Old Chiangmai Cultural Center — Restaurant in Chiang Mai Province

One Star if not for After Show Entertainment

We attended the Lanna Kantoke Dinner Show as part of a tour add on while in Chiang Mai. I was not excited to be sitting on the floor with our large group, as the cushions were uncomfortable and slid around on the slick floor.

The food was the least appetizing we had during our entire two week tour - it was mediocre flavour that tasted as if all options had been heated up in a plastic bag and dumped into bowls.

The show itself was heavily disappointing with boring dances that are yes, traditional, but if they are basic with only 1 or 2 repetitive moves the entire song (no joke), the least that could be provided is enthusiastic dancers. My husband and I joked with each other that the dancers were there only as part of an incarceration work program, it was that bad. The knife/sword dance was literally just a man walking fast in a circle, moving his arms around his head multiple times.

This entire review would be 1 star if not for the after show entertainment, which we did not expect. My husband and I left the dinner show early (it was that unremarkable) and walked out to the little vendor stations at the entrance and found souvenirs and products that we didn't find at any of the other markets we saw; the prices were also very reasonable.

Unexpectedly, after the dinner show ended, a few mini-shows went on outside in the "square" after you enter the property. The performances included a Llama dancing around (very entertaining - such a scandalous Llama!), a drum performance by an entertaining young pair of boys, and a "hop scotch" type of performance with bamboo sticks and a two kids (this performance was embarrassingly bad, as the children clearly had no interest in performing; the young girl performing yawned through the...

My wife and I had the dinner and show on New Year's Eve 2017/2018. It seemed very expensive for what you get. The tickets don't include drinks, which are about double what you'd pay at a local bar or vendor (fruit drinks, beer, wine, mixed drinks). The first round of food was cold, but they bring out hotter food for refills of any dishes. The food is decent quality (about the same as a street vendor) with some variety (chicken, pork, vegetables, rice). Hot tea or coffee and fruit comes at the end.

You can opt for sitting on the floor or at a table. If you choose the floor, you get a small back rest and you're generally closer to the performance. Some of the pictures show an additional pad to sit on, but these weren't provided (just the back rest). Make sure you're all right with reclining on the floor for a couple of hours if you choose this option. The performance becomes hard to see if you're lying down!

The show is culturally beautiful, but the sound quality of the speaker system makes it hard to follow the descriptions before each dance. There are papers with descriptions written out in different languages in shelves on the wall behind where you check in your shoes (we only found them on the way out). I'd recommend picking one up if you're interested in learning about the dances.

Toward the end of the performances, they bring people from the audience to join the dances in a sort of congo line.

After the show, on the way back to our hotel, my wife and I found the Chiang Mai New Year's show in the Old City. They had similar dances, but much more elaborate costumes and more enthusiastic performers! And lots of street food vendors / cheaper...

Great place to learn about the culture of Chiang Mai, I think a place of improvement was if they could give us a brochure or something with more information because I couldn't really hear some parts when the narrator was introducing the culture/ethnicity/historical period.

The food was good, and honestly, I was super stuffed by the end. I couldn't finish since there were refills. I think not too much to add, since this is kind of an iconic tourist attraction in Chiang Mai. I believe there are outdoor and indoor showings, but I'm not sure how they decide when is which.

I booked online through their website. I got a confirmation, but the payment was strangely on-site, so I shot them a message on FB, and they confirmed my place.

I think it's great for kids and family. If you have back problems, and cannot sit on the ground (without backing from e.g. a chair), let the staff know, I believe they are proper tables and chairs. Otherwise, you sit and eat on the ground, there's a cushioned mattress thingy that actually provides some back support, but looking around, I think not a lot of people knew how to use the mattress. Anyways, it's supposed to be authentic so I enjoyed it, it was comfortable for me.

Some nice memories came back while watching the show because I realized/remembered I was here when I was 10+, almost 2...