I went to Suan Dok Temple in Chiang Mai attracted by their restaurant called Pun Pun Vegetarian Slow Food. To find the restaurant you will need to go inside the Temple’s grounds. If you enter the Temple from the main gate, you have to walk to the back. When I got there with Grab Car I was left near a back entrance that was next to the restaurant.
The visit
The restaurant is located in a shack with a very large open kitchen and spartan wooden furniture. They have an English menu with an extensive selection of vegetarian dishes.
From the daily specials, I had the homemade fermented mushroom sausage. It was slightly sour and something different. I liked it.
I ordered a classic massamsan (musaman on the menu) curry with tofu, mushroom, and potatoes. The curry was a bit bland for my taste.
There was an intriguing list of “special dishes” and I chose one called Dtow hoo pad pong garee in the transliteration. It had stir fried eggs, tofu, mushroom, onion, all on a yellow curry and roasted chili paste base. Ok, there was an egg so it was a bit cheating, but this dish was fantastic. Every bite brought up new delicious flavors.
It came with a portion of excellent brown rice.
The check
The three dishes and a drink cost me 215 THB (7 USD). And this was a big feast, two dishes would have been more than enough. Difficult to beat this kind of value.
Bonus: after your meal you can have a look around the temple:
Where in Chiang Mai:
139 Suthep Rd, ตำบล สุเทพ Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai, Chang Wat Chiang Mai
Tip: have a look at their Facebook page that they keep up to date with announcements about closures.