Dinner @ Saenkham Terrace

We had the privilege of dining last night at a glorious Thai restaurant all the way across town in Chiang Mai's southwest suburbs. Saenkham Terrace is the kind of the place we'd never discover without good friends rooted in this community, and we spent a lovely evening listening to live music and dining on some of the best Thai food we've had in the three weeks we've been here. The occasion was our friend Yo's birthday. Infinite gratitude to the Eubank's family for their generosity and time, for sharing their lives with us so openly, and for introducing us to places as refined and enjoyable as this wonderful spot. We are just beginning to appreciate the differences between the Lanna heritage of northern Thailand and what most visitors find in the southern regions, where Thailand's beaches are. The restaurant we visited last night was designed as a traditional Lanna Thai terrace... Here's a blurb from the restaurant's website explaining the concept:

There is much more to Saen Kham’s Lanna Terrace than just fine Thai cuisine. In traditional Thai culture, the terrace connected to the main building of a house is used not only as a deck on which to sit and relax. In fact, it is a multipurpose area that is probable used more than any other area of the house. A Thai terrace can serve as a dining area, a place to receive guests, or even as a place to take an afternoon siesta. At the same time, the terrace is associated with more artistic endeavors. Most of a Thai family’s traditional handicraft work, like basket weaving by the men and textile weaving by the women, takes place on the terrace.
Our concept for Saen Kham was to integrate the origin of Thai handicrafts with the feel of a genuine Lanna Terrace. This is enhanced by the rice fields on the north side of the restaurant and beyond them the mountains to the west. Although there was already a terrace overlooking the Swimming pool outside of the main dining room, we left it did not capture the essence of our concept.
This is what inspired us to completely renovate the restaurant. The “Basketry and Weaving” concept welcomes you immediately on the main floor, where a woven rattan banister leads up to Saen Kham. The second floor has a ceramic-tiled floor that remains one of Lanna textiles and the main entrance to the dining room features a large painting by “VICHIT CHAIWONG” of Gong Dee Gallery. In black and gold, it splendidly portrays the elegance of Thai textiles. Other paintings by “SANTI CHANNONGSUANG” depict Lanna people and their close relationship with basketry and weaving. The exterior wall of the dining room has its origins in Thai temple design, while the ceiling and roof are done in Lanna temple style.
“YUTTHANA MOHPRASIT”, our interior designer, incorporated an elevated level on each side of the dining hall to create the feeling of dining on a terrace. All furniture is made of woven rattan and reminds guests of feel of the woven baskets that warm every Lanna terrace. Weaving loom components take on new roles as decorative accents on Saen Kham’s walls. Every little thing here has its own story to tell. And together they make up the Saen Kham legend.