Chaleunsilp Phia Sing (

Luang Prabang Luang Prabang (Lao language, Lao: wikt:ຫຼວງພະບາງ, ຫຼວງພະບາງ, pronounced ), historically known as Xieng Thong (ຊຽງທອງ) and alternatively spelled Luang Phabang or Louangphabang, is the capital of Lu ...

, c. 1898–1967) was a royal chef and master of ceremonies to the kings of

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

, and in this capacity he worked at the Royal Palace in

. 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 Prince Souvanna Phouma (; 7 October 1901 – 10 January 1984) was the leader of the neutralist faction and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Laos several times (1951–1954, 1956–1958, 1960, and 1962–1975). Early life Souvanna Phouma was the ...

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.

Bibliography

* Alan Davidson, ''Fish and fish dishes of Laos'', 1975. * Phia Sing, ''Traditional Recipes of Laos'', 1981. 1890s births 1967 deaths Laotian chefs Laotian poets People from Luang Prabang Laotian sculptors Laotian architects 20th-century poets 20th-century painters 20th-century sculptors 20th-century architects {{Laos-bio-stub