Food (and crafts beer) in your mother tongue

Microcosm bar

No matter how attached you are to Thailand and Thai food, sometimes you just want to be able to order your food in your native language, so that you can be sure that you will get what you asked for.

In the well-known tourist areas you run into some compatriots who run a restaurant here and there, but here in the north the choice is not that great. Yet in recent months 3 restaurants have been added where you can have a chat with the owner in Dutch.

Lampang

A real Dutch restaurant has recently opened in the city of Lampang, with schnitzel, spare ribs, sometimes hutspot or pancakes, fresh homemade apple pie and of course croquettes, cheese soufflés and frikandel (special) and a whole lot more.

Sandor, the owner, exchanged business in the Netherlands for a new life in Thailand and he proves to be an excellent cook and host. His Thai wife does and arranges the service; she also speaks fluent Dutch. The restaurant is called "Tulip", how Dutch do you want it, and it is right opposite the bus station. A prime location, which is modern and sleek. The Thai also know how to find their way to Tulip. www.facebook.com/TulipCafeThailand/

Simple Pleasures

Simple Pleasures Cafe

A little further north, about 12 kilometers northeast of Chiang Mai, shortly before Doi Saket you will find Simple Pleasures Café in an attractive garden. It is a lunch restaurant that fully lives up to its name. Chris, the Australian chef, creates dishes that are different than usual, with influences from different countries. Ingredients are organic and from our own garden as much as possible.

Judith, his Dutch partner, has been living in Thailand for over 30 years and is known to many Dutch people in Chiang Mai as one of the driving forces behind the famous Riverside restaurant. She recently exchanged the hectic pace of the city restaurant for the tranquility of Doi Saket. Simple Pleasures is a perfect destination for those who want to escape the hustle and bustle of Chiang Mai and enjoy a special, very tasty lunch or homemade cake. (Open Friday to Monday, 9:00 AM – 17:00 PM.) www.simplepleasures.cafe/.

Microcosm Bar

Even further north, in Chiang Dao, you will find the Valhalla for craft beer enthusiasts. The Microkosmos Bar serves all kinds of special beers that are selected and imported by the Dutch owner Elke. He knows the story and details of each beer and can tell a lot about it for those who want to hear it. When we were there once last year, someone came in who had flown in specially from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and had rented a moped there to drink craft beer in Chiang Dao for an evening. We are not that fanatical, but when we are in the area it is a regular destination.

Last week we were there again and it turned out that the snack menu has been expanded considerably. The Flemish fries themselves, cut from whole potatoes, are still not to be sneezed at next to a good beer. The craft beer bar is located on the road from Chiang Dao to Chiang Dao Cave, just before the junction with the bypass past the town. (Open: Wednesday – Sunday, 11:00 AM – 20:00 PM.) web.facebook.com/MicrokosmosCraftBeerChiangDao/