Buddys Bistro Terrace is a little, clean and well-decorated eating place with outdoor seating and indoor air-conditioned seating too fir the sizzling days, located right at the entrance of Nim City Daily in Chiang Mai. I discovered it while browsing for food after checking out a selection of Thai and Japanese restaurants nearby. Buddy saw me walking past his bistro and asked me if I had any other food in mind other than Japanese (which I did by the way). He was so welcoming I had to stop. Buddy, in his professional apron attire, was convivial and cordial and tried to personally understand what I was after. Once the choice was made and the food matter was out of the way and the order passed to the kitchen, he spoke a few words in Italian language and told me he was Australian, but of Lithuanian extraction. I then started slowly working my way through the menu, a thick folder with plenty of Western and Thai food, all looking yummy I must say. Yet, I had already gone for beef stroganoff and there was no room for changing my mind. I limited myself to browsing all the choices: chicken and potato curry, fish and chips, English pies, home-made burgers, you name it. The Thai menu was also extensive, with soups and currys and spicy salads… A good selection of Asian beers was available so I ordered a Lao Beer. Then my beef stew arrived and the adventure began: the meat was well-cookerd and so tenter it melted in the mouth, the mashed potatoes were smooth and with fresh herbs, and the bread was crunchy and tasty. I found nothing to complaint about while I slowly ate this filling and earthy dish. Excellent. I loved the eating experience and the chat with Buddy. The food and drinks are reasonably priced, and you can have your meal with a bottle of wine from next door Wine Connection, with no corkage charge being asked. I was told Fridays and Saturdays nights are the busiest in the plaza, with the area buzzing with locals and expats, so there is plenty of action. Buddys Bistro Terrace is located inside the Nim City Daily complex, 100 meters down from Rimping Supermarket, and has ample car parking outside. Give it a good try if you are in the area. You will not be disappointed. FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/buddysterracebistro?fref=ts

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As the restaurant’s name says, Pai Jaidee Thai-German Restaurant serves Thai food and German food, with a focus on sausages and steaks, as well as a wide range of Thai favourites, besides a variety of rice dishes, different types of noodles, soups, vegetable dishes and Asian desserts. Coffee and fruit shakes are also great there. At Pai Jaidee they are very proud of the menu they created and that they master with perfection, for the joy of happy customers. Pai Jaidee receives good feedback on the mixed German sausage plate, consisting of Bockwurst, Bratwurst & Thuringer sausages. This meal comes with the options of adding Sauerkraut Bread or french fries. Pai Jaidee is the only restaurant in Pai to offer traditional German pork Wiener Schnitzel. This meal comes with the options of adding sauerkraut, bread, light and tasty Leberkaese or french fries. Pai Jaidee meat comes from a reputable source, and the sausages from a German producer in Chiang Mai. Pai Jaidee is also popular for the affordable pricing and the comfortable dining environment, as well as the location: in the heart of Pai, at the start of the Walking Street. They are quite popular with Chinese customers, as Pai Jaidee food is appealing and reasonably priced, and also because several reviews of Pai Jaidee Thai-German Restaurant appear in Chinese travel guides and maps of Pai. Pai Jaidee Thai-German Restaurant has a long-term plan to grow all their vegetables fresh from their two organic gardens. At present their fruit orchid provides the restaurant with all the fruit they need for the special Pai Jaidee shakes, but they have just started out on another venture to set up and grow unique vegetables and fruits on their newly acquired plots of land: morning glory, lemon trees, lemongrass, papaya and fern. Pai Jaidee is also the proud producer of a film/documentary about Pai, which is available to download for free from their website www.paijaidee.com in 4 languages. The Pai Jaidee Thai German Restaurant is located on the corner of Walking Street and the Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son Highway. http://www.paijaidee.com

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It is during a drive on a moped amongst the internal streets of the village of Pai, northern Thailand, that in one of the side streets I come across Chew Xin Jai, a totally vegan restaurant. It is drizzling down in this summer afternoon, and hunger is striking me, so I park the scooter, I get out of the raincoat, I take off my shoes, as required in the welcome sign, and I enter the restaurant – which more than a restaurant seems a mix between a dwelling and a temple. I approach the buffet counter, where I am welcomed by a row of inviting steel trays that hold a series of warm dishes having an excellent look. Four girls sitting at the table next to the bar are singing a chant in Chinese language, in unison, reading the text in large notebooks opened on the desk of. One of them leaves the group to come and serve me, speaking in a broken Thai. She fills my dish with brown rice and I make my choice, pointing my finger to a pumpkin stew and to a green curry tofu and baby eggplants. I sit down, I order ginger tea from a list of teas and natural smoothies, and I start eating, looking around me from time to time. The ambient is nothing but relaxed. On the walls are several paintings that frame inscriptions in Chinese calligraphy; at the center of the place is a stone fountain that makes water circulates continuously, its sound is mixing with the chants of the four girls. A human sized statue in fine wood of the goddess Kuan Yin stands on a wood pedestal behind me. At its back, past a teak door in Chinese motifs, there is a room that houses a temple and an effigy of a Buddha that sports strong Chinese features. The girl brings me the tea and goes back to sit among her friends, contributing to the chant that continues unabated. I taste the food, spiced to perfection, and accompanied by the impressive sound of the water flowing from the fountain; in a picture hanging on the hight of the wall at the side, a group of colorful carps swim in a pond where large lotus flowers grow, and seem to be watching me. I love this kind of situation, and I linger longer for no apparent reason after finishing the meal, just o appreciate this little corner of serenity in hyper tourist town of Pai. THE RESTAURANT Chew Xin Jai is a spacious, clean and charming restaurant that is well worth a visit. Plus, it seems to be the only 100% vegan restaurant in town. Choice of food is either a quality buffet with lots of dishes complete with mock meat, as you would expect, or an extensive a-la-carte menu with plenty of choice. The buffet is great, I advise to come early for maximum freshness of food. The buffet ends at 5pm (or when the food runs out), after which you are left with the dishes in the menu. Complimentary water is available, as well as a table with a number of bowls containing various condiments, all worth a try, though some pretty spicy. Chew Xin Jai is pretty inexpensive and accepts cash only. This restaurant is located in the road that runs between the post office and 7/11 street and the large Pai Police station building. If you grab a free Pai map from the bus station or other establishment, it is labeled as ‘pure vegetarian food’. They have a yellow sign reading ‘vegetarian’ on the corner of both sides of the street, pointing the direction of the restaurant, plus you cannot miss the Chinese temple-styled facade. Chew Xin Jai 222 Moo 4, Wiang Tai, Pai 085 7173628 – 080 8604178 Open Monday to Sunday 8am to 7pm For trips and things to do in Pai, read: http://asianitinerary.com/pai-memorial-bridge/  http://asianitinerary.com/pai-is-a-small-town-of-mountains-and-rivers/ http://asianitinerary.com/geological-magic-at-pai-canyon/  http://asianitinerary.com/pai-jaidee-thai-german-restaurant/ http://asianitinerary.com/chew-xin-jai-vegan-restaurant-in-pai/

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