Where to eat in Chiang Mai?

Overstand Coffee Shop

2016-11-12T23:11:00.000+07:00

Overstand Coffee Shop probably needs no introduction. It's one of the very popular coffee shops in Chiang Mai and is mentioned in several "best coffee shops in Chiang Mai" lists. I finally got a chance to go for brunch recently to check out what the fuss is all about.

The coffee shop itself is certainly very hip and set in a shop house in a quiet soi in the Old City close to Thapae Gate, so is ideally located for travellers staying in the area. There's a big communal table and several small tables on the side - quite an intimate, friendly atmosphere as the little tables are quite close together.

By the time my friend and I arrived at around 10am, the cafe was filled up with people enjoying breakfast, chatting or working away on their computers.

I've heard a lot about the excellent coffee at Overstand. My friend and I decided to order the Dirty Chai (85 baht), a combination of coffee and chai tea, as it's not something I've seen elsewhere in Chiang Mai. It did not disappoint. Great coffee with a hint of natural sweetness and spice from the chai. Very nicely presented too, I might add. The only problem was that the glass was just a tad too hot to hold very comfortably. Other types of coffee range in price from 50-70 baht. It's also great that Overstand also has a selection of tea for non coffee drinkers.

For brekkie, I chose the chorizo with fried egg and hummus on sourdough bread. (about 160 baht). It came out very nicely presented and looked delicious. There was a generous amount of hummus (I love hummus!) which gave a nice contrast in texture and taste to the bread and the chorizo. Everything worked well together. I loved the chunky grilled tomato too! There are several cafes that offers open sandwiches like this (eg. Natwat Home Cafe & The Larder). I couldn't say which cafe makes the best sandwich as each cafe creates their own versions.

My friend ordered a bacon and egg sandwich which she also really enjoyed. This certainly isn't your traditional bacon and egg sandwich. The flame grilled capsicum, rockets and sourdough bread adds an extra dimension. 130 baht.

Other dishes available at Overstand includes: muesli (the guy at the next table ordered this and it looked great), various salads and sandwiches. A good selection of drinks including smoothies and alcohol are also available.

Overstand Coffee Shop
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OverstandCoffee/
19/3 Soi 2 Rachamunka
A. Muang, Chiang Mai
Tel: 094 626 8311
Opens: 8am-3pm, closed on Tuesdays
GPS location: 18.786, 98.99263

J Kitchen Vegetarian Restaurant

2016-10-08T16:03:00.002+07:00

Vegetarian meals... I would eat it sometimes but it's not usually something I seek out. Nevertheless, there are many very good vegetarian restaurants in Chiang Mai so vegetarians... have no fear! You'll always be able to find something to eat here.

The Thai word for "vegetarian" is มังสวิรัติ (Mung-sa-wi-rut), or "mung" for short. Basically you can go to any restaurant, eatery or street stall and ask for it - eg "pad thai mung", which means a vegetarian version of pad thai. Be careful in non-specialty vegetarian restaurants and street stalls though, as they may just leave out the meat but still use sauces with animal components like fish sauce or oyster sauce.

To be on the safe (and easy to remember side), you might want to use the word เจ ("jay") instead. The "jay" diet is roughly similar to the vegan diet but "jay" food does not contain pungent vegetables such as garlic and onion. Read more about it here.

"Mung" and "Jay" or vegetarian food is quite easy to find in Chiang Mai. There's even an "jay" festival held in Thailand each year in October. During this period, you'll be able to find "jay" food everywhere, even your local 7-11 store.

J Kitchen is a little up market, and I'd say a mid to higher end restaurant. It's quite a lovely restaurant with beautiful setting. It was quite busy on the Friday night when my friends and I went.

Despite the name, J Kitchen is a "mung sa wi rut" restaurant, but as we went during the jay festival, there was a special "jay" menu.

The first dish was "gaeng liang" aka "Thai Spicy Mixed Vegetable Soup", a lovely clear curry without coconut milk. The soup was lovely was filled with fragrant herbs and crunchy vegetables. A little spicy due to the pepper. Went down well with the riceberry rice. 105 baht.

Then came the deep-fried crispy shiitake mushrooms with Thai tamarind sauce. This was also lovely. Pretty much like a meaty mushroom tempura. Lovely with the tangy sauce. 120 baht.

The eggplants were next. I actually thought I ordered stir-fry eggplant with Chinese celery, but we got deep fried eggplants with stir-fried celery on top, so we ended up with several deep fried dishes... (you may have noticed the french fries in the corner of the photo below!) but that's OK, J Kitchen deep fries very well. The eggplants and Chinese celery were delicious. :D 105 baht.

The Tofu Dried Curry (Tofu with panang curry) was also quite lovely. Pillowy puffy pieces of fried (again, lol) tofu topped with panang curry. This makes a great variation to the other dishes in terms of taste. The curry also went well with the other fried things eg. french fries (very nice, btw) and the deep fried eggplants. 140 baht.

I might also mention that J Kitchen is runned by the Vieng Joom On, the "pink tea house" located near the Riverside Restaurant in the city. Because of this, there is a selection of Vieng Joom On tea available at the restaurant. The tea is served in a large pot, but unfortunately, can't be refilled so if you want more tea, you'll have to order another pot.

The staff here is very friendly, welcoming and polite. The ambience is lovely and very comfortable. The air-conditioning is probably a little too cold. There was adequate off street parking.

The price overall works out to be about 250 baht per person and we were all quite full.

I'd certainly like to go back again and try their other dishes.

Have you been to J Kitchen? What did you think? Please write in the comment below. :)

J Kitchen by Vieng Joom On
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jkitchencm/

Green Plus Mall 2 114/14 T.Nong pa Khrang

Amphoe Muang Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, Thailand

(At Chiang Mai Business Park)

Opens daily: 10:30am - 8:30pm

GPS Location: 18.7967, 99.02392

2Getherbar & Restaurant

2016-08-26T15:38:00.001+07:00

When I was making dinner plans with a Thai friend and she found out I felt like Italian food, she unhesitatingly suggested 2Getherbar. She said the chef is Italian and the food there is excellent.

So there we were. My friend ordered the Pepperoni Pizza, her favourite at 2Getherbar. When I asked if we were sharing the pizza, she didn't look too happy. I ordered spaghetti pesto genovese. My friend then said that the somtum (aka papaya salad) here is excellent and proceeded to order the somtum with crab and fermented fish... not my favourite! What else can a curious foodie do, but order my own Tum Thai (just the regular somtum) to try it out. Well, that was a first! Going in for Italian food and also ended up ordering some papaya salad.

So here it is, the papaya salad. And yes, it was excellent. Crunchy papaya and peanuts, intense flavour and super spicy. My tongue was burning by the time I was half way through the somtum when luckily the pizza came out. BTW, normally you would have the somtum with other less spicy dishes. You can also order milder versions.

Luckily, my friend let me have some of her pizza. She explained later that pepperoni pizza is her favourite at 2Getherbar and normally she just eats the whole thing by herself, hence her hesitation in sharing the pizza with me! So while she gets through her papaya salad, I started on the thin crust pizza, which, I must say, was very good. I ended up eating 5 pieces (!!!), ie half the pizza (normally I would eat 3 pieces max). 240 baht.

After a little while, the pesto genovese came out. 120 baht. This is simply pesto, pasta and parmesan and it was a dream - deliciously smooth and creamy, especially when we added the extra parmesan. My friend, incidentally loved it and helped me eat quite a bit of it. :P

Who would have guessed a restaurant can make both great Italian food and Thai food (at least the papaya salad anyway)! Having tried the somtum, I would love to come back and try 2Getherbar's other Thai dishes, which incidentally also look great on the menu.

I must also say that the staff here is very friendly. During the meal, I see tourists coming to the bar as well as regular customers who the staff know by name. The restaurant wasn't overly busy on the Saturday night, but then I was told that a lot of people go to the Saturday Walking Street instead of the Night Bazaar, so perhaps the weekend would be a good time to come if you want to have a quiet dinner.

2Getherbar is located just a couple of doors down from Le Spice Indian Restaurant. If you come by car, you can park at Galare Night Bazaar (10 baht per hour).

The price, I think, is also quite reasonable, especially when compared to other Italian and Thai restaurants. Altogether, the bill came to about 300 baht each (including a glass of red wine for me and 2 glasses of white wine for my friend).

2Getherbar & Restaurant
19/1 Charoenprathet Soi 6
Night Bazaar, Chiang Mai
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/2GetherBarChiangMaiThailand/
Tel: 099 037 4331
Hours: 5pm-1am daily
GPS Location: 18.7847, 99.00149

Singto Khao Mok Gai

2016-08-20T13:47:00.003+07:00

Khao Mok Gai is a Thai biryani style yellow fragrant rice with chicken "burried" in and cooked with the rice. The rice is served with fried shallots, slices of cucumber and a refreshing sweet and sour sauce with mint and ginger.

