Chiang Mai Secret Eats...

This secret is making the rounds by word of mouth, which is how I learned about it. Tucked into a small courtyard behind Monk Chat at Wat Suan Dok is one of Chiang Mai's best Thai restaurants: Pun Pun. Specializing in organic, vegetarian food, they grow many of the ingredients on their farm in Mae Taeng, north of town. The dishes are prepared with a light touch and beautifully presented. A true feast for the eyes, as well as the stomach, is the salad of edible flowers, shown here with avocado dressing.



Another dish we recently enjoyed there, with friend Pooh, was 'Laab Dao Hu', or 'laab' salad made with tofu. 'Laab' is a spicy mixture from Isaan (NE Thailand) of meat, or in this case tofu, shallots, mint, chilis, lemongrass, lime leaves, and a light dressing. We also had a very substantial tofu 'steak' with a creamy green peppercorn sauce and some stir-fried vegetables on the side. Their wonderful red rice accompanied the entrees as an extra.













On another occasion I had an exceptional Banana Flower Salad and Wing Bean Salad, plus a nicely filling Mussaman curry with pineapple, and accompanied by roti. Recent price increases have put some dishes up to 50 baht, but most are 40, which is very good value, especially for the quality.

More information about the admirable efforts of these folks in the field of sustainable living and agriculture is available on their website and includes a page about the restaurant.

Burma Cyclone Conundrum

Sorry for the silence. We are catching up after the Holidaze. However, we have avidly watched the situation in Burma in the aftermath of Cyclone/Hurricane Nargis and want to share a very good, up to date source of information: The Irrawaddy News Magazine. It is a periodical published here in Chiang Mai and available online at the link provided. They have a rather unique perspective as Burmese exiles.