NEWCASTLE restaurant Mantra Thai Dining is welcoming the region’s foodies to join its celebrations to mark Thai New Year this month.
Diners visiting Mantra Thai on the evening of Wednesday 13 April can enjoy special performances from traditional Thai dancers and musicians.
Mantra Thai’s wine expert will also be on hand offering tastings of some of the new wines added to the restaurant’s wine list, expertly chosen to bring out the flavours of fresh Thai herbs and spices used in the making of Thai cuisine.
Songkran celebrations will continue on Thursday 14 April as the restaurant launches the Mantra Business Club, a networking event where members of the region’s business community can enjoy an evening of cocktails, Thai tapas and traditional music and dance, whilst picking up a Mantra Business Club card.
From 13 to 15 April, Thai New Year, or Songkran as it’s known in Thailand, is a time of cleansing and renewal, with traditions including visiting temples to sprinkle statues with water, washing the hands of older relatives, cleaning – ready to start the New Year in a fresh home and setting New Year’s resolutions.
Songkran festival-goers are also known to take to the streets of Thailand armed with buckets of water and water pistols to soak each other, as April is one of the hottest times of the year in Thailand and tradition says – the wetter you get, the luckier your year will be.
Mantra Thai owner, Jeab Prapunwong, said: “Songkran is an exciting and important part of Thai culture and an occasion which myself and my team at Mantra Thai look forward to celebrating in the North East each year.
“As one of the only restaurants in the city to offer truly authentic Thai cuisine, we also want to offer a taste of how New Year is celebrated in Thailand, and welcome diners to join us on Wednesday 13 April for an evening of traditional entertainment Songkran-style – without the buckets of water and water pistols!
“We are keen to offer the region’s business community a range of offers and privileges, as well as an opportunity to get together and network, and what better time to launch our Business Club than during Thai New Year.
“We are looking forward to celebrating with our diners over the Songkran period and hope to bring a splash of the festival to the Quayside.”
Anyone interested in attending the Mantra Business Club launch evening should contact fran@opr.co.uk by 5.30pm on Friday 8th April to be added to the attendee list.
For more information on Mantra Thai Dining visit www.mantra-thai.co.uk and for bookings call 0191 232 6080.