Khao Mok Gai is not widely available in Chiang Mai as Khao Mun Gai (Chicken rice). I've had Khao Mok at only a few places in Chiang Mai - one at Khao Soi Islam, where khao mok neur (beef version) is supposed to be really good, and which I found quite good when I had it. There's also a beef noodle shop at Meechok Plaza where I work where I can get my khao mok gai fix. It's good, but I wouldn't say it's amazing and the chicken piece that they serve with the rice is quite small.

Recently, I discovered Singto Khao Mok Gai, a newish eatery quite close to Meechok Plaza. It's quite a large eatery buzzing with local lunch time diners. I notice that the eatery is very clean and they do have menus in Thai and English.

Khao Mok Neur (Beef) - 60 baht | Khao Mok Gai (Chicken) - 45 baht

And here it is.. Khao Mok Neur (60 baht) and Khao Mok Gai (45 baht). I must say the first thing I noticed with the large piece of chicken and quite a big serving of the beef (compared to other shops). The rice was well made, fragrant and packed with flavour of the spices. The sauce - sweet, tangy and refreshing adds a nice vibrant note to the dish. Delicious!

I also tried the Curry Chicken Laksa (45 baht), which quite different to Malaysian style laksas I'm used too. I suppose this is the Thai version! I've never had this dish before. It's pretty much curry noodles, a little like khao soi, but the curry is quite smooth, rich and tangy. Very nice as well although the tangy flavour is quite unusual.

Chicken Curry Laksa - 45 baht

Singto Khao Mok Gai also have various types of soups (chicken, beef, squid and oxtail) that I haven't tried. The oxtail soup should be ordered in advance.

In terms of desserts, Singto Khao Mok Gai has Lodchong (these are the green "noodles" in coconut milk) - 20 baht. The lodchong here is excellent and the coconut milk "soup" is lovely, fragrant and creamy. The dessert is served in a pinto and the ice is separated from the actual dessert so that the melted ice doesn't dilute the the coconut milk.

Lod Chong - 20baht

Singto Khao Mok Gai is a great eatery with excellent Khao Mok / Thai Biryani chicken and beef. Definitely a place to try if you're in the area! Don't forget to try the lodchong too!

Singto Khao Mok Gai
88/8 Moo 8
T. Sanphiseur A. Muang
Chiang Mai
Tel: 093 958 8264
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/singtomokgai/

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Let It Be Cafe & Eatery, Mae Rim Plaza

2016-05-29T17:34:00.000+07:00

Lazy Sunday lunch with a friend. Mae Rim area. The easy choice is Mae Rim Plaza where there are now several new restaurants and cafes.

The obvious choice for me whenever I get a chance to go there is Steak of The Day and Fukuro, but today, we wanted to try something else and came across a cute small cafe called Let It Be.

The cafe looked very inviting, the menu, surprisingly, is more like an Italian restaurant's menu than a cafe, and importantly on a hot day (isn't it always hot in Chiang Mai?), it's air conditioned!

The cafe itself is quite small (one shophouse) and only had about 5 tables inside and 1 table outside. There wasn't many people when we arrived, but the small eatery quickly filled up with patrons. They had quite a good turn over too without being too crowded. We also felt very comfortable, enjoying our lunch and chatting away for quite some time and never felt rushed.

The menu was surprisingly quite extensive. There were several Western / Italian dishes - pasta and pizza; steak and grilled dishes - beef, pork, chicken, sausage and fish as well as some Thai dishes and salads.

We opted for the Lunch Set Menu that had several choices of mains as well as a drink, salad or soup and ice cream. I chose the Spaghetti Ham & Dry Chilli set for 175 baht.

The first course - House Salad. This was quite lovely, served with a light sesame dressing on crispy and fresh lettuce. There were also tender slices of duck on the top.

Salad with Duck and Lipton Iced Tea

For the main, I chose the Ham and Dry Chilli Spaghetti. It was lovely, a little spicy and had lots of garlic!

Ham and Dry Chilli Spaghetti

And for dessert... Ice Cream with Fruit Salad. It's a nice finish to the meal. Let It Be also have several desserts on the menu eg. Banana Split, Crepe Suzette and Chocolate Lava so there are a few choices for those with a sweet tooth too.

Vanilla Ice Cream with Fruit Salad

Incidentally, my friend ordered the Carbonara lunch set. She wanted a vegetarian version, made with mushrooms and the chef had no problems making it for her.

Let It Be Cafe & Eatery
Mae Rim Plaza
Tel: 091 869 5962, 094 610 1115
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/letitbesteakhouse/timeline
GPS Co-Ordinates: 18.91588, 98.94223

Shogun Japanese Restaurant

2016-05-20T15:14:00.002+07:00

Driving home one night, I suddenly noticed a sign - a new Japanese restaurant has opened near Samyak Market, Sansai. The lightbox outside the restaurant had an enticing photo of a large plate of sushi. The restaurant looked quite cute too and had a Japanesy feel.

Since then, I've been there a couple of times and has found the food to be pretty good. It's not Kitchen Hush, but Shogun provides good quality, good value for money and close to home, which means it's a place we can often visit!

Gyoza - one of my favourite snacks at a Japanese restaurant. Shogun's gyoza is very good. Crispy skin with juicy pork filling and slightly tangy and refreshing dipping sauce. 79baht.

Small Sushi Set - a plate of assorted sushi. The salmon was pretty good. The tuna was a bit chewy. Overall quite decent. 299 baht.

And here is my favourite dish, the Korean Chicken. Deep-fried bite sizes of chicken with skin and smothered with a thick, salty and sticky sauce. Yum! The chicken was slightly chewy (which I didtn't mind) and the skin was nice and crispy. The side cabbage didn't have a dressing on it, so it seemed quite bland after eating the chicken. However, the gyoza dipping sauce makes a nice salad dressing! 119 baht.

If you need some more side dishes to fill you up, Shogun offers 3 rice sets. You can choose from the regular plain steamed rice, garlic fried rice or kimchi fried rice. These come with side dishes of a salad, miso soup and some kimchi. This time I ordered the garlic fried rice. It was lovely with buttery fragrance. A little oily though. The garlic fried rice set was 79 baht.

These rice sets are quite good idea, I think, as diners can order any mains they like to go with the rice set.

The verdict - a nice little restaurant with good food and offering good value for money. The staff is very friendly. Shogun has a cosy ambience and makes you feel like you're in a little restaurant in Japan.

Shogun Japanese Restaurant
Chiang Mai-Doi Saket Rd (118)
Sansai, Chiang Mai.
(On the left just pass Samyak Market)
Tel: 0966987181
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/โชกุน-1559529397710577/timeline
Opens: Daily 11am-10pm

Salsa Kitchen (Mexican Food)

2016-04-01T15:31:00.000+07:00

Mexican food! Admittedly, I really don't know much about Mexican cuisine and it's not something that I usually sought out. There wasn't much of it around when I was growing up in Sydney. In Chiang Mai though, there are several Mexican restaurants and I've heard that many of them are very good.

I've been to Salsa Kitchen several times over the years to both of their branches - the original one on Huay Kaew Rd, and recently, they opened another branch near Meechok Plaza. I've always found the food to be consistently good. The restaurant it self has a nice and cheerful vibe with all the colourful walls and chairs. The staff is friendly. The food does take some time to come out though, but it's worth the wait!

Last time I visited with a couple of friends, I ordered Mango Chicken Quesadillas - 199 baht - flour tortillas filled with grilled marinated chicken breast, mozzarella cheese and topped with a mango salsa. It was simple, hearty and delicious! The tortillas were nice and soft and not too dry (which was the case with another Mexican restaurant that I tried another time). The filling was full of subtle flavour of chicken and mozzarella. The mango salsa added to the liveliness of the dish. The quesadilla was served with some Mexican red rice; refried beans; corn and condiments - sour cream and home made salsas, but I didn't feel that I needed to add extra flavours. All the different textures and flavours really worked well together and altogether made a super filling dish! I couldn't finish it all.

We also ordered a plate of Vegetarian Nachos to share (189 baht). Again, this was delicious and vibrant in flavour.

Salsa Kitchen also serves a variety of drinks including magaritas, sangrias and beers. I usually order the lemonade with soda (39 baht) and I love it - cool, sweet and refreshing for a hot day.

Vegetarian and gluten free options are available!

Salsa Kitchen

Website: http://www.thesalsakitchen.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salsa.kitchen.3

Huay Kaew Branch
26/4 Huay Kaew Rd
(Down the road from Kad Suan Kaew, opposite Caltex Service Station)
There's free parking on the side street in front of Nakornping Condo
Opens: Daily 11am - 11pm
Tel: 053 216 605

Ruamchoke Branch
About 200m west of Meechok Plaza
Opens: 11am - 10pm
Closed: Tuesdays
Tel: 094 613 4535

Map: (See purple markers)

Tum Sap Pun Nua Lao Cuisine (ตําแซ่บ พันนัว)

2016-03-28T16:44:00.000+07:00

Not knowing much about Laos food, I was curious. Looking at the name, "Tum Sap", I guessed that it would probably serve a variety of somtums (papaya salad), and I was right!

