I'd come back here for THIS meal alone....

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Let it be known that I love food. Almost all food. And I only say "almost" as a disclaimer-- I'll try just about everything once. Everything from hearty meat and potatoes, to the most delicate sashimi, from slurping oysters and tasting tentacles at eight years old (thanks to a trick by Mom and Dad), to a steak you don't even need a butter knife to cut, vegetarian, vegan, caught and butchered in the backyard, if you cook it (or serve it), I'll probably eat it. I've eaten sea urchin, escargot, sashimi (raw fish) that was literally alive the second before it touches your lips, horse meat, shark fin (by accident!!), and the list goes on and on. That being said, experiencing Thai food in Chiang Mai was one of the highlights of my entire eating career, and it's been a good one. So often during our busy lives and overworked days we eat unhealthily, or "forget" to eat, but mainly we are forgetting that eating and tasting and savoring and smelling is an art, it's something to be cherished and desired and sought after. Food and the actual process of sitting down to eat a meal should not be taken for granted, especially not with good food. Sidenote: on the topic of food, I am usually pretty health conscious, but on vacation I usually go for whatever I'm craving, be it healthy or not. Luckily in Thailand I always found something that I was craving, and it was almost always healthy (fresh fruit, local curries with wonderfully exotic flavors, etc).

I ate at a small but busy vegetarian cafe about a fifteen minute walk from my hostel, and it was some of the best food I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. Chalk it up to the lack of sleep over the past two days, the airport vending machines, or the fact that this was SO good, I don't care. Go here if you have a chance and order the exact same thing. You will NOT be disappointed! After further explanation, I learned that this restaurant is also a base of a cooking school that offers classes to visitors. They're quite expensive for my budget, so I opted to eat the amazing dishes, take pictures, and try to decipher the ingredients myself. Fine with me!

I ordered the lunch set, in which the first course came with expertly prepared, piping hot spring rolls with plenty of savory sweet and sour sauce on the side. I had only finished about half of them when the main course was served: a Thai green curry with a plate of jasmine steamed brown rice on the side (in a heart-shaped ring and served on a banana leaf, no less!) Check out the pictures--a fair warning though-- you might be searching for recipes and or the next flight to Chiang Mai sooner than you imagined!

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