Rambutan

Dinner at Phi Mai Inn by Mandy Turner

Dinner at Phimai Inn is a unique experience. Every night we eat our dinner on the sala, which resembles a large porch for outside dining. The staff is always waiting for us to arrive and greet us with hellos and smiles when we show up at our usual time, which is 7:00 pm. The table is set for us when we arrive and one of the staff begins filling our glasses with water as soon as we are seated. The food is brought out to us and generally consists of two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes. Rice is eaten at every meal in Thailand and one of the staff members comes around and serves us rice. Sometimes you have to tell them enough because they will pile your plate full of rice. We then serve ourselves from the dishes that were brought out. The service is outstanding. The staff waits on us our entire meal. Our water glasses are never empty and rice is available throughout the meal.

One of the favorite dishes for all of us is pak boon. It is a jae dish (vegetarian dish) and is made with a vegetable that is similar to water cress and just enough garlic to give it a really good flavor. It also includes red peppers, which are very spicy. Our favorite meat dishe is gai put met mamooung that is made with water chestnuts, chicken, roasted peppers, and onions. Dinner is concluded each night with a plate of fresh fruit including watermelon, pineapple, and rambutan a very sweet fruit in a strange peel.