Tum Sap Pun Nua is a chic modern looking restaurant with a spacious, open feel. It's actually quite a comfortable place to sit and enjoy a meal. I've been there several times and thought the food there excellent. Surprisingly though, whenever I go, the restaurant seem to be quiet (which is nice for me!).

The menu, as I mentioned, had a large variety of papaya salads to choose from. We opted for the Tum Thai. I know, I know, I shouldn't be ordering Thai food in a Laos restaurant, but "Tum Thai" is my favourite variety of som tum. Tum Lao (I don't know if this is really the Lao version, or if Thai people just calls it that!) also contains fermented fish, which does give the papaya salad a particular flavour. I can eat it, but it's just not something I truly enjoy.. but that's just me. :P

The papaya salad at Tum Sap Pun Nua at 65 baht, is not the cheapest of somtums, but it was well made and well flavoured. I noticed that it is not as sweet as "Tum Thai" from Thai som tum places where I normally would have to ask for "not sweet", and it also had the perfect amount of spiciness for me (where in other places, it would have been too hot. I would normally ask for 2 chillis).

Pho Vientian (beef). I really enjoyed the broth. I thought the soup was lovely and also it is served with various condiments, including some shrimp paste, lime and chilli on the side. The broth is already great without anything else added, but I did add the shrimp paste and lime to see what it would taste like (lovely too - with a richer, earthier flavour). The serving was quite big and there was a lot of noodles. I wouldn't have minded less noodles and more soup! The beef was a bit tough. 85 baht. You can choose between pork (75 baht), chicken (75 baht) , beef (85 baht) or fish (95 baht).

Ua Trakai Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang Herbed Sausage. 85 baht. This is Tum Sap Pun Nua's version of the much loved Chiang Mai Sausages (Sai ua). In this version, pork is mixed with various herbs and lemongrass and the "sausage" is placed in a "nest" of lemongrass and deep fried. Lovely and fragrant. The sausages were a little rich if eaten by themselves, but goes well with the ginger (served on the side).

Tum Sap Pun Nua also serves a variety of other dishes that I'd love to try. Their fried fish is also excellent.

All in all, I always enjoy dining at this restaurant. The atmosphere is lovely, air-conditioning cool (very important especially in this very hot weather), friendly staff and excellent food. I think the food here is also quite good value. Our dinner for 2 set us back around 230 baht and we were really full!

Tum Sap Pun Nua ตําแซ่บ พันนัว
V Community, 1st Ring Road, next to Payap University
Tel: 089 758 4408, 053 126075
Opens: 10am - 10pm daily
GPS location: 18.798926,99.032916

Lumdee Ti Kua Daeng (ลำดีตี้ขัวแดง)

2016-02-10T17:04:00.000+07:00

I was first taken to this restaurant, whose names literally means "Delicious at the Red Bridge", by a Chinese customer who lives in Chiang Mai. I have driven past V Community next to Payap University so many times without even realising that there's a restaurant there. I've seen their signature red bridge in many social networking sites, but never thought of going myself.

So there I was, with a Chinese family who spoke very little English and Thai, and me with my broken mandarin. Somehow we managed to communicate, did business together and ended up together at this restaurant.


Lumdee Ti Kua Daeng has a large indoor and outdoor sections. BTW, a big thank you to Zalora for the bag! I love it!

I was taken straight away by the large and very reasonably priced menu. Their favourite is the Deep Fried Tilapia with Herbs, and wow, it was good. They told me that you can get an even better one in Lamphun! These Chinese people do get around! LOL.

Since then, I've been back many times with my family and also have brought visitors here and everyone enjoyed the food here very much.

The real test though was my last visit when I brought a local Chiang Mai friend who just came home from a stint overseas and a Thai friend from Lamphun. I wanted to know how authentic a Northen Thai restaurant Lumdee Ti Kua Daeng is and I'm glad to say my friends gave their thumbs up.

The spread.. The food even came out all around the same time!

Pla Tubtim Tod Samunpri (Deep-fried Tilapia with Herbs). 200 baht. This is the fried fish that I was talking about earlier. It's not exactly Northern food, but it's good! The fish meat is cut up into cubes, deep fried then reassembled on the fish and the the herbal sauce is poured over the whole thing. The cubed fillets were very nicely fried, slightly crunchy on the outside and soft and pillowy on the inside. Just the right amount of sauce is absorbed into the thin flour batter, leaving it full of flavour, yet still crunchy. Perfect. The price is great too - normally you'd expect to pay 300 baht for something like this at other restaurants.

Deep-Fried Tilapia with Herbs

Fried Chiangda and Tomato with Egg. 60 baht. Chiangda (Gymnema, a herb with blood sugar lowering properties) is stir-fried with eggs and tomatoes. This is a dish with more subtle, slightly salty flavour and makes a great (and healthy) combination with other dishes, especially spicy ones.

Fried Chiang Da and Tomato with Egg

Naem Peek Gai Khua Daeng. Northern style cured chicken wings. 80 baht. "Naem" dishes have been fermented to give a sour flavour. I normally quite enjoy naem pork. The chicken wings are pretty good, but I found it a little too sour. Served with roasted peanuts, ginger and chilli.

Naem Chicken Wings

Gai Muang Neung. Steamed chicken with herbs. 90 baht. It was delicious and full of flavour. The "soup" was fantastic too. In this dish, the chicken pieces are steamed with various herbs (such as tumeric, garlic and lemongrass). Yum!

Steamed Chicken With Herbs

Nam Prik Ong. 50baht. This is a classic northern Thai pork, tomato and chilli dip. Actually, there are many different chilli dips you can try at Lumdee Ti Kua Daeng. This is my Lamphun friend's favourite Northern Dish and he said Lumdee's Nam Prik Ong has all the right flavours. The chilli dips are served with steamed vegetables (or sometime fresh herbs and veggies depending on the restaurant). Lovely and not too spicy with the veggies and steamed rice or sticky rice.

Nam Prik Ong

Lamdee Ti Kua Daeng also serves many northern soup dishes. I've been told that all the soups are made fresh to each order. Most of the dishes are not all that spicy either. There are also more adventurous dishes to try like the soup with ant eggs!

The service is friendly, efficient and quick. The food is great, and quite inexpensive.

Lumdee Ti Kua Daeng
V Community
345 Moo 3
T. Sanphranet, A Sansai, Chiang Mai
Tel: 086 688 3688
GPS Location: 18.799160, 99.033259
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lumdeetekhuadang/?fref=ts

Fukuro Japanese Restaurant

2016-02-05T17:00:00.000+07:00

I've had cravings for Japanese food all week! After a busy and tiring week, a friend thought it would be good to go to one of the many Japanese restaurants in Central Festival. Central Festival is a convenient choice - close to home and has very good parking, but I felt I wanted to go to a small, homey and more personal place.

I remembered Fukuro. I've been there a few times before and was always impressed with the food and the price. The owner is an ex-Four Seasons chef, and the unassuming Japanese Restaurant is located right next door to the very popular Steak of the Day at Mae Rim Plaza.

Mae Rim Plaza is a bit of a hike from my home in Sansai / Doi Saket area (about 30 min or so drive), but it was totally worth the trip.

This little restaurant only has a few tables, and is very homey and comfortable. Khun Nes, the owner came out and made a few recommendations from the Specials of the Day board.

Eggplant Miso Sauce. 79 baht. These were wonderful and very different from what I've had in other restaurants. In other restaurants that I've been to, the eggplants are covered with miso sauce (which I love as well!). Fukuro's version has just a touch of the sauce and the eggplant is sprinkled with sesame seeds and bonito flakes, which gives a smokey flavour. All the flavours worked well together. Khun Nes said the eggplants are organic and she gets them from a local farmer in Pong Yang, so the supply is quite limited.

Japanese Pork Hot Pot. 199 baht. This was a great dish for a cool night! Loved the soup, which was sweet but not overly so.

Salmon Sashimi - 99 baht (4 pieces). Beautiful melt in your mouth sashimi. Delicious!

After all that, we had room for one more dish...

Crunchy Roll. 89 baht. This is not your traditional Japanese dish, and it provided a stark contrast between this and the previous dishes which had subtler, softer flavour. The sushi rolls are made, covered in a small amount of batter and fried. Served with chilli-mayonnaise sauce.

And just as we were ready to pay the bill, Khun Nes surprised us with a complimentary dessert to thank us for coming such a long way!

The dessert of the day was.... Strawberry with Marshmallow Toffee Cream. 99 baht. Wow, it was good - creamy and refreshing. The toffee cream was lovely and smooth (with a nice caramelly flavour) and sprinkled with tiny marshmallows. There was nothing left on the plate after we were through with it!

