One night, there was talk of going to a cultural show to have dinner and see some dancing. I can’t say I was particularly thrilled as my experiences of these “experiences” have never been good. However, when I learned that these dinner/shows are also frequented by Thai tourists, I realised that perhaps it wouldn’t be so geared towards foreigners. Off we went. It was a definitely a slick operation as they’d sent minibuses to pick us up from the hotel.
When we entered the room, we were led to a large table since we were a large group; those who arrived earlier were seated around lower tables on the floor. This Khantoke dinner was presented to us as soon as we’d settled in – this style of eating is a traditional northern Thai (Lanna) form of eating. A low round tray is set in the middle with a number of dishes laid out on it and people sit around it. Sticky rice is eaten alongside the food and everything is usually eaten by hand. We stuck to forks and spoons though! Servers came around during the meal to refill any dish that we’d finished.
Clockwise from the top, we have: fried chicken, mee krob (fried rice vermicelli in a sweet and slightly spicy sauce), fried bananas, green chili and aubergine dip, Burmese pork curry, stir fried cabbage, chili and tomato and pork dip, fried pork rinds (to dip), and in the middle, raw vegetables (also to dip). There was also a vegetable soup to start, both steamed and sticky rice to eat with, and fried sweet crispy rice cakes for dessert. Nothing was spiced too heavily, I’m guessing for the palates of the foreigners but there were still a few dishes that stood out for me. They were the Burmese pork curry (very nice – deeply savoury and good with sticky rice) and the chili, tomato and pork dip (mmm….dippy goodness). I found this surprising as I don’t usually expect much from mass produced food.
Further information about khantoke dining can be found in this article.
Oh, and the entertainment was good too! Photos from the shows can be found on my Flickr photostream.
Old Chiangmai Cultural Center
185/3 Wualai Rd
Chiang Mai, Thaia
Sat, 12 Apr, 2008 at 10:54
We did this too, 11 years ago. Really enjoyed the experience- the food may not be ‘wow’ but it was good enough, and the dancing afterwards was fun too.
Sun, 13 Apr, 2008 at 12:41
umami: It was definitely a fun night out – especially with friends!
Sat, 4 Oct, 2008 at 14:31
You find this place on a Google Map with restaurants in Chiang Mai now:
http://my-lanna.blogspot.com/2008/08/chiang-mai-mouthwatering-food.html
Tue, 20 Jan, 2009 at 23:03
[...] Old Chiang Mai Cultural Center ศูนย์วัฒนธรรม เชียงใหม่: 185/3 Wualai Road. Khantoke dinner, stage performances and hilltribes shows. You seat on cushions on the carpeted floor or at nearby massage table warming pad tables. When a traditional Northern Thai family eats, they sit around a low table (called “toke”) and eat “khan”, finger food in small bowls. They break pieces of sticky rice (”cow neaw”) and dip it into the bowls or eat it with meat. There are sweetm sour and spicy tastes.In a Lanna-style building, the Saw-Hong House, you find the Lanna Folk Museum. This over 110-year-old teak building is a typical example of a northern dwelling called a “Kalae house”. Originally, this building stood near the east side of the Nakhornping Bridge in downtown Chiangmai and was owned by Nang Ping, the granddaughter of Nai Saw and Nang Hong Tae. The house was named the “Saw-Hong House” in honour of Nang Piang’s grandparents. Today you see here antique pottery, lacquerware, household items and waving demonstrations. Museum ist closed on Thursdays. Read the review of Tamarind and Thyme. [...]