Dinner at Rasik Local Kitchen. Buddy Marcus booked our table a month ahead and had to pay a deposit to secure it.
It is always a good idea to book ahead at popular places but at Rasik it is a must. The restaurant is small, seats only about 20 at most. We saw several walk-ins turned away.
I have a soft spot for restaurants where the chef is personally cooking.
And, especially if he mingles with diners between dishes. Chef Waii butterflies between kitchen and guests' tables.
I didn't have any problem with cooking smells from the open kitchen.
Chef Waii exudes a warm, effervescent, infectiously cheery, easy going demeanour. His presence is part and parcel of the enjoyable dining experience at Rasik.
First dish was seafood of the day - river prawns stir fried with garlic, shallot, pepper, spices.
Not a photogenic dish but the succulent, crunchy prawns' delicate sweetness and umami shone through despite the quite robust savoury spicy sauce it was stir fried in.
We all like this dish and finished up everything on the plate, including the umami loaded heads.
Grilled bone marrow with galangal and chili.
Warm globule of melt-in-the-mouth-and-flood-it with savoury flavour fat. The blue ginger and spices gave the fat more flavour dimensions.
My buddies crave it, I am just okay with marrow.
Red curry with grilled pork collar and Damask rose.
Roses are commonly grown in Chiang Mai thanks to its highland climate.
Tender pork slices smothered in gently spicy, creamy curry with lots of spices, herbs and aromatics smells and flavours. Complex yet well balanced and not overpowering.
Beef tongue in spicy Thai herbs broth.
The tongue, cubed was tender soft like a dense sponge. Mildly savoury, beefy and sweet. The tom zaap broth of gingers, lemongrass, kaffir lime and leaves, was spicy, sour, savoury and it bites.
We were having a good time, and the night was still young, so we added the charcoal grilled fish of the day. Today's catch was a lined silver grunt (a sea bream).
The fish was meaty, its white flesh moist not oily, gently briny from salt but its subtle underlying sweetness was discernible. A squeeze of lime brightened the flavours with a bit of zest and brought out the fish's sweetness more. A subtle smokiness emanated from char on the fish skin.
I like this type of homely, quaint, laid back atmospherics, casual place where the food is great, people are nice and prices are within moderate affordability range.
I like to be back to try other dishes such as the mangosteen poached prawns, grilled beef tongue, etc.
Restaurant name: Rasik Local Kitchen
Address: 44 3 Sridonchai Rd, Tambon Chang Khlan, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand
Tel: +66 83 269 6632
Hours: 5pm - 10pm (Tues off)
IYKYK … this trip is so relaxing and please go again soon, as we would like to see how *Mangosteen* poached prawns taste like 😋🤣😉
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