December 2003/January 2004

THE HOUSE
Chiang Mai finally enjoys an eatery worthy of its increasingly design-consciousness image. Located in a high-ceilinged 1930s abode that feels more Indochine than Siam, The House boasts three ultra hip personalities. Downstairs in the pale blue 30-seat restaurant, wicker chairs, glass chandeliers and flowery Chinese pillows echo the decades of the building's life. The Jamie Oliver-inspired Pacific Rim fusion cuisine (such as the grilled Spice islands duck breast in light tamarind sauce with red cabbage) is consummately now. The newly-opened wine bistro and an adjacent tapas bar--also on the ground floor--offer a selection of Spanish and other wines plus eclectic nibbles like potato tortillas with whiskey sauce. After dinner, everyone heads upstairs to the lounge with its soft apple-green walls and cool jazz sounds. "You feel you've escaped Chiang Mai to somewhere sophisticated," says one local businesswoman who, along with other trendy local urbanites and the tourist cognoscenti, is turning The House into her new nighttime home.
199 Moonmuang Rd; 55-53;419-011

Copyright © 2003/2004 Jennifer Gampell