Sibsongpanna: Traditional Lanna Cuisine & Dancing in Chiang Mai
Every night we watch the tour buses roll in with hoards of people, market stalls lining the parking lot, and the lights of lanterns twinkling above our home as they are sent off into the night sky. Sibsongpanna caught our eye immediately after we moved into our house in Chiang Mai. At first we were worried it might be noisy at night, but after we realized it wasn’t at all, we were more interested in what exactly it was. When our friends from Khon Kaen paid us a visit last week, we decided it was a great opportunity to finally check it out.
Sibsongpanna is a dinner & dance theater themed with ancient Lanna style architecture, cuisine and dancing. The building is made up of traditional Thai wooden houses and its quite a pretty sight when lit up at night.
Traditional Lanna Cuisine
Kick off your shoes as you walk in and take a seat at one of the low traditional tables. Immediately the staff, adorned in beautiful Lanna attire, will start serving up some delicious northern Thai cuisine, family style of course. Dishes of pork curry, fried chicken, stir fried mixed veggies, pork rinds, stir fried rice noodles, green chili paste, and tomato paste along with steamed and sticky rice will leave you overwhelmed with where to even begin. Fortunately, it’s all-you-can-eat and they will never let those dishes get low! Be prepared to eat, and eat, and eat…
Lanna-Style Ceremonial Dancing
While you are on your third or fourth serving of this delicious food, the show will begin. Tip? Grab a seat close to the stage when you arrive. It’s better for viewing and for pictures. The show consists of 9 various ceremonial dances, each with its own story, and is paired with traditional music from a live band. The dances are lovely, and the costumes even more so.
We were quite surprised that many of the tour buses packed up and headed out before the show was even over, allowing us to have the show to ourselves for the last 15-20 minutes (the show only runs about 45 minutes). If you do stay until the show ends, you will have the opportunity to take pictures with the dancers.
As you head out, you will find a small variety of market stalls set up in the parking lot where you can pick up a few souvenirs, although our 100 THB picture was enough for us 😉
FYI:
- There are two dinner times – Group 1 and Group 2. We arrived at 7 pm and we were out by 8:30 pm. It’s advised to call and make a reservation ahead of time.
- We paid 300 THB/person, which included all-you-can-eat food and water (alcohol not included).
- Sibsongpanna is located near the famous Wat Umong in the foothills of Doi Suthep
About the Author Charlie and Brittany
We are Brittany and Charlie - we traded the 9 to 5 and the so-called "American dream" to live our own dream and see the world. We sold all of our belongings and left the US in August 2013. For 5 years, we lived primarily in Thailand and built our online business and location independent lifestyle while we traveled to over 30 countries. We’ve had house sitting gigs on 3 different continents and we’ve even appeared on HGTV’s House Hunters International.
Subscribe to The Trading Travelers for Updates
Your information will never be shared or sold to a 3rd party.