We enjoyed our meal at Fukuro very much. Too bad it's a bit of a drive otherwise I would go there all the time!

Fukuro
339 Moo 1
Mae Rim Plaza
A. Mae Rim, Chiang Mai
Tel: 0867832034
Opens: 11am - 9pm
Closes on Tuesdays
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/fukuro.fukuro/timeline

How To Order Noodles In A Thai Noodle Shop

2016-01-25T14:39:00.001+07:00

Have you ever been to noodles shops in Thailand and getting something the vendor thinks you want or wants to give you instead of really getting what you want?

Often, non-Thai speakers have trouble communicating with the vendor, so you end up getting what the vendor thinks you want, or just the "standard" dish, which is probably fine.

However, if you'd like to take control of what you're ordering and actually order what you want to eat rather than leaving it up to the mercy of the vendor, this guide is for you!

The Steps

1. Choose your noodles

Here are the more common noodles (kway tiew ก๋วยเตี๋ยว) you can get in a noodle shop:

"Sen Yai" เส้นใหญ่ - Soft, wide, flat rice noodles
"Sen Lek" เส้นเล็ก- Thin, flat rice noodles
"Ba Mee" บะหมี่ - Yellow egg noodles
"Sen Mee" เส้นหมี่ or "Mee Khao" - thin rice noodles, also known as "bee hoon" & vermicelli.
"Woon sen" วุ้นเส้น - Clear glass noodles. These are made from mung beans.
There is also another type of noodle soup you can get, that is getting a noodle soup without noodles! This variation is called "Gao Lao" เกาเหลา

2. Decide how you want your soup

"Haeng" แห้ง, literally, "dry" - The noodles / extra bits are cooked in the stock, but served without the soup.
"Nam" น้ำ, literally, "water" - with soup
"Yentafo" เย็นตาโฟ these are the pink noodle soup. The pink in the soup comes from fermented soy beans. It's generally served with "sen yai" (soft wide noodles) with morning glory and a cube of coagulated pig's blood. You can always take out the blood if you don't want to eat it (or ask for "mai sai leud" - no blood).

Yentafo
"Tom Yum" ต้มยำ - The soup is pre-seasoned with lime juice, chilli powder, fish sauce and crushed peanuts, so tom yum noodles are usually quite spicy and sometimes quite sweet. I usually ask for "mai wan" (not sweet). You can also ask for "mai ped" (not spicy). This is usually available for noodles with pork or fish (not beef).

Ba Mee Tom Yum See Khrong Moo (Egg noodles, tom yum soup, pork ribs)

For example, I mostly order "sen lek nam" (thin noodles with soup).

However, when I have BBQ pork / cha siew and wontons, I always get "ba mee haeng" - yellow egg noodles without soup.

3. Choose your meat

Generally each noodle shop with have their own specialty. For example, a shop might only sell beef (and beef innards) noodles, some shop have fish balls and fish dumplings, other shops have BBQ pork/cha siew and wontons.

Beef Noodles:

Generally, beef noodles contain beef, various beef internal organs (heart, stomach, liver, etc) and beef balls (look chin neur). If you just ask for beef noodles, you'll get everything (or whatever the vendor wants to give you). If you don't want certain bits, you'll need to be more specific!

Kuaytiew Neur ก๋วยเตี๋ยวเนื้อ / Kuaytiew Neur Ruam ก๋วยเตี๋ยวเนื้อรวม = the works! ie. beef + internal organs + beef balls

Neur sod เนื้อสด= raw beef (quickly dipped in boiling water before serving, so you're not actually eating raw beef)

Neur toon เนื้อตุ๋น = stewed, melt in the mouth beef

Look chin (neur) ลูกชิ้น (เนื้อ) เครื่องใน= beef balls

Kreung Nai เครื่องใน = internal organs / entrails

Example:

Sen Mee Nam Neur Sod = Vermicelli noodles, soup, "raw" beef only

Sen Lek Haeng Look Chin = Thin noodles, dry, beef balls only

If you want to leave out something:

"Mai Sai" ไม่ใส่ / "Mai" ไม่ / "Mai Ao" ไม่เอา = Don't put in... / Don't want

Example:

Baa Mee Haeng (Neur) Mai Sai Kreung Nai = Dry beef noodles without entrails.

Pork Noodles:

Moo sub หมูสับ = Minced Pork

Kreung Nai เครื่องใน= internal organs / entrail

Moo toon หมูตุ๋น - stewed pork

Look chin (moo) ลูกชิ้น (หมู) = pork balls

See krong (moo) ซี่โครง (หมู) = pork ribs

Example:

Sen Lek Tom Yum See Krong Moo = Tom yum thin noodles with pork ribs.

(One of my favourites!)

Note: Depending on the shop, not everything may be available.

Fish Ball Noodles:

Look Chin Pla ลูกชิ้น ปลา= fish balls (which may come in various shapes and flavours, and may not necessarily look like a ball)

Kiew Pla เกี๊ยว ปลา = fish wonton / dumplings

Example:
Sen Yai Yentafo. This will give you wide noodles, yentafo style with all the varieties of fish balls and wontons (if the shop sells them).

BBQ Pork:

You'll see Chinese BBQ Pork/cha siew hung up in the cabinet in front of BBQ pork noodle shops. Sometimes these shops will have pork wontons as well.

Kiew (Moo) เกี๊ยว (หมู) = Pork wonton

Moo Daeng หมูแดง ="Red" pork / BBQ pork / cha siew

My favourite is the Ba Mee Haeng Moo Daeng = Egg Noodles (Dry) with BBQ Pork.

If you want pork wonton and BBQ Pork: Ba Mee Nam Kiew Moo Daeng = Egg noodle soup with wonton and BBQ pork.

Sounds complicated? Here's a summary.

You can save the picture on your phone and take it with you to noodle shops to try it out!

Good luck and enjoy!

PS. I forgot to mention that you can order the noodles in the regular size or large size.

Regular size = tammada ธรรมดา
Large = Piset (literally, special) พิเศษ

The Dining Room @137 Pillars House

2015-12-14T16:35:00.000+07:00

What a gorgeous hotel! 137 Pillars House is an amazing property in Wat Gate area of Chiang Mai. There's an old wooden house there with 137 pillars, hence the name. This property originally belonged to East Borneo Company, and around, 1880 the house used to be the residence of the company's superintendents in Chiang Mai, Louis Leonowens, who also happened to be Anna Leonowens' son. The house was extensively renovated after the current owner bought the property in 2002 and the house became the centre piece of a new luxury hotel.

137 Pillars House's two restaurants are located in this historical setting. Palette Restaurant offers a formal dining option and seats up to 20 guests. I went with some friends to have lunch at The Dining Room, which is simply gorgeous and oozes romantic old world charm.

Perusing the lunch menu, I notice that the prices were actually quite affordable and comparable to other good restaurants and hotels. The Dining Room offers a variety of Western,Thai and various vegetarian dishes. For example, the Prawn and Avocado Salad (Prawns, parma ham, avocado, mango and mixed green salad on ginger-soy vinaigrette) - 360 baht. Other western dishes include burgers and pizzas. There is a bigger selection of Thai dishes and we opted for a few of Thai dishes to share.

Pla Thord Nam Ma Kam (crispy snapper fillet basted with tamarind sauce and pandan leaf). This was lovely, and I thought was quite good value at 230 baht. The fish fillet was nicely fried - crispy but not oily, and served with (surprisingly) toasted pitta bread and just the right amount of tamarind sauce (ie the fish was not smothered in the sauce), which accented the natural taste of the snapper rather than over powering it.

The Green Curry Chicken with Prawns - 230 baht, was also great. Yes, it's a pretty standard Thai dish, but The Dining Room makes a pretty mean rendition. It was smooth, creamy and rich, well balanced with all the right flavours but not particularly spicy. Perfect. Tip: Try the curry with the pita bread from the snapper in tamarind sauce.

Last but not least, the Pad Thai with Prawns. 480 baht - I know, quite expensive for a pad thai, but we were curious. The Dining Room's pad thai served wrapped in an omelette, some crab meat, and 3 river prawns. There was even some green mango, which was a little unusual but it did give a nice tangy accent to the dish.

Conclusion
I must say I enjoyed having lunch at The Dining Room very much. The atmosphere and set up is so lovely and peaceful that I felt like I was transported to another world. Although the food did take quite some time to come out, all the dishes were served at the same time. The food was lovely and I thought quite good value considering where we were. The staff was very friendly and attentive.

Beautiful grounds

The Dining Room
137 Pillars House
2 Soi 1 Nawatgate Road
Wat Gate, Muang, Chiang Mai
Tel: 053 247788
Opens: breakfast, lunch & dinner

Natwat Home Cafe

2015-11-30T11:47:00.000+07:00

Being someone who's always busy and running around doing something or another, it was nice not to be in a hurry going somewhere and to come to Natwat Home Cafe with the girls after my Sunday morning Zumba class. Yes, we do need to reward ourselves once in a while after a good work out!

