Thursday 6 August 2015

The Thai Meadow

The so-called Thai Meadow (Thai Wiese in German) is the nickname for a curious event that started some 20 years ago at Prussia Park in Berlin's Wilmersdorf neighborhood: Berlin's Thai Community gathering and socializing while selling their homemade food on the side. Starting out as a purely social affair with no more than 20 people, with Berlin's Thai Community continuously growing, today Thai Meadow attracts hundreds, if not thousands, of people - Asian and non-Asian locals as well as some clued-up tourists - particularly on weekends. On a hot summer Sunday, the whole meadow is dipped in a sea of colors, covered as it is by parasols under which the Thai ladies seek shelter from the boiling heat. 

Local authorities turn a blind eye to the goings-on, something that cannot be said of some of the many Thai restaurants across Berlin who - fearing competition for their own businesses - were hoping for the local Council to clamp down on it. Luckily, so far it's business as usual at Thai Meadow, and anyone who's into Thai food is highly recommended to give it a try: It's an experience not to be missed! Needless to say, the food alone is worth the schlep to Wilmersdorf, but watching these women preparing and cooking it, is a whole different kettle of fish - literally! You can see how food for these ladies is so much more than mere nourishment -  it's a way of life! Cooking, it seems, is deeply ingrained in them, as they turn a day under their parasol into an event, simply by peeling, slicing, chopping and mashing their ingredients, which are freshly bought (as I witnessed myself) at one of the many Asian supermarkets. 

However, with all that delicious food to taste plus the whole ceremony around it, it's easy to spend a whole afternoon at Thai Meadow, especially as there is also a tea-room close-byone of Berlin's last that's still in operation, and so time spent at Thai Meadow is stimulation not just for your taste buds, but there's lots of eye candy as well!

... as always, please click on any image for the gallery to open: 






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