We visited Chiang Mai in 2005. It's a riverside city with a well-preserved old centre (moated and walled) full of temples, traditional wooden houses and wonderful places to eat. After the intensity of Bangkok, it feels like a small and charming town, with cafés and bookshops and the feeling that there is time to relax over a Mai Thai or a fruit shake and watch the world pass. It's a nice base for excursions or local activities (like a cooking class or visit to an elephant camp) and there are plenty of excellent restaurants to choose from, as well as the food stands in the lively night market (more of that in a future blog). If you are looking for something in a beautiful and tranquil setting, with fresh-tasting food that is smart without being stuffy or stuck-up, try the Whole Earth Restaurant.
It is set in a double-storey traditional Thai wooden house in a garden near the night market, on Sri Donchai (we don't have any digital photos from our last trip to Chiang Mai, so this one is borrowed from UnderBigHill, who posted it to Tripadvisor). You are greeted with the usual Wai and asked to remove your shoes before stepping inside. Weather permitting, you could also be seated on the balcony or in the garden., which is beautifully lit. They describe themselves as presenting a "combined dining experience between two cultures of traditional Thai and Ayurvedic Indian cuisines...to customers for their enlightened minds and blissful souls". Vegetarian dishes feature strongly on the menu too (the Whole Earth started in 1970 as a centre for Transcendental Meditation in Chiang Mai and also its first vegetarian restaurant), but we didn't know any of this when we went there based on the recommendation in our guide book. Actually, if I hadn't read up afterwards, I would still not know about this side of the restaurant, so don't be put off if, like us, the thought of going vegetarian makes you break out in a cold sweat or if your idea of enlightenment is reaching for the electric light switch.
Although there is Indian food on the menu, we much prefer Thai cuisine and also avoided the strictly veg items like Spicy Marinated Minced Beancurd with Mint salad, so this review speaks only to the meat-containing Thai part of the menu. There's plenty of seafood, as well as chicken in the various soups, salads, curries and noodle dishes. For drinks we headed straight to the lassis and fruit shakes - delicious as always. Try the Tom Yum (hot and sour chicken soup) or spring rolls to start (I hear good things about the satays too, although this seems less authentically Thai), before moving onto a main course like sweet and sour prawns in a whole coconut or barbequed prawns, or perhaps the fried chicken with garlic and lemongrass. The old favourites prawn/crab fried rice and Pad Thai are also on offer.
I notice a few recent complaints about the restaurant's service and prices (17% is added to the bill, but this is clearly stated on the menu) on TripAdvisor. Based on my own experience, I would certainly go back to the Whole Earth the next time I'm in Chiang Mai, but you may want to check out more recent comments too.
The Whole Earth Restaurant is at 88 Sri Donchai Rd, Chiang Mai, Tel: 051 282 463.
Although there is Indian food on the menu, we much prefer Thai cuisine and also avoided the strictly veg items like Spicy Marinated Minced Beancurd with Mint salad, so this review speaks only to the meat-containing Thai part of the menu. There's plenty of seafood, as well as chicken in the various soups, salads, curries and noodle dishes. For drinks we headed straight to the lassis and fruit shakes - delicious as always. Try the Tom Yum (hot and sour chicken soup) or spring rolls to start (I hear good things about the satays too, although this seems less authentically Thai), before moving onto a main course like sweet and sour prawns in a whole coconut or barbequed prawns, or perhaps the fried chicken with garlic and lemongrass. The old favourites prawn/crab fried rice and Pad Thai are also on offer.
I notice a few recent complaints about the restaurant's service and prices (17% is added to the bill, but this is clearly stated on the menu) on TripAdvisor. Based on my own experience, I would certainly go back to the Whole Earth the next time I'm in Chiang Mai, but you may want to check out more recent comments too.
The Whole Earth Restaurant is at 88 Sri Donchai Rd, Chiang Mai, Tel: 051 282 463.
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