This little gem of an outdoor seating area is found at Khun Churn's Vegetarian Restaurant. No matter how hot it may be in Chiang Mai (it's still February, so not too bad yet), you can count on a cool misty breeze, a peaceful and shady ambiance, and cruelty-free food. And especially at lunch time, you can get it for a great price! The lunch buffet is 129 Baht (about US$4) per person, and this includes a huge salad bar, brown rice, a bunch of main dishes and soups, side dishes like som tam and various things to dip in various sauces, dessert, and even a selection of different herbal teas and fruit juices you've probably never heard of.
I've been to Khun Churn's a number of times, and this time I went with Ajaan Mike & Ann, who were the first people to take me here! We all started off with the salad bar.
Yes, those salad greens sure did tower. And they were surrounded not only by lots of salad items you might expect (red cabbage, carrot, green peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, bell peppers, shredded beet, shredded yellow squash, tofu slices crispy on the outside), but also some you might not expect if you've never eaten at a Thai salad bar: kidney beans, barley, taro chunks, pineapple, guava, papaya, apple, steamed sweet potato....
So as you can see, you can create yourself quite the rainbow of a salad! There were about five or six different kinds of homemade dressings to choose from as well (soy sauce based, peanut-based, caesar style, sesame based, etc.). I chose the peanut-based one and dolloped a few spoonfuls all over my salad. I have to say, my idea of what can be part of a "salad" has expanded a lot. I like putting nuts and legumes in my salads for some extra protein. I like lots of greens, and a bunch of fruit too. Tomato is a fruit anyway, so why not add some some apple and papaya pieces? I used to think it was crazy to have "salad" as a meal, but when I fill my plate with a variety of grains, fruits and vegetables, I feel full and happy.
I chose lemongrass tea to have with my first plate of food. Lemongrass is a common ingredient in Thai dishes like Tom Yam, but it can also be a tea. It aids in digestion and promotes clear skin apparently! All the teas at Khun Churn's are unsweetened, and then you can add as little or as much syrup as you like.
Since I had eaten a big breakfast, I wasn't too hungry after my big plate of salad, so I bypassed the soups and main dishes...
... and got a plate of some favorite tidbits:
On the left is vegetarian som tam (papaya salad, which I featured in my
last post) with coconut milk rice. I was curious what Khun Churn's version of "vegetarian som tam" would taste like. I thought it tasted pretty good. It was definitely on the sweet side, just a little spicy, with less of an emphasis on salty and sour. That paired with the sweet coconut milk rice was a new take on som tam, but I have to say that I kinda liked it!
On the bottom and right of my plate are some different deep fried food: spinach, tofu and some kind of gourd squash. Each one had its own specific dipping sauce to go with it (spicy, peanut-based and sweet). You can't go wrong with deep fried battered anything! On the left is another chunk of steamed sweet potato from the salad bar (it was sooooo sweet and tasty!). And the bowl at the top is a traditional Northern Thai dish called Khao Soi.
Khao Soi is a spicy red curry soup, usually with some coconut milk in it. It's usually cooked with chicken and served in a bowl over egg noodles. So, I left out the egg noodles, and the chicken is replaced with some texturized soy protein. So, I didn't really think about it, but the crispy noodles that I put on top (which is typical), are also egg noodles. Oops, so I guess I ate the egg noodles after all! This dish is one of my favorite Thai dishes. It's got a realllly tasty curry that is spicy and sweet and creamy at the same time, not overly salty, and fresh lime squeezed on top gives it some sourness as well. YUM! Also, I think it could be served over brown rice instead of egg noodles and taste great. Or just eaten plain like a soup!
I chomped down this plateful of food while sipping on Bael Juice (a kind of fruit called น้ำมะตูม in Thai - Ma-tum - that takes 11 months to ripen on the tree). I looked it up on Wikipedia, and there was a section titled "Hazards," which read: "during the bael season there is danger from falling fruits which are very hard and heavy. They can cause injury and property damage." Ha!
Well, no damage will be done to your head, your stomach, or your soul when you eat at Khun Churn's! Great quality authentic Thai food at a great price, all vegetarian and mostly vegan. Check it out!
Khun Churn's has a regular menu from 8am-10pm, apart from the 129 Baht buffet from 11am-2:30pm. You can find it at
Soi 17 of Neimanheiman Road in Chiang Mai.
