{"id":7384,"date":"2025-09-01T10:50:03","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T10:50:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.travelindex.org\/media\/global-travel-news\/mai-restaurant-new-menu-supports-local-organic-farming\/"},"modified":"2025-09-01T10:50:03","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T10:50:03","slug":"mai-restaurant-new-menu-supports-local-organic-farming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelindex.org\/media\/global-travel-news\/mai-restaurant-new-menu-supports-local-organic-farming\/","title":{"rendered":"Mai Restaurant New Menu Supports Local Organic Farming"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Mai<\/a>Chiang Mai, Thailand,\u00a0 September 1, 2025 \/ TRAVELINDEX \/ Meli\u00e1 Chiang Mai\u2019s signature restaurant Mai Restaurant & Bar<\/a> has unveiled a new menu of innovative dishes concocted via a thoughtful cooking process to slash food waste and greenhouse emissions.<\/p>\n

The intimate restaurant on the hotel\u2019s 21st<\/sup> floor serves contemporary Northern Thai dishes<\/a> with Mediterranean influences to a backdrop of a compelling design referencing the city\u2019s rich culture and spectacular vistas of the city and famed Doi Suthep Temple on the mountaintop to the west.<\/p>\n

As part of the hotel\u2019s 360\u00b0 Cuisine concept, executive chef Suksant Chutinthratip (Billy) and Mai Restaurant & Bar\u2019s Sous Chef Karn Phojun craft dishes featuring fresh produce from the hotel\u2019s network of ethical and chemical-free suppliers including organic gourmet farms Rong Khum in San Pa Tong and SEED in San Sai. The chefs use as much of every ingredient as possible before leftovers are returned to the farms as compost, and leftover cooking oil is sent to be recycled into biodiesel.<\/p>\n

The new menu\u2019s six appetisers range from \u2018Hoi Shell Samunprai\u2019 featuring hot seared deep blue sea scallops, dried chili drops and turmeric chip, to \u2018Khao Soi Salad\u2019, a mixed salad bowl with fresh produce from the farms, accompanied by khao soi dressing, tai lue tofu, wheat, and cage-free eggs.<\/p>\n

In addition to three soups and three rice and noodle dishes, the menu outlines nine meat, seafood or vegetarian main courses. \u2018Cheeva Pork Chop\u2019 with locally sourced pastured pork chop, wild pepper corn sauce and apple salad, \u2018Neau Yang Nam Prik Kha\u2019 made up of grilled Thai-Angus rib eye beef, dried galangal gravy and San Pa Tong rice, \u2018Kua Haam Gai Benja\u2019 low cooked chicken roulade, sai oua stuffing and lemongrass foam are among the delectable meat mains.<\/p>\n

Alongside seafood dishes such as \u2018Kanom Jeen Nam Prik Goong Pao\u2019 with seared tiger prawns, fermented rice noodles, curry sauce and garden herbs, vegetarian mains include \u2018Yum Makeua Yao\u2019 comprising grilled eggplant, chili-soy dressing, garden herbs and wheat germs and \u2018Saar Phak Tod\u2019 of vegetable fritter, lemon aioli and garlic chips.<\/p>\n

To round off the dining experience, four desserts are on offer including \u2018Lum Yai Pudding\u2019, comprising organic longan pudding, butterscotch sauce and coconut ice cream. The organic longhans, for example, are a product of Rong Khun farm\u2019s \u201cFarm Lab\u201d established by Prof. Dr. Puangrat Kaewlom and Mr. Piroj Kaewlom (Dr. Puangrat\u2019s father) to explore and demonstrate real-world solutions for sustainable agriculture that range from healing soil to improving consumers\u2019 health.<\/p>\n

The Farm Lab\u2019s key responsibilities include: developing and testing organic farming methods tailored for perennial fruits, starting with longan orchids; applying and evaluating biochar, compost, and natural microbial treatments to improve soil health and enhance soil carbon sequestration; and monitoring soil respiration and biodiversity as indicators of ecosystem recovery and carbon storage potential. The Farm Lab also serves as a training and demonstration site for farmers, researchers, students, and businesses seeking practical tools to address climate change, food safety, and regenerative farming.<\/p>\n

Through the \u2018Organic Longan Project\u2019, Chiang Mai Green Kitchen partner restaurants including Mai Restaurant & Bar visited the Farm Lab, learned about organic Longan production, and created signature Longan-based menus, that highlight health, sustainability, and creativity, featuring \u2018Lum Yai Pudding\u2019.<\/p>\n

