Mira Terrace @ Ratilanna Riverside Spa and Resort

I generally don't really go to hotels for Thai food mainly because I assume (wrongly!) that Thai food at hotels are somehow modified to suit foreigners' tastes. A Thai friend, though, mentioned that he always goes to hotels for Thai food as he find the taste authentic and they use "real" ingredients. This is certainly the case for Mira Terrace. The Thai food there is excellent, and top quality.

Mira Terrace is a very lovely restaurant in a very lovely resort. The restaurant has a deck overlooking the Ping River, or you can choose to dine in air-conditioned comfort, and still with a view of the river.

Here we have Spicy Banana Blossom Salad with Grilled Prawns Skewer. It was very good - very nice peanut sauce, but also tangy and spicy at the same time. Nicely done!

Pan Seared Grouper fish with Chilli Sauce - also very good, covered with sweetish chilli sauce and crispy fried basil leaves.

Grilled Smoke Duck Breast with Tamarind Sauce - the duck breast was excellent - smokey and melt in your mouth tenderness. The sauce was like a tamarind syrup - use only a little bit as it is very strongly flavoured and quite overwhelming.

Green curry chicken - Mira Terrace makes an excellent green curry chicken. Beautifully smooth and rich curry. You could really taste the quality of the coconut milk. Loved it!

From the dishes I had, I would say my favourites are the duck and the green curry. There is something else on the menu that I would really love to try - Hung Ley Lamb - Northern braised lamb curry with ginger, gingko nut and cashew nuts served with crushed roti. Sounds fantastic, doesn't it?  Unfortunately most of the people I was with didn't eat lamb. Next time!

Mira Terrace also serves a number of international and fusion dishes.

The bill came to about 1800 baht for 5 people. Quite good value, I think for the quality and ambience, not to mention very good service.

The only downside was that the food came out very slowly. Perhaps the chef was making everything fresh. We were given a plate of very nice bread to have while waiting though.

Mira Terrace
Ratilanna Riverside Spa & Resort
33 Changklan Rd, Muang, Chiang Mai
Tel: 053 999 333
Opens daily:
Breakfast: 6am-10:30am
All day menu: 11am-11pm
http://www.ratilannachiangmai.com/dining_mira.php

Alfresco dining on the terrace

Cafe Mini

Mini is certainly the theme of this funky little cafe on Nimmanhaemin Rd - "Cafe Mini". The entrees, and some other dishes, the tables (which are kind of small), but thank goodness the chairs (and mains) are more regular sized!

Although rather small in size, the food at Cafe Mini is very good - beautifully presented, and more importantly, very good quality and tastes great.

The first dish to arrive was the Bruschetta - fresh vine ripened tomato salsa on garlic crouton with parmesan and extra virgin olive oil. The "crouton" was nice and crispy and the tomato salsa lovely and refreshing. 79 baht.

Fish and Chips - another appetizer dish (which means..mini sized), and the presentation totally unexpected! I've never had fish and chips this way before, and it was very good. The chips were nicely fried, and the fish sticks were nice and crispy. Don't worry about the cutleries - just use your hands! Served with tartar sauce and malt vinegar, and tomato ketchup. 99 baht. 

The mains, I was told by the waitress, are "regular" size. It's certainly is a more substantial portion. Here is the House Style Baby Ribs - slow cooked pork spareribs with barbecue sauce, sweet corn and french fries, and as you can see, a side serving of lovely vegies. The ribs were lovely -  tender and  succulent. The sauce was on the sweet side, but nicely flavoured and tasted great. 249 baht. 

The menu also boasted lots of other interesting sounding dishes that I'd love to try...eg. Duck breast - Roasted duck breast served with basil, potatoes, vegetables and cherry orange sauce. The Salmon Steak with saffron lemon cream sauce also sounded pretty good. I guess I'll just have to go back and try other dishes!

I really enjoyed having dinner at Cafe Mini. The servings are quite small, but it is a bit of an experience dining here - funky ambience, friendly staff, good food. 

Cafe Mini
12/2, Soi 9 Nimmanhaemin Rd, Chiang Mai
(Opposite Monkey Club)
Tel: 053 212 468, 088 411 4668



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