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| Tuesday, 25-May-2004 00:00 |
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Sai Ua - Spicy Northern Thai Sausage
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If you ask some Thais to name a dish that Chiang Mai is famous for then there's a good chance you'll hear 'sai ua' more than once. It's a sausage that can vary a bit in spiciness and is made with several local herbs and spices. It's mostly sold grilled on charcoal, though many of the big shops also sell it 'fresh', wholesale style. Many Thais who come for a holiday or business visit to Chiang Mai would bring some Sai Ua and other Northern foods and snacks back home.
You can find Sai Ua at most markets and the odd road-side food stall. It's mostly eaten with some sticky rice and Nam Phrik Noom: A green chili dip made from long green chilies.
I feel compelled to include the most 'famous' place for Sai Ua in Chiang Mai, which is 'Mengrai Sai Ua' right next to the Sheraton Hotel (formerly named Westin Hotel) before you get to the bridge over the Ping river. (Photo 4, 5 and 6) At 22 baht per 100 grams it's also one of the more expensive ones, and frankly I like the vendor at some nameless market way down the Canal Road past the middle Ring Road a lot better.  He's getting pretty famous himself, and sells his Sai Ua now for 20 baht per 100 grams.
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| Monday, 24-May-2004 00:00 |
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Italian Lang Mo
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Italian Lang Mo is not the official name of this place but it's more the colloquial name, translating as 'The Italian behind Chiang Mai University', with 'Mo' being an abbreviation of 'Mo Cho' which in turn is an abbreviation for Chiang Mai University (Mahawithayalai Chiang Mai).. ... Oh you're still here? 
I've seen the sign for this one before, but the main sign on Suthep Road looked so unimpressive that I never really considered checking it out until it was recommended to me. And I have a weak spot for Western food in distinctly non-Western, non-tourist areas so went over to give it a try. It turns out that the place looks and feels far fancier and more professional than I thought: This is a proper Italian restaurant that charges a good deal less than some of the Italians downtown. Some of those downtown Italians are most definitely better and have a more varied menu, but Italian Lang Mo is still pretty good and not expensive. Also the house wine at 50 baht for a good glass is a steal.
Keep in mind that the food is mostly aimed at a Thai clientele. This means that some of the dishes may turn out to be a tad spicier compared to your average Italian..  Prices are moderate, most pasta dishes for example go for 70-80 baht each.
To get there, take Suthep Road driving towards the university. Keep going straight at the Canal Road intersection. A bit further you will see the sign on the left hand side, the restaurant is a couple of meters into a soi on the left.
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| Thursday, 20-May-2004 00:00 |
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Chinese Restaurant & Mushroom Suki (and TEA!)
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Mushroom Suki Chinese Restaurant
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Awesome.. now THAT's a teapot..!
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Peking Duck served with steamed pancakes & condiments
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Up to now I've mostly reviewed places that are on the cheaper end of the scale, with lots of attention for small restaurants, food stalls and Thai market food. Today we're going for something special though, at an up-market Chinese 'Pattakarn'. 'Pattakarn' is Thai for 'up-market restaurant', and then mostly Chinese restaurants. Ordinary restaurants are called 'raan ahaan', which translates literally as 'food shop'. Almost all restaurants in Thailand, also the bigger ones, still call themselves raan ahaan in a very down to earth way, but there are some distinctly posh places that call themselves 'pattakarn's. I personally feel a healthy reluctance to trying over-the-top looking places, as I firmly believe in paying for food and not for 'image', or for those evening-gown clad hostesses at the entrance or a personal waitress at your table eager to re-fill your beer after every sip. But I was in luck with this place, there really is a lot to like about it, and I can't honestly qualify many dishes as all that expensive!
Perhaps the main positive surprise for me at this place was perhaps not even their big range of mushrooms imported from China, which you can eat 'suki' style, by boiling them in broth/soup at your table. Or even the range of other Chinese favorites, like the excellent dim sum, suckling pig or Peking duck.. The main surprise was the tea. The very fragrant, 'perfumy' Chinese tea with 8 different herbs & spices in them. And the way in which they serve it, from a very large brass kettle with an outrageously long spout. I bet that takes a lot of practice to serve tea like that, check out all 12 photos.. Oh yes, this tea cost just 20 baht per person, including unlimited refills! Those are my kind of prices.. With the also excellent dim sum priced at 30 baht per bamboo steam-tray of 3-4 pieces, I can just see myself going here just for the dim sum, some appetizers & tea and really not drop a lot of money..
