Thai Shop

Description:

• In the back, you can watch the manufacture of bronzeware. You must be careful about quality when purchasing bronze: Some vendors don't use enough nickel (so the bronze tarnishes easily), or use too much, leaving little bronze patina. Thai Shop's formula is 3% nickel, 79% copper, and 18% tin, for a positively handsome, gleaming product. A 12-person, 144-piece service costs about $250. The shop also sells lacquerware, some of which is handpainted, and some coated with an eggshell application. The creation of strong, durable lacquerware is very time intensive; each of the typically 19 coats must dry before the next one is applied, and the whole process can take many months, even for small pieces.
  
  
• © Frommer's 2013