The 2023 "Eating Pla Thu Mae Klong" festival, a gastronomic event celebrating one of Thailand's most treasured fish, is being held at Samut Songkhram Provincial Hall until Sunday.
Pla thu Mae Klong is a short-bodied mackerel harvested in the shallow and nutritious brackish waters at the mouth of the Mae Klong River in Samut Songkhram Province. The fish, certified with a geographical indication since 2021, has a softer, sweeter, fatty meat and finer skin compared to deep-sea counterparts.
At the 10-day festival, more than 50,000 prime-grade mackerel from Mae Klong are on offer through hundreds of dishes -- eat-in and takeaway -- by famous local restaurants and over 50 food vendors.
Recommended dishes include pla thu sa-tia (sweet and salty braised mackerel), pla thu tom ma-dan (mackerel in sour and spicy madan soup), pla thu tom som (mackerel in sweet and spicy ginger soup), khanom jeen nam ya pla thu (fermented rice noodles with mackerel curry), som tam pla thu (green papaya salad with mackerel), mackerel burgers and mackerel french fries.
The event also features a wide range of seafood and cuisine that celebrates the province's culinary abundance. Highlights include hoy lord razor clams, Amphawa coconut milk, khom lychee, white-flesh pomelo and royal cuisine from King Rama II Memorial Park.
Organised by the Samut Songkhram Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with YEC (Young Entrepreneur Chamber of Commerce), this year's event aims to draw in the younger generation as well as families and international tourists.
Various on-stage entertainment and activities including cultural shows, concerts, vocal performances, kids fashion shows, dancing contests and beauty pageant are featured daily in the evening.
The 25th edition of "Eating Pla Thu Mae Klong" takes place until Sunday, and runs from 8am-9pm, at Samut Songkhram Provincial Hall on Ekachai Road, tambon Mae Klong, Muang Samut Songkhram district -- a two-hour's drive from downtown Bangkok.
photos courtesy of TAT
For more information, call the Young Entrepreneur Chamber of Commerce.
