Her food splits neatly into three separate categories, Isan (local specialities), Thai and Western, & is offered, as far as possible, in either a vegetarian or non-vegetarian format.

Pictured opposite is Laab, probably the most famous Isan dish made with finely chopped chicken or pork and mixed with a marvelous array of different spices to produce a highly original tangy flavour. As a vegetarian variation, we make a mushroom Laab which sells fast, even to carnivores!
However, sticky rice offers something ordinary jasmine rice never can, for mixed with coconut milk, sprinkled with nuts and served with mangos, it becomes Kao Niao Maa Muong... Mouthwatering (see right)

What about Thai food? Well many Thai dishes are seafood or fish based. The Maekong river is used extensively to farm fish... Tilapia (Plaa Nin) and other varieties are grown in baskets built in the river.

 

Mut Mee
Restaurant

Pao loves to cook.
I have told her not to, & insisted she takes a rest after she's been teaching at the Technical College all day, but she doesn't listen! Lucky for our guests though! Her fusion of Thai and Western cuisine is light, bright and yummy... (see also Le Silapa, Laos)
Two other local specialities, which we often serve, are Saikraw Preow and Kao Niao Maa Muong. What's that I hear you say?

Well, we have a large Vietnamese population here in the north-east and they like to make sausages, particularly sour ones stuffed with herbs. So Saikraw means sausage and Preow means sour...and they're delicious! (See left)

But the thing that everyone knows about the Isan area, is that people traditionally grow sticky rice, or "Kao Niao" as it is known in Thai or Lao. This chewy sticky variety of rice grows better in poor soils and dryer landscapes. Though irrigation and better farming techniques mean that other types of rice can be grown in this area, sticky rice remains a staple crop on the Isan plain.

Pao takes this wonderful source of fresh fish and does several exciting things with it...

She serves it as Plaa Rat Prik... fried with a sweet and sour tomato and herb dressing; as Plaa Shiu Shii... similar, but with a coconut and chilli dressing. But her coup de grâce is Plaa Rota Rua...in batter parcels served with a sweet sauce.

Pictured above is a seafood dish, Kung Pat Nom Sot... Prawns fried in milk with chilli and baby corns. It's the creaminess which makes this dish and gives us the opportunity to offer it as one part of a taste combination for those who would like a full Thai meal.

Western people tend to think in terms of eating one dish as a main course. This is not how Thai people eat... it's the taste combinations that matter, and so when family and friends sit down to dine, they are presented with a large number of different dishes, and everyone gets to eat a little of each.

This is difficult when one is dining alone or with a friend, and so from time to time we offer group dinners, so that those staying with us can eat a proper Thai dinner with many dishes and a wide range of tastes.

Even for all those wonderful tastes, there comes a time when you have been away from home long enough, and what you would really like is something familiar.

And here is something you'll know that never fails to find friends... Quiche Loraine with spinach and herbs.

Nice on a cool evening after a hot day with a glass of wine or a G&T (both available here at Mut Mee!)
Oh, but lets leave you with something really, really familiar... Apple Pie!

When I first came here,
16 years ago, whipping cream would have seemed from another planet. But alas things change and with those changes come new possibilities...

Did I say alas? Alas for you maybe... I might have eaten it all before you even get here!
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