The following description of a Thai mealtime was written in the 1850’s by
Monsignor Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix:
The Thai take all their meals seated on a mat or carpet. The dishes
are enclosed in great bronze vases with a lid in a conical shape and adorned
with red cloth. The dishes are cut in small pieces and the rice is placed
aside and to the right in a great, widening bowl. On the left side, there is
a basin with water in which floats another small basin to drink. The diners
have neither spoons, nor forks, nor knives. They only use a mother-of-pearl
spoon to take from the plates. For all the rest, fingers are sufficient for
them. Only when they are satisfied do they drink pure water or a cup of tea.
Drinking from the same bowl or cup is not shocking to them. Among the rich
people, the husband usually eats before his wife who serves him at the
table.The Princes and the King are only different from their subjects by the
richness of the cutlery and the variety of dishes.
The dining hour is, so to speak, sacred for the Thai. One never
bothers somebody who is eating; even masters themselves watch out not to
interrupt the meal of their slaves. The time of a meal is also a time for
silence. Even if one is with ten or twenty people to eat together, one
barely hears a few words escape one or the other, so deeply engrossed are
they in their business! Thus, their meals take only about a quarter of an
hour. One must also remark that they never drink before or during a meal,
only afterwards.