Adjacent to the hotel\u2019s executive lounge and tucked under MAI The Sky Bar, the highest rooftop bar in the city, the 38-seat Mai Restaurant & Bar is a visual marvel. Diners enter the venue under an arch that pays homage to a nearby temple. In a salute to Chiang Mai\u2019s Bo Sang Umbrella Village, large lit installations of umbrella ribs cling to the ceiling. Various artworks of umbrella canopies hang on the walls, such as those made from antique Chiang Mai textiles. The carpet\u2019s concentric patterns, in the likes of gun-metal grey, periwinkle and soft amber hues, reference umbrella tops in a striking yet subdued way.<\/p>\n

About Meli\u00e1 Hotels & Resorts<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meli\u00e1 Hotels & Resorts is the best-known international brand in the portfolio of the Meli\u00e1 Hotels International company; it has more than 100 city and resort hotels in the main leisure and business destinations of Europe, Asia, Africa and America. The brand offers exemplary meetings and events facilities in all important business cities as well as in exotic locations, catering to the ever-expanding conference and incentive travel market. As part of its innovation philosophy and new positioning, Meli\u00e1 Hotels & Resorts has reinvented itself to cater to every aspect of the guests\u2019 wellbeing. Unique experiences are created for guests and are defined by relaxation, quality time and personalised services. For a balanced lifestyle, Meli\u00e1 Hotels & Resorts instinctively understands the guests\u2019 needs and lifestyle expectations, which is an integral part of its redefined identity.<\/p>\n

About Meli\u00e1\u00a0Hotels International\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Founded in 1956 in Mallorca (Spain), Meli\u00e1 Hotels International operates more than 380 hotels (portfolio and pipeline) throughout more than 40 countries, under the brands Gran Meli\u00e1 Hotels & Resorts, Paradisus by Meli\u00e1, ME by Meli\u00e1, Meli\u00e1 Hotels & Resorts, The Meli\u00e1 Collection, INNSiDE by Meli\u00e1, Sol by Meli\u00e1, and Falcon\u2019s Resorts by Meli\u00e1, plus a wide portfolio of affiliated hotels under the \u201cAffiliated by Meli\u00e1\u201d network. The Group is one of the leading companies in resort hotels worldwide, while also leveraging its experience to consolidate the growing segment of the leisure-inspired urban market. Its commitment to responsible tourism has led the Group to become the most sustainable hotel company in Spain and Europe, according to the last S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (Silver Class). It also has ranked seventh in the Wall Street Journal\u2019s list of the 100 most sustainably managed companies in the world (and the leading travel company) and is the only Spanish travel company included in the list of \u201cEurope\u2019s Climate Leaders 2021\u201d by Financial Times. Meli\u00e1 Hotels International is also included in the IBEX 35 Spanish stock market.<\/p>\n

About Asset World Corp Public Company Limited\u202f<\/strong><\/p>\n

Asset World Corp Public Company Limited is a holding company under TCC Group operating leading integrated lifestyle property development in Thailand. The company has two main businesses consisting of the Hospitality business managed by top hotel executives of world-renowned hotel brands such as Marriott, The Luxury Collection, Okura, Banyan Tree, Hilton, and Sheraton and Retail, Wholesale and Commercial properties whose projects include 1) Retail and Wholesale including lifestyle travel destinations, community shopping malls, community markets, and wholesale business real estate. Popular real estate projects consist of ASIATIQUE the Riverfront Destination, Gateway at Bangsue, AEC Trade Center \u2013 Pantip Wholesale Destination, and Tawanna Bangkapi and 2) Commercial buildings including the famous Empire Tower and Athenee Tower located in Bangkok\u2019s central business district.<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chiang Mai, Thailand,\u00a0 September 1, 2025 \/ TRAVELINDEX \/ Meli\u00e1 Chiang Mai\u2019s signature restaurant Mai Restaurant & Bar has unveiled a new menu of innovative dishes concocted via a thoughtful cooking process to slash food waste and greenhouse emissions. The intimate restaurant on the hotel\u2019s 21st floor serves contemporary Northern Thai dishes with Mediterranean influences …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2315,37,14,2316,1966],"class_list":["post-7384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-global-travel-news","tag-global-travelnews","tag-news","tag-travelindex","tag-travelindex-media-group","tag-untourism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelindex.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelindex.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelindex.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelindex.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelindex.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelindex.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelindex.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelindex.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelindex.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelindex.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}