The Rose of the North
Lanna Thai opened in Osaka just about three years ago. This restaurant,
on the second floor of the Tamaki Building, is just a two minute
walk from the subway station and right in the center of Shinsaibashi.
Lanna Thai is different from other Thai eateries in that it serves
and provides NorthernThai dishes which is a blend of local Thai
and Burmese tastes. Most of the spices used in these northern dishes
however originated in Burma, thus giving these dishes a distinct
smell and taste. When talking about nothern Thai dishes, you cannot
but help mentioning Chiang Mai or “the Rose of the North”
as it is often called, being the geographical and also the political
capital of Nothern Thailand (Lanna) and the second largest city
of Thailand after Bangkok.
The owner of Lanna Thai, Alada is born in Chiang
Mai but moved to Japan eight years ago bringing along all her delicious
recipes to satisfy your pallette. If you truly want to experience
Chiang Mai you have to try Nam Prik Eong (¥1,100), which has
a sweet, sour and spicy taste, and is made from minced pork and
finally mixed with pepper sauce and tomatoes or you have to perceive
the flavor of the Larp Muu/Larp Ghai (¥1,000), made from minced
pork or chicken, mixed with peppers and other spices, eaten with
fresh vegetables and the tasty sticky rice.
A lot of Japanese are crazy about the Seafood
Phad Tha-Khlai either (¥1,300), stir fried shrimp with lemongrass
and Thai style noodles which is especially to recommend for those
of you who love coconutmilk. But you can even enjoy the sweet coconut
even more by taking one of the most popular Thai deserts (around
¥350) that Lanna Thai is offering namely coconut ice cream (Ice
Cream Mapao) and the delicious squash in coconut milk (Fakutong
Geang Phaato). As the Thai chef cook enjoys spoiling his customers
with a special service you should always feel free to request special
dishes besides the menu giving even vegetarian the possibility to
enjoy the rich taste of the Chiang Mai food.
For those of you with the urge to enjoy the Chiang
Mai food once a week Lanna Thai offers a weekly special menu including
four main dishes. An example of a weekly special - just to make
your mouth watering even more - you can have the pleasure of enjoying
fried chicken with herbs which is the owner's favorite dish. To
complete the Northern Thai experience you should really try a Paraiso,
the litch liqueur, a bottle of cold Singha, the Thai beer or a special
Thai sour. If you prefer the great variety of fruity cocktails they
are offered affordable prices with cocktails starting around ¥650.
Lanna Thai is offering Nothern Thai food all day,
starting with lunchtime from 11:30 am to 3 pm including a special
daily lunch menu. The sets (this day's menu was a curry set and
a fried rice set) consists of an appetizer, a main dish, bottomless
bowls of rice and all you can drink tea or coffee for ¥850,
¥700 without drinks. Dinner is served from 5 pm to 12 am and
making a reservation is recommended on Fridays and Saturdays as
the restaurant gets quite busy. The crowd is usually half Japanese
and half foreigners - which can only be seen as a reasonable compliment
for this restaurant. As an entertaining way to digest the excellent
food you can have drinks and free karaoke-music until 5 in the morning!
Lanna Thai provides a good way to get to know the excellent Northern
Thai food in a nice surroundings full of Thai craft and decoration
together with some japanese karaoke culture. Savor the delicate
flavors of a traditional Chiang Mai Dinner with all the dishes that
have enliven-ed the cuisine of the Lanna for generations and spend
a great time in the 'Rose of the North'.
Lanna Thai
Address: Tamaki Bldg. 2 F, 1-2-24
Shinsaibashi-suji, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi
Nearest station: Shinsaibashi
Open: Lunch 11:30-15:00 (L.O.14:30)
Dinner 17:00-24:00 (L.O. 23:00),
Bar & Karaoke 24:00-05:00 (L.O.4:50)
Open: Everyday
Tel: 06-6241-8745
Text and Photos: Steffi Eckelmann
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