I really like Natwat Home Cafe. It's a cute and chic little cafe, and it's great that it's not SO busy around Sunday lunch time, so I felt like I could really relax and chill out here.

After perusing through the menu, I must say, it was actually quite difficult to decide what to eat. I wanted to try to many things!

The prices seem quite reasonable too, for example, a latte costs 60 baht. I decided to go for the sweet potato latte, (60baht) just because it sounded interesting. What's that? It's steamed sweet potato, milk, maple syrup and served with mascapone cheese. I asked for "not sweet" and it turned out to be lovely. The latte was quite smooth, although there was still a slight grainy texture from the sweet potato. It was worth a try.

Sweet Potato Latte (in front) - 60baht

After some deliberation, I decided to try the Baked Eggs, which consisted of 2 eggs, home made meatballs, tomato sauce, tomatoes, black olives, coriander, jalapeno, pesto and parmesan cheese. 165 baht. Incidentally, our meals took quite a bit of time to come out, but when it did (so please be patient!), it tasted as great as it looked. The sourdough bread was delicious and dense, and perfect for soaking up the juices. The home made meat balls were really good, and the black olives gave the dish a nice rich contrast to the tomato flavours.

Baked Eggs. 165 baht.

One friend decided to try the Chorizo Sandwich and she said it was very nice too.

Natwat Home Cafe is a lovely cafe. A place I could go back time and time again. The staff is very friendly and welcoming. The menu has many interesting dishes including various deserts and pasta dishes that I'd like to try. There is some parking behind the cafe.

Natwat Home Cafe
330/2 Charoenrat Rd, Watgate
Muang, Chiang Mai
Tel: 081 716 1608
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Natwat-Home-Cafe/325606954147642
Opens: 7:30am - 4:30pm Tuesdays-Sundays
Close: Mondays

China Kitchen - Szechuan Cuisine. Shangri-La Hotel

2015-11-12T20:42:00.000+07:00

I've always thought Chinese food at Shangri-La Hotel is excellent (as it should be!). At the beginning of last year, I did a review on the then called Shang Garden. Their Chinese restaurant is now called China Kitchen, and also serves Szechuan food.

Szechuan food! I was very excited when I received a promotional email about this around May of this year. I suddenly thought of the amazing dishes that I've had in China with the super intense flavours and spiciness, and at the same time, the mouth numbing / tingly sensation from the szechuan peppercorns. Ah... I was in heaven.

I have been to China Kitchen a couple of times since May and each time, the food has been wonderful. I didn't do a review then as I was with a client and it was hardly appropriate to take out the camera to take food photos while we were discussing property deals in Chiang Mai!

I remember though, on my first visit, what really stood out for me was the Fried Bitter Gourd with Egg White and Shrimps (110 baht). These were like soft and fluffy pancakes. So good!

Recently, China Kitchen launched a new seafood menu and invited me to come to try it, and I must say, I was quite impressed looking at the menu of various seafoods, and the prices seemed quite reasonable too. Prices range from around 190 baht for the Steamed Green Shell Mussels with Black Bean Sauce to 680 baht for the Mapo Lobster in Szechuan Style.

The Mapo Lobster was lovely, and quite impressively presented with the lobster meat (from the body) being used in the mapo tofu. The lobster meat was sweet and firm in the "sauce" of tofu squares (lovely and silky in texture) and a bit of bean paste, which adds another dimension to the flavour of the dish. BTW, the lobster "body" is not there just for decoration! I really enjoyed digging out the meat from the lobster claws (which had been deep fried with a thin, salty batter).

Incidentally, the szechuan dishes here are actually quite mild compared to what I've had in China. This is probably a good thing because we can eat more of it, and also means that you can taste more of the food!

Another szechuan dish that I love is the Boiled Fish Szechuan Style. 320 baht. Although I love it, I must say that when I ordered it in China, I usually end up as the only person eating it! I think this might be because there, we get the whole fish, and I guess my friends found it troublesome to pick out the bones...or may be they were afraid it's going to be too spicy looking at the layer of chilli oil on top!

At China Kitchen, fish fillet is used, so it's very easy to eat. The chilli oil "soup" is delicious on rice and is also quite spicy. I quite enjoyed the almost creamy consistency of the "soup".

... And having all these spicy food, it's a good idea to order some cool veggies to munch on while you take a break. The Crisp Lettuce with Sesame Paste. 110 baht. The cool, crisp lettuce was a great accompaniment to the meal (especially when we needed a break from all the other spicy dishes!).

Last but not least... another favourite Szechuan dish - Crispy Chicken with Dried Chilli. 90 baht. The chicken pieces were beautifully fried, with deep salty flavour and also crispy skin. There's also some peanut to add a bit of a crunch to the dish.

So, if you're game to try some szechuan dishes, China Kitchen is a good choice. The food is excellent and prices not too bad. They do have some non-spicy dishes too. The staff are all very friendly.

China Kitchen
Shangri-La Hotel
Lunch: 11:30am-2:30pm
Dinner: 6:00pm-10:00pm
Closed on Mondays
Website: http://www.shangri-la.com/chiangmai/shangrila/dining/restaurants/shang-garden/

Woo - Cafe, Art Gallery & Lifestyle Shop

2015-10-19T19:45:00.001+07:00

Woo Cafe.. Here's a rather cool, trendy and very popular cafe on the riverside strip of shops, bars, cafes and restaurants. It's a great place to chill out and chat with friends over lunch or coffee (or dinner).

The cafe was already filled up by the time I arrived at 12pm, and my friends and I managed to get a communal table on the terrace.

The ambience, I would say, is comfortable & chic, somewhere you could spend the whole morning or afternoon just hanging out and chatting.

After lunch, we were able to move to the cool air-conditioned room.

I agonised over the menu a bit as I was hoping for something a bit unusual. There are the regular Thai food options, salads and various Western dishes (pasta and sandwiches).

On this occasion, may be I was going through a fussy mood, nothing really stood out (don't you hate that?)... but then, I saw Khao Yum on the menu.

Khao Yum (rice salad) is a southern Thailand dish which consists of rice (as you would imagine!), various finely chopped vegetables, herbs and spices and tamarind dressing.

When it came out, I must say it looked very pretty. Each ingredient came separately, delicately chopped in little bowls.There were two coloured rice (the blue butterfly pea rice, and pink rice), raw mango, puffed rice, kaffir lime, shredded dried shrimps, etc, etc.

Khao Yum - Before

So it was up to us to mix everything together, then add the dressing! And I must say, it was lovely and colourful! The rice salad was very light, full of flavour of the different herbs, and the sweetish and sourish tamarind based dressing. I really enjoyed every bite. Around 195-200 baht.

Khao Yum - After!

One friend ordered the Salmon Sandwich, which looked and tasted great, and comes with a bowl of nicely fried french fries.

And another friend ordered the Tom Yum Fried Rice (which she said she had before, and it was very good). Unfortunately, Woo was out of it this time, and a pasta was ordered instead. It looked really good, and would have been good, but I think the chef forgot to add salt as there wasn't much taste to the pasta.

Overall, I really enjoyed Woo Cafe. I love the chic yet down to earth atmosphere. The cafe has a very welcoming ambience and you feel like you can just sit back and relax and have a meal or coffee and chat with friends without feeling rushed. The staff is very friendly and welcoming and the food is also pretty good. I'd love to come back to try other dishes, as well as their coffees and desserts.

Woo is on the pricey side (for a cafe), with most of the dishes being around the 180-200 baht mark.

There is some parking in front of the cafe.

The lifestyle shop part is also very nice, and has some beautiful home decorating and jewellery items for sale.

Woo - Cafe, Art Gallery & Lifestyle Shop
80 Charoenraj Rd,
T. Wat Ket, A. Muang, Chiang Mai 50000
Tel: 052003717
Opens: 10am-10pm

Hong Kong Lucky Restaurant (Dim Sum & Hong Kong style food)

2015-08-30T22:28:00.003+07:00

When we talk about dim sum in Chiang Mai, there are several usual suspects - Yang Zi Jiang; Fujian (at Dhara Dhevi); the China Kitchen at Shangri-La Hotel (which now also has great Sichuan food); and China Palace (at Holiday Inn) - which has been my family's go-to dim sum place due to the very reasonable costs and quality (about 30-40 baht / dish).

Now, we have a newcomer, Hong Kong Lucky Restaurant, owned by the same owners as Hong Kong Lucky Cafe at Nimmanhaemin Road.

Could this be the best dim sum restaurant in Chiang Mai?

