Thai Food Festival
Victoria has a
growing Thai community of over 10,000 people. The festival began in 2004 and
was founded by Thai Culture and Food Festival Inc. a not-for-profit
incorporated association in Melbourne, Australia to enable the Thai community
to celebrate the traditional Songkran festival and to promote Thai culture and
Food to Australian audiences.
The festival
usually starts with prayers by local Buddhist monks, followed by an opening
ceremony with various dignitaries. Then on the main stage at Fed Square Thai
dances are performed. Interspersed with other cultural performances are a
number of special shows.
The 10th
Anniversary of Thai Culture and Food festival was held on 20 March 2013 in
Malaysia . The Australian Thai Artist Interchange were invited to present The
Hua Krathi Project as part of the festival program. The Hua Krathi Project
showcased contemporary Thai art across University, commercial galleries and
public spaces. It was instigated and curated by Rushdi Anwar and Melanie Jayne
Taylor.
Thai cooking
places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components and
a spicy edge. According to thai chef McDang characterizes, thai food as
demonstrating "intricacy; attention to detail texture, color, taste and
the use of ingredients with medicinal benefits, as well as good flavor",
as well as care being given to the food's appearance, smell and context.
According to Australian chef David Thompson, an expert
on Thai food, observes that unlike many other cuisines, Thai cooking rejects
simplicity and is about "the juggling of disparate elements to create a
harmonious finish".
Thai food
originated with the people who emigrated from the southern Chinese provinces
into modern day Thailand many centuries ago. Historically there were many
Szechwan influences in Thai cuisine, although over the centuries many other
influences have affected Thai food. In a more distant past, Buddhist monk
brought an Indian touch, and southern Muslim states influenced the cooking in
the south of Thailand. Much later, Thai food was influenced by European cuisine
after contact with Portuguese missionaries and Dutch traders. During these
times there were even some influences from the Japanese. Today Thai food is its
own, with a special unique blend of the 5 tastes which is sweet, sour, bitter,
salty, and spicy.
Since the
explosion in tourism to Thailand in the 1980’s Thai food has established a
foothold as one of the world’s leading schools of the culinary arts. It is one
of the 5 most popular food types globally, the others being Indian, Chinese,
French, and Italian.
Traditional Thai
cuisine loosely falls into four categories which is tom (boiled dishes), yam
(spicy salads), tam (pounded foods), and gaeng (curries). Deep-fries,
stir-fries, and steamed dishes derive from Chinese cooking.
The Thai Culture and Food Festival is a
multicultural festival held at Federation Square in Melbourne, Victoria,
Australia. Held since 2004, it attracts over 40,000 visitors to enjoy Thai
food, music, traditional dance, martial arts and fashion.
Author going to
thai festival to try the rare food which is the first that the author try is
“Miang Kham”. Miang kham is a snack food that originated in the northern part
of Thailand, originally using pickled tea leaves (called miang in the northern
Thai language). The dish is mentioned in “Epic of the Verse of foods”, In
Thailand, Miang kham is usually eaten with family and friends. It is also
popular in the Central Region of Thailand. This dish is mostly eaten during the
raining season for it is then that cha phlu leaves are abundantly available, as
it grows new leaves and shoots. Before wrapping the filled leaves are topped
with palm syrup or sugar cane syrup which often has been cooked with
lemongrass, galangal, ginger and fish sauce.
Besides that,
author also try the coconut ice cream which is the one of famous dessert in
Thai food Festival. It was the Europeans who introduced ice cream to this
Southeast Asian country, but the locals didn’t waste time making the
refreshment their own.
What makes Thai
coconut ice cream different from all the other ice creams is the use of rich
coconut cream as its base instead of the usual cow’s milk. The creamy coconut
base is generously sprinkled with real coconut bits whose texture is a
wonderful contrast against the smooth creaminess.
Author also try
Som Tham which is like Kerabu in Malaysia. Som tam, or green
papaya salad, is found throughout Thailand. But the dish started life on the
vast plains of the Isan region in northeastern Thailand, where flavors from
Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam find their way onto the table, along with sticky
glutinous rice, which is served with most meals, just as it is in Laos. Som tam
is much more than a sometimes mouth-puckeringly sour salad: it is a gateway to
understanding this unique part of Thailand, which is unlike both the
mountainous north (where Chinese and Burmese dishes can be found) and the
coastal south (which is influenced by Malaysia, Indonesia and Islam).
Thus, Thai cuisine is something that has become an
attachment to the local's appetite. Thai food has become an important daily
appetite for the people. Having researched a lot of things and interviewed some
of the people who is
make Thai food as their favorite food. , I came into a
conclusion that Thai cuisine is just as important as any other cuisine such as
western cuisine or asian cuisine in Malaysia. Enchanted by the unique flavor of
spiciness combined with strong blend of authentic spices make Thai food in
Malaysia popular and liked by people. Though Thai food is similar to other
South East Asian food, there are many things that differentiate it. People like
the distinct taste of strong spices and spiciness. Also, Thai food is similar
to the Indonesian's food spiciness but Thai food has more a distinct and deep
flavor because it uses various spices. Author personally like Thai cuisine and
list it as the second most favorite food after Korean food. I often go to Siam
House in Johor Bahru and Serai Thai In Seksyen 3 Shah Alam . In addition, author
like to share a simple word or phrase when you come to Thai restaurant. First,
say "Sawatdee" which Thai people say to greet. Secondly, say
"Aroy" when you have finished your dish, it is a saying to say
delicious! Lastly, say "Khob Kun" because it means "Thank
you" in English.