Of course if you want to spend money then you can: the Chinese 'heavies' also feature on the menu, like shark fin soup, a whole suckling pig at 600 baht, or Peking Duck for 420 baht. But that does give you a lot of food.. For the Peking Duck they serve you the crispy skin first with sauces, spring onions and the Chinese steamed 'mu-shi' pancakes to wrap them in. Then the actual duck meat can be prepared any style you like. There's enough meat to do 2 or even 3 dishes, the first is included in the 420 baht, and any additional dish is 80 baht extra. So when you order the Peking Duck with 2 additional duck dishes then you drop 500 baht. Really this is best done with a group of people. While you can probably finish it all with 2 or 3 people, you will be a little 'ducked out' afterwards..
I didn't try the mushroom suki yet, I'm not a huge fan of suki and the incredibly annoying commercials of Thailand's biggest suki chain don't help either, but then again I know some mushroom-freaks who will be delighted to try all the weird mushrooms on offer.
Mushroom Suki Restaurant (Pattakarn Suki Hed) is on Aom Muang road, the southern stretch of the inner ring road, on the corner of Chiang Mai Land road.
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| Wednesday, 19-May-2004 00:00 |
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Jerusalem Falafel
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Jerusalem Falafel Restaurant
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Interior
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Hummus & Falafel in Pita bread & Jerusalem Salad
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There are not many places for Middle Eastern food in Chiang Mai. In Bangkok there's the Sukhumvit soi 3 area that has an abundance of Arab food places. In Chiang Mai there are a couple of Arab restaurants, but they don't seem to be doing that well.. Which is a shame, because I think Middle Eastern food is a great break from the usual Thai and/or Western fare. Jerusalem Falafel is Israeli of course, though many of the dishes are best described as 'general Mediterranean', throwing in also some Greek and Italian favorites. Noting the similarity between Israeli and Arab food I just can't help but wonder why these people don't get along better.
Anyway, Jerusalem Falafel is an excellent place. The salads are great, and another 'must' is the set of 'meze' dishes with pita bread, a collection of dips & sauces (most notably hummus and tzatziki), grilled meats, cheeses and falafel of course, the ground spiced chickpea balls that gave this place it's name. Eating 'meze' style is best enjoyed with a group of people so you can order lots of different things. If it isn't already obvious, there are also many options here for vegetarians.
Prices are pretty moderate, most dishes are in the 70-80 baht range, including the Falafel & hummus pita bread shown above.
Jerusalem Falafel is on Moon Muang Road, just South of Thapae Gate.
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| Tuesday, 18-May-2004 00:00 |
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Raad Na
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Raad Na Phichit
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Busy during lunch time
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Rather elaborate seafood raad na with thin rice noodles
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Another day, and yet another Thai noodle dish. Raad Na this time, which is rice noodles with meat or seafood in a fairly thick gravy sauce. Most often you see this with wide noodles, though this place also does it with the very thin 'mee' noodles. Many small food shops and restaurants can do raad na, but this restaurant seems dedicated to the dish, which is why I picked this one, called 'Raad Na Phichit' (no English sign).
The seafood variation is pretty elaborate for a small road-side restaurant, throwing in some quail's eggs, fried shrimp, squid and fish-balls. It comes at a price though, while the regular version with pork meat is 25 baht, the seafood version goes for 40. Besides raad naa, also Phad See Iw (fried noodles with soi sauce & meat or seafood) features on the menu.
Phichit Raad Na is on Chang Klan road, the night bazar road, but further South from the night bazar. It's on the right hand side when coming from the night bazar area. Opening hours are 9am to 8pm.
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| Monday, 17-May-2004 00:00 |
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Mango Tree
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Mango Tree Restaurant
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Airconditioned, with live or recorded music that's not too loud
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Chicken in blue cheese sauce & chips. Good big glass of wine too
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Note: This place didn't make it in this location. The owner has moved to a slightly out of town location. More as I learn of it. Meanwhile, that building now has changed to..... yup, yet another bar!
