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The heritage of Northern Thailand and of Chiang
Mai itself, is nowhere more evident than at Huan Soontaree.
There is something here for each of the five senses. It is most
evident in the taste and smell of Chiang Mai specific cuisine that
emanates from the kitchen of head chef Salunu Muangwon. No Western
food invades these premises - but there are any manner of river
fish, northern curries and chili sauces.
Many interesting aspects delight the restaurant goers’ sight.
The decorations of this classic traditional house, with its multitude
of cloth hangings and scattered antiques lining the walls, is most
definitely northern. Entries in the menu and even the name of the
restaurant itself are in Northern Thai. Huan is Northern Thai for
“Ban,” (house in Central Thai dialect). Literally, it
is the “House of Soontaree Vechanont,” one of the most
famous singers to hail from Northern Thailand.
Then there is the feel of the hard wood floor upstairs, where patrons
are seated in the traditional northern style around a table without
chairs.
And the sounds - well, that is where this restaurant stands apart
from the rest of the eateries that line the river. The sounds, instrumental
and vocal, are all northern. The owner, for which the restaurant
is named, comes to the microphone six nights out of seven, never
on Sunday, to sing northern songs, celebrating her beloved culture
- the culture of the north.
It is later at night when Huan Soontaree really comes alive, when
the songs start to flow and the darkness of the evening matches
the black tablecloths and dimly lit interior of this restaurant.
On weekend nights, reservations are almost always required. Come
early, anytime after 4 p.m. when the restaurant officially opens
and you can catch sight of the staff preparing for the night ahead
and even random snatches of kayaks making their way up and down
the Ping River. You also see the scattered bits of rust left on
the tables, from the rainy season floods and the age of the building
itself. Nighttime hides these eccentricities.
Some nine years ago, further strengthening her quest to promote
the Lanna culture, Soontaree convinced the talented Thai chef of
the Prince Hotel, Khun Muangwon to accept the essential role of
Head of Operations at her ‘house’. Ever since, Muangwon’s
kitchen has served a unique array of Chiang Mai treats, specially
and more exactingly prepared than in other locations around town.
One can sense the dedication in his explanation of how he makes
his Gang Hang Lay, one of the classic pork curries of the north,
creamy and coconut-laced.
“That has a real good taste,” he says. “It takes
three hours to make it. I make 15 kilos a day. I use both curry
powder and hang lay powder and I use sugar cane instead of sugar.
People usually don’t bother with those. They just use sugar.
It’s very difficult to make. It takes a lot of time.”
Our party tried some of the other dishes of the house, including
a northern sampler, Saba fish with soy sauce and steamed crab/pork
meat on bean curd. The northern sampler included sticky rice, an
array of sausages and the ubiquitous green chili sauce of the north
- “nam prik noom.” This sampler is very authentic in appearance
and flavour. Although we have been in Thailand long enough to have
seen and tasted some rather unusual dishes, we must admit that we
sent the raw items in the sampler back to be cooked! The remaining
portions were highly palatable. The saba was flaky and succulent,
cooked just long enough to enhance its sweet flavour. The crab/pork
meat complemented the bean curd in both texture and taste and was
laced with spring onions and egg.
There are so many other specialties to choose from - the northern
sampler is almost more of an appetizer to whet your appetite for
more.
Besides the aforementioned pork curry, Huan Soontaree is known
for its boneless grilled snakehead fish, stuffed with garlic, egg
and pepper. That dish is another of Muangwon’s inventions,
the other is chicken stuffed with crab meat and egg, topped with
mayonnaise and lemon sauce.
Muangwon is an amiable person, well-disposed to talk about food
preparation and the long hours he usually has to put in to ensure
constant quality.
When asked about the continuing success of Huan Soontaree and the
reasons it stands apart from all the other riverside attractions
of Chiang Mai, he offers up the following concise explanation -
“it has a good location, good food and a really good singer.”
Huan Soontaree Vechanont is located
at 46/1 Wang Singkhum Road in Chiang Mai.
Tel: 053-252445, Fax:
053-872348.
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