Hi Gastronomy lovers!
Sao here,
We have a festival on November 19th called “Loy Krathong”, which involves a lot of festivities, and a lot of food!
Loy Krathong is an event that is celebrated annually in the evening of the full moon, every 12th month in the Thai lunar calendar. Hence why the exact date changes every year. The process involves floating a small container (or “krathong”), made of fashioned leaves, with the intent to launch on to a river,canal, or pond. This krathong is usually made of a banana tree trunk, or bread and/or styrofoam in more modern times. A bread krathong also makes for great fish food once it disintegrates!
And what I really like is the ability to customise your own krathong, as you can dress it up however you like. The whole thing usually involves elaborately folded banana leaves, three incense sticks, and a candle to sit atop the Krathong, as it floats over the water. Coins can also be added as a way of merit-making and good luck wishing in future years.
This event almost always involves a dinner gathering (obviously haha) for family and friends. However, there’s no specific dishes or anything like that. But, some popular foodie choices are “hor mok” (fish mousse), “krathong tong” (golden crispy cup), grilled egg in banana leaf, toddy palm cake, and steamed banana cake. All these types of dishes are also usually served in krathong cups too - isn’t that cute?!
I fondly remember this event stemming back from my childhood, where we simply floated our krathongs in a small pond in the back garden (which meant we got to avoid the crowds hehe.)
And expect your friends around Bangkok to start hosting parties to celebrate this festive event. When Andrew and I lived in a condo by the river, we always catered a fun get together’s, with friends and family as we all got to float our “good luck charms” down by the Chao Phraya river. Seriously try it out, it’s a blast!