“The most important thing is to try the local cuisine,” Uncle Richard tells me before our trip to Chiang Mai.
I. Totally. Agree.
Khum Khantoke is the newest and largest of all khantoke restaurants in Chiang Mai
(Actually, there’s only two)
Fruit-carving and flower garland-making. I super love the girls’ headpieces.
Replica of a traditional teak house
The young and adventurous sit cross-legged on open grounds
These triangle-backrest cushions are actually quite comfortable
The not-so-young-and-adventurous sit on these tables with “wells” to extend their old and brittle legs and feet
YES, we are young and adventurous! Sam, Auntie Susan, and Moi.
A Khantoke is a round tray atop short wooden legs and is used as dining table by the Lanna people. (See photos above and below) Khantoke dinners have been a tradition in Northern Thailand for centuries and centuries, although according to our tour guide, only the rich and famous got to enjoy this kind of meal back in the days. (Thank you, Lord, for creating me late.)
A khantoke meal includes the following dishes (clockwise from top left): Crispy Pork Skin (chicharon is love), Deep Fried Chicken (rather ordinary), Pork Curry with Ginger Chiang Mai Style (beautiful flavor but meat is tough), Crispy Rice Noodle (sweet and sour crunchiness), Grilled Young Chili Paste with Ground Meat and Tomato Sauce (my favorite of all), Stir-Fried Mixed Vegetables, and at the center is Assorted Vegetables with Mild Chili and Tomato Dipping Sauce
There’s also a basket of fried bananas for appetizer, and everyone gets a plate of
white rice, a bamboo basket of sticky rice and a bowl of clear vegetable soup.
Good news: Everything is refillable.
Midway through our meal, the cultural show begins.
Nice traditional costumes, but I don’t know about the long and sharp finger accessories…
I wish I had their gracefulness…
… Or a man who will perpetually hold an umbrella over my head
The first number is about two birds dancing together (or something like that)
Drum Dance to encourage warriors before a battle
Umbrella Dance
Hill Tribes Dance
It is very thoughtful of Khum Khantoke to make sure their foreign guests understand what’s going on, but repeating everything in 3 different languages before each number is such a draaaaaaaaaaaag. After the 5th or 6th performance, I stop taking pictures and start falling asleep.
Luckily, I am not the only one.
Dessert: Rice Crackers, Watermelon, Pineapple
(Forgive the ghastly color. Blue lights = picture fail)
Khum Khantoke: 139 Moo 4 Nong Pakrung , Amphur Muang , Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Tel: +66 53 304121-3
