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Thai dining etiquette

Thai dining etiquette is traditional behaviors of Thai people while eating. Since, Thai society gives their family importance, so having a meal together and sharing the food is Thai traditional dining. Generally, Thais eat rice as the main food and sharing rice side dishes to others.

Originally, Thai families have a meal on the floor mat and eat the food by their bared hands. The shared dishes are placed in the center of circle of people. The rice dishes are on the outer circle while the shared dishes are in the center of the circle with shared spoons to transfer the side dish food to their own rice dish. (kanchanapisek)

In the reign of King Monkut (Rama IV), King Chulalongkorn the Great (Rama V), Prince Chulalongkorn at that time, was educated by the an English woman, courted Western diplomates and leaders and travelled abroad, observe and learn the western dining and he found out the fork and knife really not suitable for Thai food (no need to chop anything, he introduced the fork and spoon handy and so begun the use of cutlery in Thailand. Thais use the fork to push the food onto the spoon (right hand), which then goes in your mouth instead of make the meat stable for the knife function. Nowadays, Thai dining is mixed with various countries’ dining cultures, so Thai people use a lot of style to eat not only with spoon and fork one but also chopstick, knife and bare hand as well.

Content

1.	Regional Thai dining

2.	Genre of Thai dinning style

3.	Table setting

4.	Manner and custom

5.	See also

6.	Reference

Regional Thai dining

-	Central part of Thailand

In Thailand, the central part is the most civilized in every respect; education, innovation, tradition and progression of the whole country. So sitting on the chair, eating on the table and using fork, spoon and shared spoon are existing for long time ago (Rama IV). For Thai rich family dining, various shaped napkins are added on the table and also some of waiters or waitresses to serve the food and beverage beside the table. For some poor people shared spoon are not used.

-	Northern part of Thailand

Thai northern people preserve their traditional culture by using small food bowls and put them on “Kantok”, Thai northern small table. They are decorated with wood, pearl or yellowish gold. Sticky rice, glutinous rice is the main food which eat with shared dishes. It contains in “Kratip Song Soong”, high-height container for sticky rice. Beside “Kan tok”, there is “Kon Tho Din”, jar made from the soil and “Kan ngeaun” silver cup. After finishing the main course, the desserts are served and also “Buri Chai Yo”, the cigarette, that is end of the meal.

-	Northeastern part of Thailand, “Isan”

The most of them eat the food on a giant flower-patterned circular zinc tray. The food is placed on it. They eat the sticky rice contained in ”Kra Tip Song Taei”, Low- height container for sticky rice. Then the desserts are served next. (kanchanapisek)

-	Southern part of Thailand

The local people eat on a floor map. The dishes are placed on the center of it. Then they sit in the circle and eat them with their bared hands. The drinking water is contained in “Kan”or”Jok”, Little Thai cup. Nowadays, fork and spoon are used instead of bared hands. Sitting on the chair and eating on the table as the central part of Thailand style. There are only few local people who still preserve their original dinning style.

Genres of Thai dinning serve

There are 2 main ways to serve Thai food, “Raad Kao”, individual dish and “Gap Kao”, separate dish. (Wiens, 2014)

-	Individual Dish

In the past, Thai people have large families. Difficulty to eat together at the same time, place the rice side dish and the rice on the same dish and serve it as individual is a solution of traditional Thai dinning style.

-	Separated Dish

The rice side dishes are separately served with the rice (not same dish). Normally this style is suitable for eating them with others. They have to eat at the same time. The shared rice side dishes are in the center of circle. Each one have their own rice, Food are shared, transfer them with the spoon from shared rice side dishes on their own rice dishes.

Table setting

-	Individual dish

The spoon is on the right and fork is on the left side of the dish. If there are napkins, they put them on the dish and do not forget to put condiments on the table.

-	Shared Dish

For rice dish, the spoon is on the right and fork is on the left side of the dish. Drinks do not block the way to scoop the shared dishes. If there are napkin put them on the dish. For the shared dishes, put them in the center of the table with the shared spoon inside of each dishes.

Manners and customs

-	Ordering

For starters of shared dish style, let the senior in the group order their rice side dish first and then another select the menu which everyone can eat and try to order balance of dish, ordering fish or seafood, pork, shrimp, chicken and vegetarian dishes which encompass a full range of tastes. Spicy, sweet, salty and bitter will all be represented, often all in one dish. When the dishes are served, all of them do not come at once. The food keeps coming and coming.

-	Dining

Thai people eat using the fork and spoon combo method. The spoon acts as the main tool and the fork is the supporting tool pushing the food onto the spoon and the shared spoon is the main tool to scoop the food from shared dish to individual dish. Some people use their own spoon to scoop the food from the shared dish directly but it is not a good dining manner because they really concern about sanitation issue. If the shared dish is curry, it is transferred to the individual little cup first. Then they sip the soup from the spoon. Sipping it from the cup directly is not proper, Moreover making the noise during eating and sipping is impolite manner in Thailand. On the other hand, talking during eating is not prohibitive. However, Thai food menu is including with a lot of fish and spice which not for eating, splitting the food is the general behavior for Thais. Splitting on the spoon first, and put them on the edge of the dish or provided dish for the trash is Thai general practice.

After finishing eating, placing the spoon and fork down closed together on the bowl/plate as eleven number- shaped position, gathering the trash to one side of their dish and stack empty plates on the side of the table make the waiters realize that customer require them to clean the table.

Since there are a lot Chinese families in Thailand, the Chinese culture is mixed with the Thai culture. Sticking Up Sticks, poke a stick or skewer into food on a plate and have it stick straight upwards, is impolite. To be polite using a toothpick, please block the mouth with a hand before you pick with the other.

-	Bill

The bill is always pick up and paid by the wealthiest or most important person. But if customers are friends together, the bills are usually paid separately. (1stopchiangma)

See also

Thai cuisine

References