Chiangmai Cuisine Recommended by Paul

Nasi Jumpru

It's in a stylish looking modern Thai wooden teak house, the decor is reminiscent of an English country garden, the name is of Indonesian origin. Sounds a bit like a big confusion, yet somehow it works.



There is of course, nothing confusing about Nasi Jumpru's Thai-fusion food. Very creative mix of ingredients and styles, very beautifully presented, very delicious!



We ordered an Eggplant salad - sounds pretty simple, right? This is what came out of the kitchen.

Amongst the Oohs and Ahs of fellow diners appreciating the "art work", there was another surprise in the dish. This eggplant had this lovely smoky flavour, served with shallots, boiled egg, carrot and chilli. I have have never tasted other eggplant dishes like it. Gorgeous!



The Duck with Tamarind Sauce was another interesting dish. Roast duck with just a slight layer of fat under skin went really well with the tangy tamarind sauce, topped with fried shallots, and intriguingly, mashed pumpkin. The mashed pumpkin tasted a bit like, I would say, warm Vanilla-Pumpkin Ice-cream (if one exists) - slightly sweet and creamy. I'm not sure if I would have liked the mashed pumpkin by itself, but it seemed to work in the dish, and I would say I really enjoyed this duck!

Here is another gorgeous dish - in looks and taste. It was one of the "Specials" for the day - the Snow Pea Shoot Salad, Tai Yai style. "Tai Yai" are an ethnic group from the Shan State (now a part of Burma). The snow pea shoots gave the salad an earthy, nutty taste. There was a hint of chilli, and there were also tomatoes, shallots, boiled eggs, Northern pickled pork and sesame seeds. Yum!


The other "special" was a type of curry called "Gaeng Kuo Hoi Khom" - it's like red curry with a kind of freshwater snail. I like to think of it as shell fish! We were expecting something extraordinary (having seen the other dishes), but it looked rather...normal. The probably doesn't sound too appetising, but the curry was quite good and the little snails were crunchy. ; )

We of course couldn't leave without trying the dessert. Nasi Jumpru offers some of the regular Thai desserts (nothing sounding very exciting), but we tried homemade Custard apple ice-cream and Sticky Rice Ice Cream. Compared to the presentation of the other dishes, the ice-cream came out rather plain - just a scoop of ice-cream in each bowl. However, both types were lovely.



Paul’s Ratings

Food Quality 9

Ambiance 8

Service 7

Value 8

The average meal excluding alcohol is 250 baht per person.

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Directions: Nasi Jumpru

Going towards Maejo from the super highway on the Chiang Mai-Mae Jo Road

take the second U turn on Mae Jo Rd from the Meechok Plaza (Rimping Supermarket) Intersection. It’s about .5 kilometers on your left.

Ph: 053 345 362