One of the more curious sights here so far has been an order form for a place that purports to sell Pizza and other Italian foods.  It is deeply amusing to see a large amount of pizzas marketed for near-American prices that are only marginally like the pizza we see back at home.  For example, there was no cheese pizza, which would seem an obvious (and easy) choice for someone wanting to make a farang pizza with a minimum of effort.  There were no beef pizzas either–a chicken pizza, a veggie pizza, and a whole lot of pork pizzas.  Of course, I don’t eat pork.

I saw more to like in their side dishes–garlic bread, chicken sticks, and salads, which were very reasonably priced.  Even their pasta dishes looked a little better (though I would have liked to have seen chicken parmesian on the menu).  Nor is that the only farang food that apparently makes its home in Chiang Mai.  Rumor has it that there is an excellent Mexican restaurant in the city.  It seems humorous, and a bit odd, that a small and somewhat obscure city would have such a wide variety of food, but Chiang Mai is a cosmopolitan city of universities and culture, and Western ways have a certain cachet around the world.

One of the quirkier but more intriguing suggestions I have heard is for willing people (if they want to learn how to cook Farang food) to have a cooking class where they learn various dishes and how to cook in the Western way.  Apparently many people can find jobs in restaurants if they are able (and interested) in cooking in farang fashion because many Thai like it.  I suppose it is the obverse of my taste for Thai or Indian foods back home.  We often like what is exotic to take a break from the humdrum and the normal.  However normal it is to me, Western food would be seen as somewhat exotic here.

One of the people here, a Burmese young man with a taste for rice wine, which he calls rice beer (and says it makes him as strong as Superman), has expressed a desire to show me a place for farang food in the next town north, a short ride of (what he says) is 10 baht each way (about 35 cents, very reasonable).  I would need to get some money changed first to see it, but it would be interesting to have some snacks and meals to remind me a bit of home at least.