Trying out Khantoke Dinner

One of the things I wanted to try out during our trip in Chiang Mai was having their famed Khantoke Dinner. This is a tradition in the Northern part of Thailand. The term comes from the work Khan Tok which is a pedestal tray used as a small dining table by the Lanna people in the North. It's a short round table with several legs made of wood. It can hold cups of rice, other food, flowers, candles and fruit. 

For this activity, I again sought out the help of Travel Hub Chiang Mai to arrange for us. It was fast and easy to book with them. After paying 650THB per adult via card, we were emailed our voucher for the Khantoke Dinner and Thai Dance Show at Old Chiang Mai Cultural Center.

We were picked up at our hotel at 7pm sharp and taken to the place. We had to line up before we can fully enter the place as we had to show our confirmed voucher.

While walking towards the dining hall, we found a lot of stores selling food and souvenirs to the guests. It was nice to stop for a minute but we had to hurry off because dinner was waiting.

Before going into the dining area, we had to leave our shoes on this counter. This was done because most of the guests were asked to sit on the floor.

Some guests were already ahead of us and were starting to enjoy their meal. Found rows of padded seats while going to our assigned ones. 

This was how our seats looked like. I took a photo of the empty slot on our side. 

Table 41 with our plates being readied and fried bananas to munch on while waiting for the meal. 

Our seats were quite far from the middle part where the dance was to be held, but it was fine. 

In just a few minutes, our table was set and food such as Thai Pork Curry, Thai Fried Chicken, Fried Cabbage, Thai Sticky Rice and Fried Bananas were served. By the way, drinks are not included in the meal and was to be paid separately on site. 

Halfway from eating, the Thai Cultural Dance Show started. 

The dancers also asked guests to participate in one of the dance. Some were more than happy to do so but some refused. I would have been happy to dance and participate but I was shy with all the people around.

After dinner and paying for our drinks, we were asked to come outside of the dining hall. I thought that the show was over but then there were also dances prepared for us outside. 

I took a short video of the solo Fire Dance.

It was a great evening for us as we experienced traditional Lanna Dining as well as seeing hill tribes showcasing their Traditional Dance. I'm happy I tried this out on my visit to Chiang Mai. I hope you do take time for this if you'd decide to visit. Thank you for reading and 'til next blog! :)