Saowanee Allegritti

Neither of Saowanee’s parents are still alive, both passing away many years ago now, her mother at just 50, a younger age than Saowanee is now, which is a sobering thought.  Saowanee feels blessed to still have her maternal grandmother Mon, who will soon be turning 92 and is mentally acute.  Saowanee names Mon as her most admired living person, and during Saowanee’s university years in Bangkok, Mon was both an example and a comforting influence in her young life. Saowanee’s dad had been a timber-worker and a builder before meeting her mum.  Depletion of the teak forests led him to abandon his craft and take up the farming lifestyle of his wife’s family: a physically demanding lifestyle that Saowanee credits with shortening the lifespans of both her parents.  Given this fact, it is not surprising that neither Saowanee nor her younger sister have chosen to stay working on the land. Both of the women have found careers which are less physically taxing.  Saowanee’s sister is currently employed in the Faculty of Education at Kasertsart University.

Unfortunately, she was unable to attend the graduation ceremony in person as she had to rush back to Thailand to be at the bedside of her critically-ill mother, who died just 3 days after Saowanee’s return. Saowanee’s sole piece of advice to her younger self would be to take your studies seriously much earlier in your life.

Saowanee’s independence also grew from necessity.  Her small village had only a primary school so she had to travel into the town to attend a girls’ high school.  This trip was too far to be undertaken daily, so Saowanee lived in a residence attached to the school and only returned home at weekends. Upon graduation from high school, Saowanee was sent to an even bigger pond for a little fish, the capital, Bangkok, where she studies a degree in marketing, and worked for a cell-phone company.  Throughout her working life, Saowanee has undertaken quite a few different jobs, office-based in administration, IT-based in educational institutions as well as in the hospitality industry.  The sole common thread in all of these is that when Saowanee commits to anything, she gives it her all.  She will not stop until the job is done, and done to her exacting standards.  Near enough is simply not good enough, while half-measures are totally unacceptable.

This is a philosophy Saowanee has carried into her current business, At Phrae, a small local restaurant just a few steps south of the songtaew terminus at Khao Takiab.  At Phrae specialises in Northern Thai cuisine, the food of Saowanee’s childhood, and she demands that its taste be authentic. Indeed, the flavours she creates are so good that some Northeners prefer her food over what they buy in their own home provinces. Saowanee has been unable to find any assistance with the actual cooking that doesn’t affect the flavours she must achieve, so although she often has two assistants, their roles involve only ingredient preparation, taking orders, packing takeaways, waiting and clearing tables and washing up.  Saowanee works long days, with the restaurant being open Tuesday to Saturday, and Monday devoted to shopping, leaving Saowanee working a 6-day week. Saowanee is currently testing the waters of business expansion, having taken a stall at Tamarind Market, where, Thursday to Sunday, from 5pm till 10.45pm, unless sold out early, customers new and old can savour two of Saowanee’s best loved dishes, her Khao Soi Gai and Ngam Ngeow Khanon Jeen. This initiative is introducing her unique Northern style of food to a new customer base. Saowanee needs to work harder on relaxing, though as her own boss, she feels she is following her passion rather than working.  Saowanee was cooking from the age of about 8, responsible for providing meals for the family, yet she had no inkling until much, much later that she would choose to pursue cooking as an income-earning endeavour.

It was in Bangkok, at the MBK Centre, that Saowanee and Armando first met in person, after connecting online at a time prior to current dating apps.  Armando was in Thailand visiting his sister, brother-in-law and family.  The adults were both working at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok at the time.  During their 4-year posting, Armando was a regular visitor twice a year.  Who’s to say how much of this was his desire to see his relatives or how much to deepen his relationship with Saowanee, with whom he was in regular contact?  Eventually, Saowanee was gifted a ticket to Australia in 1999 and Armando’s relatives helped her to obtain her visa. She thought she would be getting a tourist visa but found a spouse visa in her passport instead.  A rather novel way to make one’s intentions obvious, Armando Allegritti! The pair married in June 2000, Saowanee transitioned to a temporary resident visa, then became a permanent resident. She is now an Australian citizen, travelling on either her Thai passport or her Australian passport, depending on her destination.  Armando would also like Saowanee to pursue Italian citizenship, since he is a dual national and that way, he won’t have to wait so long for her to transit Immigration when they holiday in Italy to visit Armando’s extended family who still reside in Abruzzo.

In her private capacity, there are still some things Saowanee wants to learn and achieve.  She believes her mathematics skills aren’t up to par, she wishes to travel more widely in places she has previously enjoyed such as Portugal, and her favourite place in the world, Italy, as well as Greece, which is still on her bucket list. Saowanee would like to overcome the bad habit she has of skipping meals when she is busy at the restaurant as it plays havoc with her digestion and to find more time to enjoy engaging in craft pursuits such as pottery. She can’t do without her phone because she uses her Facebook feed to promote her daily specials.  Good Google reviews help generate return customers for her almost as well as word-of-mouth.  And of course, like people all over Thailand, Saowanee finds her phone has become an essential tool for payment of her purchases. Saowanee has some concerns about her future, including worries about the global impact of current wars, and whether in the future Armando’s family responsibilities may necessitate a return to Australia.  But whatever the future holds, Saowanee is sure to have emotional support.

A fine work-free day will find Saowanee and Armando enjoying brunch somewhere together, perhaps Forget-me-not Café, a regular haunt, or indulging in Saowanee’s favourite clear pork or beef noodle soup. Time doing nothing in particular, but together, is still precious for this couple. Much as Saowanee loves her husband, she still glows at the thought of her independence, and that she has achieved the vast majority of her success very much from her own sweat and tears. She is still terrified of snakes or any creature without visible legs though.  Armando is very welcome to deal with those, independence notwithstanding!