Palate Pleaser

FAR, FAR FROM THE PADDY FIELDS OF HER hometown in Surin, a verdant province in northeastern Thailand also known for its temples and elephant festivals, young Thitiporn Liu flew into Johannesburg one bright promising day in 2004, with nothing more than a business plan in her head, her year-old daughter in her arms and some homegrown spices in her suitcases.

South Africa was a decade-old democracy, just waking up to the prospect of talent jetting in from the other side of the world.

But there she was, Liu, lonely in big bustling Berea, a suburb adjacent to the Johannesburg central business district (CBD), setting up a small roadside eatery with nothing but