Certainly the variety is there. Hong Kong Lucky Restaurant serves 35 dim sum dishes, including favourites like Hakao (steamed prawn dumplings), Siew mai, Deep Fried Taro Dumpling, Steamed Chicken Feet in Black Bean Sauce (my personal favourite!), and some other dishes that I haven't really seen in other dim sum places in Chiang Mai eg. Baked Bun with BBQ Pork.

I must say pretty much everything I tried was great.

Of particular note:

The Pan Fried Turnip Cake was lovely and full of flavour. There is a jar of homemade chilli oil on the table. On the first couple of visits, I piled on the chilli oil (I loved the chilli oil!), and it tasted great. On the third visit (in 3 weeks), I realised that the turnip cake tasted pretty amazing just by itself. Actually, on this visit, I did not use much of the sauces provided on the table at all.

Deep Fried Dumpling with Shrimp - This was excellent. The dumpling skin was light and crispy on the outside, and lovely and soft on the inside. Very nice texture and taste.

"Lava Custard Bun" - sorry, I don't know the name of this bun, but it's absolutely delicious. Served steaming hot (be careful, the lava is hot!!), the bun is filled with creamy eggy custard that oozes out of the bun like lava when "opened". Mmmm,... heavenly! Perfect as an end to the meal.

As mentioned above, everything was very nicely done. As we order the dishes a-la-carte, everything comes out steaming hot.

The atmosphere feels very much like a Hong Kong restaurant. There are even a few karaoke rooms upstairs. The teapots even have the plastic spouts attached to them to prevent tea from dripping.. which I think is a mark of a true Cantonese restaurant!

As for the price, the price of the dishes range from 60-130 baht, most of the dishes were around 80 baht. On my visits, we paid between 200-300 baht/person, depending on how much was ordered.

The Kitchen

Definitely a place we can keep going back to time and time again, especially since there is a whole heap of other non-dim sum dishes. Incidentally, I have been to dinner at Hong Kong Lucky Restaurant as well, and the food is also great. I especially liked the prawn wonton soup (you can choose to have it with or without noodles).

Hong Kong Lucky Restaurant
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hong-Kong-Lucky-Restaurant/136351880030697?fref=ts
5/6 Soi 7, Ratchadamnoen Road
Sriphum, Muang, Chiang Mai
Tel: 099 535 8883
Parking is a little difficult, but the restaurant saves 3 parking spots for customers in front.

Italics Restaurant @ Akyra Manor Hotel

2015-08-16T18:15:00.000+07:00

Italics, Innovative Italian. Pretty cool name! This hip and happening restaurant is in the lobby of Chiang Mai's newest boutique hotel, Akyra Manor.

The decor is rather fresh and modern. The ambience is sophisticated, stylish and cool (air-conditioning cool)!

As it was a lovely day out, my friend and I decided to have our early lunch on the terrace, which happens to also have more of a relaxing atmosphere. It was nice to just sit there, chill out and slowly enjoy the meal and do a bit of people watching.

Love the tree!

And the food? That's what we're here for, and Italics does not disappoint. The menu is very interesting, with a variety of innovative dishes created by the Executive Chef Phubase that you won't find elsewhere.

Highly recommended was Chef Phubase's signature dish, the Coffee Braised Short Rib ( 695 baht) . This is beef marinated in coffee, and slow cooked in duck fat for over 24 hours, resulting in super tender beef that's packed full of flavour but still had kind of soft roundedness to it (from the duck fat?). The beef was served in a little pot over some spinach, and also with gnocchi cooked in duck fat. The gnocchi was wonderful - slightly crispy and hard on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. It was like, wow, when everything was eaten together. The only downside for us was that this dish was quite rich and we couldn't finish it all. Lucky we had some green salad that we ordered separately. I didn't think of it at the time, but I think the beef would have been perfect with a glass of red wine.

Now the Garden Greens Salad (220 baht) was no ordinary "green salad". It also contained marinated pepper and grilled vegetables, coated in a light balsamic dressing, and served with a generous amount of parmesan. It was a great salad, very enjoyable to eat. Eat slowly to enjoy the different flavours and textures.

As for the appetiser (sorry, we're going backwards!), East Meets West (250 baht) was suggested to us. This is almost like 2 dishes - a selection of "cured and smoked" sausages, and a sweet potato and edamame salad. The sausages were very strongly flavoured and quite salty, but they went well with the lovely, milder tasting sweet potato and edamame salad (in a kind of mayonnaise dressing). The salad is a bit like a Japanese style potato salad with edamame added to give a little crunch. Great idea!

The sweet potato edamame salad is served in a sardine can. Great presentation!

For dessert, we had the Banana Ricotta Cheesecake (220 baht). This wasn't what I was expecting in terms of taste and texture. The cheesecake itself was incredibly smooth and surprisingly not sweet at all. The base also had an interesting texture, (which I can't work out!), but it wasn't like other cheesecakes that I've had. All in all, it was quite lovely.

Towards the end of the meal, Chef Phubase, and the Hotel Manager, Chris came round for a chat and asked for feedback. The restaurant (and hotel) was opened just a couple of days before. Apart from a couple of minor things, I think pretty much everything was great.

The staff was very friendly, from the guy who valet parked my car (yay! parking is available!), to the restaurant manager, Cy, and the waiters/ waitresses who took turns to man the terrace, making sure our water is topped up - very attentive service indeed!

Incidentally, Chris mentioned that they will be implementing a "Resident's Program" where residents can get 15% discount. So, if you live in Chiang Mai, it would be worth asking about this when you visit the restaurant.

Italics is an interesting addition to Chiang Mai's food scene. The service and food is great. If you're looking for somewhere for a special night out, or even just looking for something a bit different, the restaurant is worth checking out.

Italics
22/2 Nimmanhaemin Soi 9
T Suthep, A Muang
Chiang Mai 50220
Website: http://theakyra.com/chiang-mai/akyra-manor-italics/
Opens: Daily 11am-11pm
Tel: 053 216 219

Gusto Site

2015-07-20T18:12:00.004+07:00

Sometimes all you want to do after a hard week's work is to relax... Well, may be not just sometimes! So after a crazy week of work, eating (of course!), a bit of drinking and live music was in order.

I live out on the Outer Ring Road (121) and although it's not that far away, going into town or Nimman feels like a bit of a hike, and I didn't fancy going through the traffic (and looking for parking!). Fortunately, there's a cool little restaurant / cafe on the New San Kamphaeng Rd, just only about 10 min from my house. The traffic, and parking, was a breeze!

Gusto Site. A newish (about 6 month old) restaurant on the New San Kamphaeng Rd.
There's plenty of parking!

The ambience is lovely. There's a big garden and seatings inside and outside the restaurant. There's live music on Friday and Saturday nights. I've been there on a couple of Saturday nights and the band played great easy listening music. A really nice place to chill out.

The atmosphere of the restaurant / cafe.

The food here is pretty good too. Gusto Site has mainly Thai dishes,Thai style pasta dishes, as well as various great looking desserts.

The Deep Fried Pork Belly with Galangal Chilli Dip was lovely. The pork was well seasoned, and the chilli dip was very refreshing. It's like the northern green chilli dip (Nam Prik Noom) with galangal. An interesting twist. (95 baht)

Deep Fried Pork Belly with Galangal Chilli Dip, an icy glass of Heineken.. Mmm
BTW, thanks Zalora for the green bag that I took to the restaurant.

The Deep Fried Tilapia (Tabtim fish) with Garlic. This is also quite good and nicely done.The fish pieces (not fillets as the pieces still had bones in them) are very nicely fried with light crispy skin, and pillow soft on the inside. It comes with a sweetish sauce with galangal (I think they really like galangal here!). I found I only needed a bit of sauce on the fish as the sauce is quite sweet. 185 baht.

Deep Fried Tilapia (Tubtim) Fish with Garlic. Served with a sweet galangal sauce.

Gaeng Ratajuan with Pork Ribs. This is quite a lovely, interesting "curry". It features a lot of the usual suspects of Thai herbs (lemongrass, kaffir lime, and other herbs) as well as shrimp paste, which makes the soup/curry really smooth with earthy flavours. Westerners may not appreciate this as it is a bit of an acquired taste due to the shrimp paste. 95 baht

Gaeng Ratajuan with Pork Ribs

What I really love most at Gusto Site (that also helped to replace the calories burnt from that morning's kickboxing session), were the desserts. Oh well, that's one of the benefits of exercising, I guess.. so we can eat more!

The French Toast is really lovely. There's a thick, buttery, slightly salty toast that contrasted well with the scoop of strawberry sorbet (which was.. wow! .. it was full of strawberry flavours). There was also half a mango and various fruits served with the french toast as well. 165 baht.

Loved the French Toast!

Their signature dessert is the Little Bear Chocolate Mousse Cake. Very cute.. and tasted great too (I love chocolate!). My friend wasn't too fussed about chocolate so I ended up eating the whole thing myself (too good to waste!). The mousse was lovely, creamy and soft, not too sweet, and very chocolatey. 95 baht.

