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Gourmet Visits RIVER PING PALACE 385/2 Charoen Prathet Rd. Chiang Mai 50100

Romantic, romantic, romantic. How else could one describe the feeling of being so close to the river as to almost be able to put one’s hand in it, dining on excellent food, being far from maddening traffic noises, and gazing into the eyes of my darling wife. (An obligatory comment!)

For that is what I discovered at the River Ping Palace right at the southern end of Changklan Road. If you are coming from the Westin Hotel side of the river, it is just over the Mengrai Bridge and a hundred metres or so on the right. This old Thai style building, as you would have already guessed, is sited on the banks of the Ping River, and is nicely placed away from the usual over-abundance of traffic. The adjacent guesthouse has eight delightfully renovated rooms in the 100-year-old building.

But, of course, romantic and peaceful settings are not enough if one is to do this job properly, as the food and service must match the surrounds. And they did. As I have said so often in this segment, atmosphere, presentation are as much a part of dining out as the food itself, and here, all three were matchless.

To add to all this was some truly enjoyable background music from some of my favourite singers, mainly blues and jazz. Not too loud, not too soft, just enough to listen to and enjoy if you wish, but not enough to drown conversation, a common fault in many places.

The menu is not as huge as one might see in many restaurants, and that is because it is Thai food only, and each dish is a ‘special’ that takes considerable preparation and subsequent presentation. Also there were some items I had not seen before, which I always regard as a plus. Such as fak tong moo sup or minced pork done in pumpkin, which I did not try, or peek gai yat sai; chicken wings stuffed with various Northern Thai vegetables which I did, and may I add, was absolutely delicious, as was the tort man goong, freshly minced shrimp balls served on a lemongrass sticks. Another delicious offering was kar moo mun tao or stewed pork with herbs and mushrooms served in a boat-shaped dish with hot buns on the side. Thereafter came gahng hung lay; northern curried pork, which takes four hours to prepare, so you see what I mean about preparation. (One dish takes ten whole hours).

I have never been a lover of sweets to finish off but the owner, Khun Esther, insisted I try her cheesecake, one sweet dish I do have a weakness for. Needless to say, it too was scrumptious. All in all, a particularly delightful evening in what is possibly the best-sited restaurant in town and I look forward to returning in the not-too-distant future.

Graeme Monaghan