What is the MinnesoThai Street food festival? I’m glad you asked!! It’s a delicious event in St. Louis Park, MN. 2022 was the 4th annual event. I’ll be honest, I stumbled across this event while sorting through the events page on the Explore Minnesota website. And I’m SO glad I did!!
After spending the summer camping at the lake and working on my bathroom makeover projects, I was ready to get out of the house and find something new to do around the Minneapolis/St Paul area. My first stop for inspiration is always the Explore Minnesota website. You can sort and filter for many different types of activities and events as well as locations. Since I wanted to stay close to home, I filtered for metro area events.
I found several events coming up in October (Check back often as I add new travel adventures), but I wanted to see what may be coming up sooner. That’s when I found the MinnesoThai Street Food Festival. It sounded exactly like what I needed; close to home, something new, flexibility with when to attend, and best of all; FOOD!!
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MinnesoThai Street Food Festival…. never heard of it.
Yeah, I had not heard about it before, but why not give it a try? I didn’t have many expectations but have to admit I was surprised when I saw how many tents and people were there.
This year was the 4th annual MinnesoThai Street Food Festival hosted by Wat Promwachirayan in Saint Louis Park, MN. It is a two-day event full of various cultural events, demonstrations, and of course authentic Thai food!
Performances, Demonstrations, and Contests
The MinnesoThai Steet Food Festival is so much more than just food. There were 25 different scheduled events on the main stage over the two-day event. They offered everything from cultural drumming, singing, and dancing to Pad Thai cooking demonstrations and even a drag show. I knew there were a lot of things going on though the day but if I had known the schedule and timing, I would have adjusted my arrival time. When we arrived, they had just finished up the Pad Thai cooking demonstration.
As a self-proclaimed foodie and home chef, I would have LOVED to see this. I love to eat Thai food but have to admit I don’t have very much experience cooking it. I plan to change that soon but for now, I’ll have to stick with Thai restaurants.
We did get to see the traditional drumming and dance demonstration. The MinnesoThai event organizers did a wonderful job of explaining the meaning behind the different drum beats and clicks. They told the story behind the songs giving me a much deeper understanding and appreciation of what I witnessed.
Experience different cultures/food
Humans tend to be creatures of habit. Which means we gravitate toward the familiar. As much as I enjoy traveling and experiencing different places I still fall back into the familiar from time to time. While attending the MinnesoThai Street Food Festival was not a huge push out of my norm, it was different which is awesome!
Organizers of events like MinnesoThai don’t just put these things together to bring their individual communities together, they do these kinds of events to share their culture with everyone. If you have always wanted to travel to a different country but were afraid or unable to go for some reason, a food festival like MinnesoThai is a great way to experience the culture and people without leaving your home area.
The Food at MinnesoThai is AMAZING!
If you love Thai food already or have always wanted to try some, there is no better place to experience it than a festival like MinnesoThai. Not only was the food authentic but it was affordable!! There was a wide variety of options from egg rolls to Papaya Salad and Pad Thai even Thai Crispy Crepes! Can’t decide what to eat? Bring a friend or two and share so you can experience more options, which is what we decided to do.
For our main meal, we decided to split an order of pork egg rolls, Thai BBQ pork, and Pad Thai. All were amazing!! I don’t know what it is but there is something different about Thai egg rolls. They are light and crispy but so full of flavor you don’t even want to use the sauce provided. The MinnesoThai egg rolls did NOT disappoint! The Thai BBQ pork was juicy and so flavorful I could have eaten two orders by myself.
The Pad Thai was one of the main reasons I not only wanted to go to the MinnesoThai Street Food Festival but also the reason I wanted to bring my partner in crime. I convinced him to try it once but ever since that first time the Pad Thai he had was not great. If I was going to convince him to try it again, the MinnesoThai Street Food Festival was the place. I was right, we both LOVED it!
There were so many more things we wanted to try but were so full we could not do anymore. One awesome feature of the MinnesoThai event is all food can be ordered to go.
Thai Crispy Crepes
Before attending the MinnesoThai Street Food Festival I had never heard of Thai Crispy Crepes. They looked good so I decided I wanted one. I do not know what all is in these but it’s a mix of magic and deliciousness!! It’s made with a crepe batter spread thin on a flat grill. Once it’s cooked, they add the magic deliciousness. I ordered one with a strawberry base and cornflakes but there was so much more inside. Again, I don’t know what they added other than strawberry and cornflakes but it was one of the most delicious sweet treats I’ve ever had!! They offered savory options as well. Next year, I may have to try one of each.
People watch
One of my favorite things to do at festivals and events is people-watch. The MinnesoThai Street Food Festival did not disappoint. There was such a wide variety of people in attendance you could people-watch for hours. I know some people are afraid to attend cultural festivals because they don’t think they will fit in or that they are only for people who associate with that culture. This thought process could not be farther from the truth. It’s a perfect place for people to learn more and experience different cultures and foods without standing out or feeling out of place.
I was so happy I found this event. The food was excellent and the events were not only entertaining but informative. A perfect way to spend a warm sunny fall day in Minnesota!
What kind of food festivals are in your city?
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