[Chiang Mai, Thailand] Royal Thai flavours at Saiyut's Kitchen (ครัวอาจารย์สายหยุด )

[klyeoh (Peter)]

Saiyut’s Kitchen is a wonderful place for a leisurely lunch - ensconced within a small bungalow set amidst a lush garden setting in a quiet suburban neighbourhood, the place serves Northern classics, besides Royal Thai cuisine.

1. Kaeng Liang Goong Sod - a clear, very spicy Northern Thai soup of prawns, pumpkin, bitter-melon leaves, gourd and straw mushrooms.
   

   

2. Hor Mok Tod - a house specialty where the Thai fish mousse, “hor mok”, was formed into balls and deep-fried:
   

   

3. Royal Thai selection:
   

   

Rhoom - egg-net parcels with minced meat & peanut filling.

Kratong Tong - pastry cups with minced meat, corn and mixed vegetable filling.

Chor Muang - steamed butterfly pea-tinted rice dumplings, with minced meat filling.

4. Khao Pad Puu - crabmeat fried rice:
   
   

Very home-cooked flavours here - prices are high by Chiang Mai standards, but very reasonable by Bangkok’s. The meal above for 3 persons cost only THB600 (US17).

It’s a bit out of the beaten path and a drive out from Chiang Mai’s rather touristy downtown area, but absolutely worth it.

Address
Saiyut’s Kitchen (ครัวอาจารย์สายหยุด )
Chang Phueak, Mueang Chiang Mai District
Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand
Tel: +66 53 211 848
Opening hours: 11AM–11am to 8pm daily, except Wed (closed).

[ElJefe (Jeff)]

I live in Chang Phueak, about 2 kms from there.
While those prices are about triple what I would ordinarily pay for lunch anywhere in the CM area, I’ll certainly give it a try soon. Thanks!

[sck]

Royal Thai cuisine

Peter, what’s Royal Thai cuisine? the type of food the royals eat?

[klyeoh (Peter)]

I do agree the prices were really off the charts, especially where Chiang Mai is concerned.

[klyeoh (Peter)]

My understanding of Royal Thai cuisine are that they’re favourite dishes which were being served to the Rama kings of the current Chakri dynasty. The term was first used by Bussaracum restaurant as their main chef had worked in the royal palaces previously, and the dishes served to the royal household - with a pronounced refinement in their preparation and presentation (e.g. small, very intricate vegetable/fruit carvings) were reproduced for a paying clientele outside, albeit at high prices.

Bussaracum was where I had my first taste of Chor Muang and Rhoom back in the 1980s:

I think Bussaracum sets the benchmark where Royal Thai cuisine is concerned, and its dishes were replicated by other restaurants like Erawan Tea Room (Bangkok), Erawan in Kuala Lumpur (no relations to its Thai counterpart), Thanying (Singapore), etc.

[klyeoh (Peter)]

For Kuala Lumpur residents who want a taste of Royal Thai cuisine but do not want to fly all the way to Thailand, Erawan at DC Mall (Damansara town centre) does quite respectable renditions of the cuisine:

[Kuala Lumpur] Thai dinner at Erawan, DC Mall

KL’s top-rated Thai restaurant, Erawan, has moved to larger premises in Damansara Town Centre’s new DC Mall. Still the same very efficient mainly-Filipino crew. Appetisers and mains are superb. Mango with sticky rice, though, bombed out spectacularly - an unexpected glitch in Erawan’s armour. Trakool Yodsuk aka Chef Korn helms Erawan with a steady hand, staying close to the classics most of the time, but also experimenting with newer ingredients and more inventive combinations occasionally. Er…