Boon Si Ta – Vegetarian Restaurant in Chiang Rai

Boon Si Ta, located on Pra Sop Suk Road just a bit southeast of the bus station on the right-hand side (opposite the bus station), is reportedly the only vegetarian restaurant in Chiang Rai. This small cafeteria-style restaurant seems to be a one-woman operation with no menus. There is a large banner on the wall with the dishes and prices listed, but unless you read Thai (which we don’t) you will not find this useful.  The way to order is to simply point and the friendly woman will spoon it onto a plate for you.

Although the prices were listed as “one dish – 25 Baht and two dishes – 30 Baht”, there was some confusion about this as it seemed to depend on whether or not it was a noodle or rice dish. We are still not quite sure.

All we know is that we sat down on stools at one of the four tables at the restaurant and more dishes of food with a huge smile kept appearing.

Water is self serve in the front corner. Simply take a metal mug and fill it up! Other drinks, including soy milk, were available from the fridge in the back.

The food had very nice flavors and as vegans, we were delighted that we could eat every dish offered. After all that food, we were only charged 70 Baht! Again, with a huge Thai smile.

If you know a little Thai, it will go a long way here as Boon Si Ta does not seem to cater to Western tourists, although they certainly were welcoming of us. If you are looking for something familiar, this is not the place for you; however, if you are feeling a bit adventurous, then Boon Si Ta might just be the place where you discover something new and delicious while sitting next to Thais enjoying the same dish.

Here is the fabulous cook herself, who will go out of her way to ensure you don’t leave hungry:

We give Boon Si Ta two thumbs up and recommend it for all those passing through who want delicious, well-prepared vegan food.

Bon Appetit!
Ligeia & Mindy  🙂 🙂