Editor Pick
Aroon Rai
- July 9, 2002
- Rated 4 of 5 by
uncoding from San Francisco, California
Aroon Rai is an open air restaurant located near the Tha Phae Gate where you can enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner everyday including Western holidays. Hours: 8am to 11PM. Nothing in the decor draws tourists to its tables, except the wide open front that welcomes all in any attire. It's one of those places you would pass unless you heard about it through the grapevine- even then you might pass it believing you were played for the fool. That's why I was surprised to find myself at this restaurant every morning for an early lunch during my stay in Chiang Mai no matter how long I searched the alleys for another place.
The tasty dishes that kept drawing me back include delicious curries and fried fishes, as well as one popular dish good for breakfast or dessert: sliced mango over sweet rice. And the price is right! This is not the cheapest place to eat in Thailand, but for $3 you can enjoy more than one dish at Aroon Rai.
The service at this restaurant just outside the wall from the pub district of Chiang Mai is uninspired, but that just makes the food the star. If you're looking for a Khan Toke dinner this place will not satisfy. But if you want to park your moped right by the table- not too close- and immediately point out your choice of the offerings on the line and to be served in just minutes, then Aroon Rai is for you. Hot mounds of sticky rice with unskinned fish is one of my favorites. The other fish, including the big monsters some of which I've never tried, are recommended for they look intriguing on the platter. When full please feel free to leave Aroon Rai, but when you return for another meal you must try the chicken curry with potatoes or the duck stew. In the morning you can start with a fresh squeezed juice- mango, orange, pineapple and even lumyai in season. Tourist breakfasts are also offered as well as fruit plates, and coffee is served, too.
Rumor has it that there is an upstairs to this restaurant, but in my many visits I've just sat right down on the first floor and enjoyed my meal.
Overall, Aroon Rai is close to ranking high and low like the House of Nanking in San Francisco. That popular restaurant with an awful decor has the worst service and the best food for the price in the city- so patrons love to hate it. At Aroon Rai the service is efficient and uninspired, rather than bad, but the food ranks up there with the best casual dishes in the city. I love to almost hate it, but know in my heart of hearts that for better food one must squat on mats in a rice field.
Nearby, across from JJ's Bakery and cafe, you may take a Thai cooking course to reproduce similar recipes to those dishes offered at Aroon Rai when you are home.
From journal Chiang Mai & Beyond