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The boundaries between the outside and the inside world are less
distinct at the Bai Fern Restaurant in Mae Hong Son - a forest of
potted greenery erupts from almost every wall, railing and corner.
A cloth-wrapped tree trunk enters through one section of the floor
and exits back out through the roof, disappearing into the sky.
A sign on one wall captures the spirit - “If you love nature,
let us be your resting place.”
Established 16 years ago by owner Tawatchai Nateepagone, the Bai
Fern is located in an expansive open-air wooden building on Khunlumprapas
Road, within walking distance of the downtown shopping areas of
the city. The Bai Fern is an integral part of the eco-tourism dream
of Nateepagone, a fern aficionado who went on to establish the Fern
Resort just outside of town. The Resort offers much of the same
cuisine in a quiet, more rural setting.
“We’re one of the oldest restaurants in town,” says
Manager Sumalee Sangduanchai.
Due to this long history, the Bai Fern is able to offer an expansive
selection of the North’s favourite cuisine, such as Ook Gai;
country-style chicken curry with lemongrass, nahm prik noom; roasted
banana pepper dipping sauce with fresh vegetables and lahp muang;
a saltier version of the common lahp found in the Northeast. The
fried chicken in pandan leaves is popular with visitors, as is the
steamed whole snakehead fish with vegetables. The latter takes a
good half hour to prepare.
Our party of three tried several of the specialty dishes at the
Bai Fern, mixing elements of the North into a delicious sampling
- the lahp muang, the haw moke blar chon; fried fish with curry
paste in a pot, pakut fie dang, the fried fine-leafed fern with
oyster sauce and gang kha gai muang; local curry with chicken and
mixed vegetable. All of this was supported by a generous portion
of sticky rice, the backbone of any good Northern meal.
The dishes complimented each other well. The lahp muang, which
is fried in blood and thus has a darker appearance than regular
lahp, was both spicy and salty, while the haw moke provided us with
succulent chunks of the same snakehead fish pureed in a sweet coconut
curry. The fine-leafed fern is almost identical to water spinach
(pak boong) and like that dish is stir fried with chilies and garlic
in brown bean sauce. The local curry and indeed, most of the curry
of the north, is packed with herbs and vegetables (long beans, baby
eggplants, mouse-ear mushrooms and wing beans) it resembles a meaty
stew as much as it does a curry. All curries of the north use a
soybean paste as the main ingredient (local markets usually have
large stacks of rounded pressed bean discs); coconut milk and shrimp
paste are less commonly seen.
The restaurant had run out of one of its big sellers, the fried
Pai River fish with garlic and pepper. Diners should come early
to order this province-exclusive white-skinned fish, which abounds
in the rainy season.
Atmosphere is a strong component of the restaurant’s allure,
with the evening’s cool season breezes mixing with the sounds
of folk music through the night. Burmese, Shan and Northern Thai
carvings and figurines are artfully arranged amidst the myriad of
plant life. The effect is of an eclectic Northern greenhouse.
Khun Sangduanchai said that because of this natural environment,
diners could always experience elements of the natural world around
them, fauna as well as flora. Seemingly underscoring her point,
a column of black ants slowly made their way along one railing nearby
where we were sitting; in tune as the diners were to the restaurant’s
atmosphere. Mosquitoes can also come and go, depending on the season,
so it’s wise to wear long pants or pack some lotion when going
to eat there.
As an added bonus to both diners and the environment, the restaurant
offers a 10 percent discount to patrons arriving by bicycle.
The Bai Fern expanded eight years ago and there is seating in both
the older front section and the newer back area. The front section
includes a mini gift-shop of local crafts (one wall has become a
virtual gallery of Burmese string puppets) and there is an Asian
Books carousel for those who are looking for the latest soft-covers.
For a more private and intimate meal, diners can choose the little
nooks along the railings to the side and back of the restaurant.
The Bai Fern Restaurant is located at
87 Khunlumprapas Road, Mae Hong Son, Thailand
- Tel. 053 611 374.
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