Lanna more traditional Thai dances Harriet!!

Atthakorn very kindly took me to dinner at Khum Khantoke, a Lanna or Northern style Thai restaurant. We were served a set menu of a traditional Lanna Khantoke tray and sat down to the most wonderful traditional Thai dances and music – my favourite being an episode from Ramakian where Hanuman (or as I call him ‘Naughty monkey-man!) chases the fish-girl, Nang Suphunamucha and flirts with her outrageously!!

We ate:
· Crispy fried bananas - an appetiser
· Crispy pork skin
· Crispy deep-fried chicken (on the bone for extra flavour)
· Crispy chopped vermicelli noodles with palm sugar
· Nam Prik Ong – Spicy pork mince dip to be eaten with fresh raw vegetables
· Stir fried vegetables in oyster sauce
· Pork curry – very like Indian Madras in flavour
· Nam Prik Num – a spicy, fishy relish
· Sticky glutinous rice (served in a plastic bag in a woven basket)
· A clear carrot flavoured broth with slices of carrot and poached chicken
· Watermelon, pineapple and sweet rice cakes - pudding

It was all delicious, although they left a lot of the gelatinous pork skin on the pork, which although keeps the pork moist when cooking and adds texture, it did little for my palate, and I politely pushed it to one side. It was the one exception!

Happy Cooking!

HJ