Visitors to a North Warnborough restaurant enjoyed Thai food, massage, singing and dancing on Sunday despite torrential rain.
The Chilli Pad managers Kate and Peter Miller hosted their first Thai Festival at the restaurant in Hook Road, formerly the Jolly Miller pub. Food lovers consumed a Thai-style hog roast and barbecue with food cooked by head chef Bhopal, and were entertained by members of the local Thai community, while the Hart Male Voice Choir also stopped by to taste the delicacies on offer and give their vocal stylings an airing.
The event was organised to raise money for the Pelican Cancer Foundation, a Basingstoke-based charity that raises money to increase the use of the latest techniques in pelvic and liver cancer. Kate Miller told the Journal the event had drawn crowds of up to 400 despite sudden flash rainstorms frequently driving people indoors.
She said: "It's been a brilliant turn out. Bhopal is the best chef we have ever worked with. With his team of four he prepares everything himself. We got to know some of the organisers of the Pelican Cancer Foundation when we ran Bartons Mill and everybody knows someone in their family who is affected by cancer."
Among the guests enjoying the festivities was Tim Haswell, who works at HP at the Hook Business Park. He said: "The ambience here is superb. They see me coming and have a pint waiting for me, which is what you want in a local."