.. and the Little Bear Chocolate Mousse Cake! So cute (and decadent)!

I really enjoyed my time chilling out and eating at Gusto Site.

The restaurant seems quite popular with local families from near by moo baans (housing estates). Worth a try if you're in the area!

Gusto Site
T. Ton Pao, A. San Kamphaeng
GPS:18.744124, 99.077092
Tel: 087 657 9889
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GustoSite

Great live music

Enoteca Italian Restaurant & Buonissimo Food Affairs

2015-07-01T20:23:00.000+07:00

A fellow foodie friend was really excited when he told me that the former executive chef of Le Meridian has teamed up with Buonissimo to open a new Italian Restaurant, Deli and wine shop at Fifth Avenue (near Meechok Plaza).

Searching for a place to eat one day, I was driving in the area and a thought, "let's drop in and see if they're open", and yes, they were. It was their 3rd day!

We were warmly welcomed by the staff. The downstairs area was quite cold (as it's also the wine shop and deli). There was a very big selection of wine, and in the deli counter, lots of cheeses, and dessert.

If you're someone like me who feels the cold (the downstairs area need to be the right temperature for the wine), you might want to head upstairs, where the temperature is a bit warmer, and where you'll also find the open kitchen, and tables with Doi Suthep view.

The menu at Enoteca is quite varied, and has interesting dishes (at least I haven't seen them before), including the Marinated Eggplant Rolls Stuffed with Cream Cheese and Sundried Tomatoes. This turned out to be a rather decadent starter. It is exactly what was described in the menu. The more earthy flavour of the eggplant was highlighted with the tartness of the sun-dried tomato, and complimented well with the creaminess of the soft cheese. Lovely. 140 baht.

The Insalata Con Feta salad ordered was lovely and fresh, simply dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. I thought the fetta was a bit hard though (I prefer the softer variety). 180 baht.

My favourite for the meal, the "handmade" lasagne, was a dream. The chef said it was done to his mother's recipe. The pasta was so soft, and the filling full of cheese and beef flavours. I think it might have been one of the best lasagne I've had (although I must say I'm no lasagne expert!). 190baht.

I must say I'm quite impressed with Enoteca. The food and ambience is lovely. I like the decor too - simple and stylish, and the staff are very friendly. Will definitely be back to try other dishes.

Enoteca (Great Fine Wine)
555/148 Fifth Avenue
T. Nongjom, A Sansai, Chiang Mai 50210
Tel: 093 272 2406
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreatFineWine

Corner Bistro

2015-05-03T10:48:00.004+07:00

I've heard that Corner Bistro's fries are amazing. On the menu, it said the fries are triple fried - not something I've heard of before! Sounds pretty special though, especially when you can choose various dips to come with it, as well as adding some optional toppings like cheese, gravy or chilli. Mmm..

I went with a friend to this great little restaurant for a late lunch. We had a choice of the breakfast or the dinner menu. The menus weren't large, but we really did have trouble deciding what to eat as everything seemed really good. Finally, we opted for the breakfast menu.. which then led to a bit of a discussion about how to have the eggs!

I've heard that the Eggs Benedict here is fantastic... and I've never had Eggs Benedict in Chiang Mai.. it's just not a common thing here. But alas, it was a very hot day and I felt like something a little lighter. The Eggs Benedict will have to wait for another visit ... so I went for the Slow Cooked Omelette with salmon on the side. The menu said the order will take a while but it's worth it, so why not? It did take quite a long time... and yes, the omelette was lovely, fluffy and creamy and went perfectly with the beautifully cooked and flavoured breakfast potatoes which were boiled the sautéed with onions, capsicum and herbs. The toast was good too - very nice bread! 90 baht + a bit extra for the salmon.

My friend, incidentally, chose the Eggs Florentine with homemade hollandaise sauce, and her order came at the same time as mine... which, I must say, is quite unusual in restaurants in Thailand (unless you go to more expensive Western restaurants). The Eggs Florentine looked terrific. I had a little taste, and it was very good. 150 baht.

...And the fries? Unfortunately, Corner Bistro was out of fries, so that'll have to wait till next time too... but that might have been good thing because I wouldn't have been able to fit in dessert. Now, normally, being health conscious (hehe), I would usually share dessert, but my friend didn't want to share her brownie so I had to get one for myself! Not something that I was very sorry about... because the homemade brownie was very good - rich and very chocholatey.. It was nicely warmed up too, and contrasted well with the cold ice cream. Yum. 100 baht.

Corner Bistro is a very nice little restaurant with a lovely setting and relaxed atmosphere. They also have an outdoor verandah area. There is also an an air-conditioned room on the 2nd floor as well.

It's definitely a great place for breakfast or brunch. I haven't tried dinner there yet, but the menu also looks pretty good with various steak and pasta dishes. Incidentally, Kevin, the Thai-American owner, said that dinner is when Corner Bistro really shines, so it would be worth going back and check it out at that time.

The service is good. The staff is friendly and attentive, always kept our glasses filled with ice cold water (very much appreciated on a very hot day!).

Corner Bistro

8/8 Ratchapreuk Alley

(Close to Kad Suan Kaew)

Opens daily:

7am-3pm & 5pm-12am

Tel: 096 497 6766

Raw Truckr (Seafood!)

2015-04-24T15:55:00.001+07:00

Seafood!! This is not something Chiang Mai is known for, especially being so far away from the sea! Sometimes I dream of biting into a nice juicy prawn, slurping on the fat in the head (well, that's the best bit!) but alas, good prawns are a bit hard to come by.

In comes Raw, a new seafood place (we could always use more seafood places in Chiang Mai!) . They have prawns - river prawns and tiger prawns, NZ mussels, scallops, cockles, squid, fish Andaman oysters, amongst others things. Everything is served raw on some ice, and you grill it yourself on the table.

There are various sets available depending on the number of people in your party - eg. Small (1-2 persons) - 399 baht/set. There large set is 899 baht for 5-6 persons (without oysters) and 1099 baht (High Sea Set) with oysters.

High Sea Set - fresh water prawns, squid, NZ mussel, scallop, spotted babylon,
cockles, razor clams, fresh Andaman oyster 1099 baht

I must say that everything was very fresh and very good quality. I loved the scallops and prawns especially. The river prawns were huge, and I enjoyed eating the head (with all the fat!). The meat was very firm and tasty too. Not disappointed at all! Everyones gets a small plate of the seafood seafood sauce (slightly spicy) and this complements well with everything.

Raw has tiger prawns too (199 baht each or 3 for 299 baht).

If you want extras of anything, you can also order them individually. We ordered extra oysters as everyone seem to enjoy it so much. The rather huge oysters are served with seafood sauce (the green chilli sauce) and fried onions. We poured the seafood sauce on the oysters and let it sit for a while. The oysters are so huge we had to cut it in half to eat it. Again, the oysters are very fresh. 1 for 89 baht, 3 for 249 baht.

Raw does also serve steamed rice (15 baht) and also shrimp paste fried rice (39 baht) if you'd like come carbs to fill you up.

A little warning - you might end up ordering a bit more than you thought you would as what we get isn't really all that filling. Still in our party, the cost worked out to be about 550 baht per person.

In terms of ambience, I'd say Raw's set up is kind of a street dining with style and a bit like eating at a garden party! They have a stylish looking food truck, and tables set up in a courtyard. There's also a large tent where more tables are set up, which is very handy when it rains!

The staff is very friendly and the young owner very enthusiastic and speaks English well.

The truck

Raw Truckr
Nimman Soi 13
(in the little arcade on the left hand side about 10m from Nimanhaemin Rd).
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rawtruckr
Tel: 094 847 8118
Opens daily: 5pm-11pm

Kelly's Bistro

2015-04-04T15:38:00.000+07:00

If you're craving Fish & Chips, Kelly's is a good place to go. Rob, the owner has won a couple of Fish & Chips award in England, so you can't go really wrong!

Kelly's serve other various dishes as well eg. Shepherd's Pie, lasagne, panini sandwiches, hamburgers, etc. Their breakfast is also very good.

I particularly like Kelly's home made English muffins with Egg and Sausage patty (59 baht) - the eggs are cooked well, and the sausage and muffins are home made - much, much, much better than McDonald's!

The Toasted Chicken Panini is also great if you're looking for something a bit healthier. Grilled chicken with mayo, lettuce and tomato. (90 baht). You can also add cheese, bacon or pineapple as well (extra charge). There are other fillings are also available.

OK, on with the show... the specialty here is of course, Fish and Chips. We chose the deep sea cod (195 baht), which was nice and meaty and with a stronger flavour than dory. I think they do have dory as well. The fish batter was nice and crispy, and not oily and is served with tartare sauce. You can choose your sides - chips, mushy peas and / or salad (extra charge). This time I just had the chips, and they were good. On the table, there are bottles of malt vinegar, tomato sauce, and chilli sauce, so you can take a pick!

