Celebrated every year on April 13, Songkran is the celebration of the Thai New Year. To celebrate the festivities with all of Toronto, Chef Nuit and Jeff Regular, the co-owners of PAI, are hosting a one-day-only Songkran Market at their restaurant downtown.
Taking place on Saturday, PAI Downtown, located at 18 Duncan St. will be transformed into a Thai market, reminiscent of and inspired by the street markets found all over the Southeast Asian country.
At the installation, you can find vendors from all over the spectrum, from local artisans and retailers selling vintage clothing, vinyls, jewellery, handmade soaps and candles, caricature artists and much more.
Also on offer, of course, will be enticing food stalls featuring delectable Songkran treats from the PAI kitchen. Some of the dishes on the menu will be Jackfruit Salad, Yum Kanom Jin (Rice Noodle Salad), Khao Kha Moo (Braised Pork Hock on Rice), Khao Mun Gai (Thai-style Chicken Rice) and Papaya Salad. With it getting warmer, these dishes will pair fantastically with the changing temperatures around Toronto.
“Family is everything to me. Songkran is a time of year where families return home and get together to celebrate the new year," Executive Chef Nuit Regular said. "Many of the foods we’re serving at our Songkran Market are foods that I grew up eating in Northern Thailand during the new year and they are symbolic of bringing good fortune. These are traditions of my Thai culture that I want to keep alive and share with my community and my family and friends here in Canada. It’s a chance for us to come together and celebrate with one another.”
Aside from feasting and shopping, also on the schedule will be a powerful display of Muay Thai boxing, Thailand's national sport, which will be demonstrated by Canada's first Muay Thai school, Siam No. 1. If even looking at the demonstration causes a pulled muscle in you, you also have the opportunity to relax and work away the soreness with a traditional Thai massage.
As Songkran is also known as the Water Festival to locals, the element also plays a significant role in the celebrations, representing the washing away of bad luck and energy from the previous year to make way for a new start. As part of this symbolic tradition, guests will be invited to pour water on a Buddha statue as a sign of respect and to invite good fortune for the new year.
"We love being able to bring Thai traditions to Toronto and make our guests feel like they’re in Thailand,” Jeff Regular said. “As much as we do this for Nuit and the Thai community who are missing these experiences from home, we also do this for our team, who love any opportunity to do something unique and allow us to celebrate together and give everyone joy.”
Songkran is not only a time to celebrate the onset of a new beginning with food, drink and other activities, but for the owners and the people of Thailand, it is also a time to assist the younger generations by providing them with any supplies that they might need, be it for school or something else. It's a time to give back to the community, Nuit Regular said.
"Part of the Songkran tradition is elders giving the younger generation new things for them to use, whether it is new clothes, shoes, books, etc.," he said. "It signifies a fresh beginning for the new year. I want to continue this tradition and give back to my community by helping young students in need to attend school and assist them with buying new books, school supplies, and school uniforms."
All net proceeds from the Songkran Market food stations will be donated to sponsor the education of 10 students in northern Thailand for a whole year. Attendees can also make contributions to the donation boxes that will be placed throughout the market.
The Songkran Market will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at the PAI Downtown location at 18 Duncan St. The restaurant will remain open for dine-in lunch service with limited seating and takeout.
