California brown rice was the best! If you ever have an opportunity to visit Zion and Bryce National Parks, be sure to stop in at Thai Sapa and say hi to Chef Tung and her husband, Dennis.
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