Mai Restaurant & Bar, located in the Meliá Chiang Mai hotel, has launched a new menu that emphasises sustainable and local sourcing.
Located on the 21st floor, the restaurant’s offers diners contemporary Northern Thai cuisine with a Mediterranean twist, alongside views of Doi Suthep Temple.
The menu is part of the hotel’s 360° Cuisine programme, which aims to reduce food waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Executive chef Suksant Chutinthratip and sous chef Karn Phojun source ingredients from a network of local, chemical-free farms, including Rong Khum and SEED. Chefs use as much of each ingredient as possible. Leftover food scraps are sent back to the farms to be used as compost, and used cooking oil is recycled into biodiesel.
Dishes on the new menu include a Khao Soi Salad, a mixed salad bowl with fresh produce from local farms, served with khao soi dressing. Meat dishes feature the Cheeva Pork Chop, locally-sourced pork with wild peppercorn sauce, and Neau Yang Nam Prik Kha, grilled Thai-Angus rib-eye beef with dried galangal gravy and San Pa Tong rice.
For dessert, the Lum Yai Pudding is a highlight, made with organic longan pudding, butterscotch sauce, and coconut ice cream. The organic longans for this dish come from the Farm Lab at Rong Khum farm, a project dedicated to sustainable agriculture. The Farm Lab develops and tests organic farming methods, focusing on perennial fruits and improving soil health.
The restaurant’s design draws inspiration from local culture, featuring a temple-style archway at its entrance and ceiling installations that resemble the ribs of traditional Bo Sang umbrellas.
