Tamarind Village: Ruen Tamarind Restaurant

Tamarind Village is a stylish boutique hotel sitting in Chiang Mai’s historic downtown. Inspired by traditional Northern Thai architecture, Tamarind Village is a rare sight in the hotel tourism industry. They are embracing their cultural identity not only to preserve but using their platform to educate its customers about Northern Thai history.  On the outside walls,  historical Thai art photos were hung. Moreover, each picture had text, in both English and Thai, explaining the significance of the piece.

As I walked into the Ruen Tamarind Restaurant, I was informed that a Professor from Chiang Mai University was going to give a lecture on Lanna history. I would have been allowed to attend, and I would have loved to if time had permitted as i was not expecting to stay long.

Northern Thai Cuisine

This theme of embracing local culture can be seen on the menu of Ruen Tamarind Restaurant.  As the food selections are various Northern Thai recipes. Which also includes some menus that you rarely see listed anymore. When you open up their menu, it greets with you a brief introduction into what makes Northern Thai dishes unique. It lets you know that the influence of neighboring countries such as Burma, Laos and Shan states, can be felt in some of these dishes.

All the dishes that Ruen Tamarind Restaurant served us have one thing in common, they’re delicious! Fresh and vibrant the food fits perfectly with the hot weather that was going on at the time. If you’re visiting Chiang Mai for the first time, I believe this would be a great culinary experience.