Dashing couple Ravit and Darika Teutvongse share a delicious Chinese meal with Saisa Amranand at Lin-Fa and look back at their marriage of six years.

Already seated at Lin-Fa amid the contemporary Chinese interior of Oriental art and photo exhibits, Ravit and Darika Teutvongse, parents of two lovely children, smile warmly. “This is one of our favourite places. We love the exclusiveness of rarely running into people that we know,” reveals Ravit. Having gone through a renovation last year, the Siam City Hotel’s Chinese restaurant, established in 1992, remains much-loved by many including powerful politicians due to its proximity to parliament and government ministries.

Laid on the crisp white tablecloth are numerous signature dishes such as three types of hot hors d’oeuvre, including jellyfish mixed with sesame dressing, fresh prawns wrapped in bean paper and pan-fried shark’s fin with bean sprouts as well as double-boiled fish maw with brown sauce. But the centrepiece is the famous wholeroasted Peking duck. “Lin Fa has the best Peking duck and where else can you find pancakes this thin?” Darika asks. Overseeing more or less everything at the family-owned Dhurakij Pundit University, Darika admits that the past several years have been demanding. “At the moment, we are altering the strategies and management system. Big changes will follow. To add to the challenge, I am also completing my PhD in IT,” she shares. “She is always in meetings,” Ravit adds. He helps out by teaching art at the university once a week. “But my main work is still in entertainment. My new soap opera will be premiering on Channel 3 soon,” the handsome actor says. The two share common tastes and interests. Both are into fine dining and travelling and enjoy getting out of Bangkok whenever they can. “We are currently obsessed with Phuket. For such a small place it has many superb restaurants,” says Ravit. Living their lives as they did when they were dating is important to them. “We like being adventurous and are always seeking new places, whether it’s trekking in Nepal, staying in a charming hotel in Venice or diving in the Maldives.” More dishes arrive. Pan-fried prawns in a sweet cream sauce are another of Ravit’s favourites. “This is a signature dish here,” Darika says. They just celebrated their sixth anniversary last August, but the couple still seems like newlyweds. Even though fans swoon over Ravit’s good looks and charisma, Darika’s reaction was the opposite. “He’s tall and I don’t like tall men. At 185 centimetres he is like a giraffe!” she laughs.

“When we met his first words to me were, ‘Is there an art faculty at your university?’ And I gave a curt no.” Ravit divulges that he could tell right then that she was a direct and uncomplicated girl. As the last dish is served – succulent and juicy snow fish in a rich and savoury XO sauce – Darika concludes, “Like many married couples we argue over our different views, but the most important thing is he supports me without question.”