If you're on a diet, or feel like a healthier alternative, they do have grilled dory as well.

Shepherd's Pie - this is not something I have very often. The Shepherd's Pie here is made form pork and cooked in gravy. Not bad, but I found it quite salty. Served with peas and toast (to soak up the last of the gravy!). 160 baht.

A few standard Thai dishes are also available as well. I've tried a couple of these, and they were well made from good quality ingredients.

Kelly's Bristo
206/26 Meechok Plaza
T. Faham, A. Muang, Chiang Mai 50000
Tel: 098 016 1990
Opens: Tue- Sun 9am-8pm
Closed on Mondays

Rustic and Blue - Handgrown Produce and Artisan Food

2015-03-29T16:40:00.000+07:00

This artsy cafe in Nimman Soi 7 is certainly a very charming and inviting place. The decor is rustic and oozes warmth, and there's a large backyard with outdoor seating, comfy looking sofas and even teepees!

There's a whole wall of various kind of fragrant tea blends, created by the owner of the cafe. (The cafe used to the a tea shop). I didn't get a chance to try the tea this time, but will definitely come back to try some.

My friend and I dined indoors in the air-conditioned room that warm evening, but the other patrons chose to eat outside in the garden.

The menu is quite interesting and unusual, like the Duck Prosciutto Crostinis with Mango Black Tea jam. I'd be really interested to see what this 'mango black tea jam' tastes like. I might try it next time.

This time, we opted for the Rustic Warm Brie Salad, which turned out to be really lovely - a whole heap of various super fresh mixed green veggies; still slight warm grilled pumpkin, bell pepper, and zucchini; various seeds eg. pumpkin, sunflower and chia; topped with cereal. I've never had cereals in my salads before, and it added a nice and chewy texture. The dressing was lovely too. The menu said "home made jam dressing" - which I thought would be sweet, but it wasn't at all - it was like an oil based dressing with orange juice - quite refreshing and uplifting, actually. And the warm brie? A slice of brie cheese was toasted with a slice of baguette which gives a nice contrast to the salad. 225 baht.

The Beef Chilli with Homemade Chorizo & Poached Egg was quite good as well. The beef chilli was nicely made. The chorizo had a deep flavour. I think the best thing though was the poached egg which also it pulled everything together! I piled everything on the toasted baguette and had a bit of everything at the same time... yum! 325 baht

There is also a large selection of drinks to choose from, including craft beers, regular beer, wine (and of course, tea). Rustic and Blue serves breakfast, and also have vegetarian and gluten free dishes like the Gluten-free Chickpea Crust Pizza.

The prices are on the high side, but at the same time, the food is quite lovely and creatively put together, very different from what you'd get elsewhere. The ambience and service is wonderful as well. I definitely want to go back and try other dishes and drinks.

Rustic and Blue
Nimman Soi 7
(Opposite Hong Kong Lucky Cafe @ De Marche)
Tel: 086 654 7178
Opens: 8:30am-10pm

Khun Mor Cuisine @ Nimman Soi 17

2015-03-18T23:19:00.000+07:00

There are a never ending list of restaurants to choose from in Nimman area. Many come and go, and many have also stuck around. Khun Mor Cuisine has been around for a while, having opened its doors on Nimman Soi 17 about 16 years ago.

"Khun Mor" is what Thai people call a doctor. Khun Mor first started with a humble boat noodle shop in Mae Taeng, and later opened her shop in Nimman in 1999.

The menu is quite extensive with most of the dishes being traditional Thai and Northern Thai dishes. If you're travelling through and would like to try new dishes other than the good old pad thai and green curry chicken, Khun Mor Cuisine is a good place to be adventurous and try a few new dishes!

Having said that, the pad thai here is great! The "Pad Thai Jun Goong Sod" (sorry, not photos... no idea how I missed taking the photo of this one!) is very well done, the texture and taste was just right. There were also 3 huge prawns on top. 129 baht.

I also like Khun Mor's home made sai ua, a northern Thailand specialty - herbed pork sausages. It was quite herby, and I noticed also that the sausage didn't have a lot of fat (compared to other sai uas that I've eaten). The unusual thing to me is that sai uas are not usually served with condiments on the side - garlic, ginger, chilli, etc. I did try a piece of the sausage with some condiments, but I prefer to just eat the sai ua by itself as I found the ginger and garlic pieces tend to overcome the flavour of the sai ua. 89 baht.

"Krathong thong" - Minched chicken and sweet corn in crispy golden cups. These are quite lovely. The filling has a vibrant curry flavour, and compliments well with the crispy cups. Good appetiser! 69 baht.

"Kaeng Kae Gai" - spicy tradintional herbal soup with mixed vegetables and chicken. This soup is really lovely, fragrant and smooth. A warning though.. The soup contains shrimp paste and fermented fish, an acquired taste, and may not be everyone's cup of tea! Other herbs used in this soup include chilli, lemongrass, garlic and shallots. It went beautifully with the rice, and I must say Khun Mor's Cuisine's rice was beautiful and really fragrant. There was something about the fragrance of the rice and the soup that was just wow when eaten together! Highly recommended, if you dare! 119 baht.

Khun Mor Cuisine is quite large restaurant and is decorated in Lanna style. Most of the seating is in the open air section. There's also some seating in a small garden and an air-conditioned room (5 baht extra per person to use the air-cond room).

There seem be be a mixed review of this restaurant, especially on Trip Advisor. There were a few comments regarding the service that reviewers were not happy about. When I was there, I thought the service was fine. We were in the air-conditioned room and there was a waiter hanging around outside, so it wasn't difficult to get his attention.

And one of the things I really like about Khun Mor Cuisine is the parking! Coming to Nimman to eat is usually not one of my top priorities because of 1) the traffic and 2) the parking situation (or lack of!). This restaurant has its own parking lot across the soi, and a few spots in front of the restaurant too, which is really helpful!

Khun Mor Cuisine
10/1 Nimmanhaemin Rd Soi 17
T Suthep, A Muang, Chiang Mai
Tel: 053 226 379
Opens: 7:30am-10pm

Rock Me Burger & Bar

2015-03-08T23:08:00.001+07:00

After seeing some social network feeds of incredible looking burgers with knives through them, I thought to myself, I must go check this Rock Me Burger & Bar out!

Burgers are not something I have very often, I guess because we are in Chiang Mai, and good burgers have been hard to come by. I've noticed though, that there has been some good burger joints popping up around town such as Beast Burger, a food truck in Nimman area which I'd love to try!

Anyway, let's get back to Rock Me Burger!

Rock Me Burger's menu is quite interesting with various signature burgers with awesome names like "Rocking on Heaven" which has 150g of ground beef or pork (yes, pork is also available who those who doesn't eat beef), homemade bun, cheddar cheese, scrambled eggs, lettuce, tomato, bacon, mayonnaise. There's also "Rocking in Hell", which has fried eggs and hot basil sauce. There are also other dishes like Crisp Chicken Sandwich with Lemon Sauce and Traditional Fish and Chips on Bun.

They also serve "old fashion" milk shakes, fruit shakes, and various cocktails and mocktails.

I opted for the beef Rock Aloha - a regular burger with grilled pineapple and BBQ sauce. 180 baht. There was a choice of how the beef patty was cooked - rare, medium or well done.

The burger was quite spectacularly presented, as described earlier with a knife going through it, which I guess would be necessary to keep the burgers together! There was also no way I could grab the burger with my hands and look lady like at the same time, as the burger was way too tall, so the knife did come in handy... to eat the burger with knife and fork!

It tasted great, and I enjoyed the sweet and tanginess of the pineapple, and the sweetish BBQ sauce. The beef was of good quality, and didn't have a lot of fat. The tomato based sauce used on the homemade bun was lovely. The burger was served with a nicely fried & crispy onion ring, and some some fries - I really enjoyed the fries / potato wedges, especially when dipped into the sauce oozing out of the burger. Actually, I was very impressed with the fries and though a few more on the "plate" wouldn't go astray!

My friend went for the Classic NYC Street Hot Dog (130 baht). This is made from a homemade sausage, chopped onion, bun and mustard. It looked very good, and she said it tasted very good too.

Rock Me Burger has a bar outside the actual restaurant, so you have an option to eat there and watch the burgers being prepared, or you can go inside in the large air-conditioned room. The decor is quite simple but does give a vintage kind of feel.

The restaurant is situated on the tourist area of Loi Kroh Rd, at Raming Lodge Hotel, and is next to the popular Chez Marco. There is a parking lot in a little lane just past the restaurant on the right hand side (about 40 baht).

Rock Me Burger & Bar
Raming Lodge Hotel
17-19 Loi Kroh Rd
T Changklan A Muang
Chiang Mai
Tel: 089 8528801
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rockmeburger
Opens: 11:30am - 12am daily