Khantok Dinner
One thing a foreign tourist should experience in Chiang Mai
is the khantok dinner, which has become a standard component of
Chiang Mai tour programmes. It is a pleasant way to learn about traditional
northern cuisine, music and dance Khantok in
the Northern dialect means a wooden tray used for carrying dishes. Round in
shape, it is made of wood, varnished or lacquered with 5 or 6 short legs to
support it. At a khantok dinner, the host and the invited guests sit on the
floor around the khantok, which serves 5 or 6 persons. The tradition of wearing
northern mohom costume for a khantok dinner is no longer
observed today. The main dishes on the khantok usually comprise sticky
rice, kaeng hang-le (northern-style pork curry), kaeng
ho (spicy curry of bean vermicelli), kaeng om (spicy
curry of entrails), sai ua (Chiang Mai sausage), lap (minced
meat, half cooked and highly seasoned), nam phrik ong (chilli
paste with minced pork and tomatoes), which usually goes with khaep mu (crispy
pork rinds) and khao soi (chicken/ pork /beef curry soup with
noodles). Eating with (the right) hand, they scoop up a handful of sticky rice
from the bamboo basket and dip it into the curry or chilli paste and eat
it. After the meal, a dessert called khao taen, which is made
of fried sticky rice covered with caramel, is served. Also served are khiyo cigars
and fermented tea, which is chewed to help digestion. The khiyocigar
is made of shredded tobacco and ground tamarind bark (khiyo), which can
reduce the strong odour of tobacco. While dining, Northern music and
classical dances are performed to entertain guests. One of the most popular is fon
lep or fingernail dance, in which women dancers are dressed in
Northern Thai style, wearing long pointed brass fingernails. The programme of
dances and dishes may vary from place to place
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