However there's good news too, because the place next door, called the 'Mayflower' is still there and is improving all the time. The French owner really has a good menu together, and the prices are very reasonable. He offers a big range of food, including some more 'bar type' food like pizza and fries. And.... they deliver to any bar in the vicinity
Mango Tree Restaurant is still a bit of an odd one out on this stretch of Loi Kroh road, which is known for the girlie bars catering mostly to a Western tourist clientele. Mango Tree could even be called slightly up-market, and serves very good Western as well as Thai food. In many cities of the world, some of the best restaurants can be found in 'red light' areas, and Mango Tree would certainly not be an exception to the rule. In all fairness I'm not sure the area actually qualifies as a 'red light district' in the Western sense of the word; there's certainly no brothels there, just bars, and the area isn't overly dodgy or sleazy. Yet if you're male and have a pulse, it's quite likely some friendly ladies from the bars there will invite you in for a drink when going to Mango Tree. Besides the usual pictures of the place and the food I also include some pics of the bars around, be sure to view all 9 photos. Most of the bars are quite friendly really, good places for a drink, play some pool or chat with the staff.
Mango Tree's prices are a bit above average for Western food in Chiang Mai, but then again the taste and quality is well above average as well. The menu is pretty big with many British, Italian and general Western dishes to choose from. Most main courses are in the 100-200 baht price range. Mango Tree is on the corner of Loi Kroh road and Kotchasarn road, close to the city moat.
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| Sunday, 16-May-2004 00:00 |
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Sweet dumplings from the pot's mouth (Khao kriab pak mor)
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Khao Kriab Pak Mor
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Little pots used for steaming on a piece of cloth
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Served with some herbs and chillies (!)
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This sweet snack/desert is made by steaming dumplings filled with a sweet filling on a piece of cloth on top of a pot/bowl whcih is then covered for steaming. You will find this at (food) markets, or at this shop here that made it their specialty. I'm pretty positive that this is the best / most reliable place for it in Chiang Mai. The shop is on Charoen Rat road, this is the road that goes up along the East bank of the Ping river between Nawarat bridge and Nakhorn Ping bridge. This is the road where The Riverside, the Good View and several other big river-side restaurants are. The shop is on the left hand side, before you get to Nakhorn Ping bridge / Kaew Nawarat Road. 20 baht gets you a styrofoam box full.
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| Saturday, 15-May-2004 00:00 |
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Sizzzz...?
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Sizzad Buffet, Steak & Salad
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Salad + veggies. Meats are fried at the counter in the back
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..65 baht.. and you can go for seconds and thirds..
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In many ways Thailand is the land of the free. It's way free-er than some countries that continuously pat themselves on the back saying how free they are. Don't believe me? Go open a pub or restaurant in the West and call it "Khon Kaen Fried Chicken", or KFC for short. Or a "Rock Hard Cafe". Or anything else that is, erm, inspired, by an existing brand, either name or style. (Be sure to check all pictures for this entry to see what I mean.)
Enter Sizzad Buffet, Steak & Salad. Note the sign. Does that remind you of something? It's inspired of course on the Sizzler restaurants, a big American chain that has some stores in Thailand as well. It's also quite expensive food by Thai standards, especially Chiang Mai standards. Not so at Sizzad, which is an all-you-can-eat 'steak' buffet restaurant. Note that the word 'steak' in Thailand is not exclusively limited to beef steak; you can easily have pork steak, chicken steak and even fish steak and Sizzad has them all. I would even say that the fish & chicken is the better choice than the beef, as regular Thai beef doesn't quite compare with 'proper' imported steaks from New Zealand and the like. But nothing wrong with the pork, chicken and fish and you could assemble a pretty decent 'fish & chips' at this place. While it's buffet style, meats and fish are prepared fresh all the time. (Or during the more popular lunch and dinner hours anyway).
There's also a salad bar, spaghetti & sauce and bread and none of these are anything to write home about. Just like a Thai restaurant in the West may serve Thai food that sorta-kinda looks like Thai food but completely lacks something, so do these side dishes here. The usual things are wrong with it, actually: The salad cream is too sweet, the bread the standard mushy 7-eleven factory type and the spaghetti sauce is like it came out of a Tesco house-brand can.. But let's give them a break, and look at the big picture: Crispy hot fried fish & French fries, some veggies on the side, be creative and "make your own chicken-burger" with the bread... and drop just 65 baht on the whole meal.
Sizzad is on the Chang Klan road, this is the Night Bazar road, but much further South from where the Night Bazar area is. When coming from the Night Bazar, it's on the right hand side of the road.
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| Friday, 14-May-2004 00:00 |
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Khao Mao - Fried Banana & Coconut
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Stalls right beside an old pagoda ruin, at the 3 Kings Monument
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Fried banana (left) and khao mao (right)
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Khao mao up close & personal :)
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I've written about banana fritters before, here, but at that time left out the Mercedes Benz of fried banana: khao mao. For regular fried banana, the banana is dipped in a simple rice flour batter and then fried, sometimes with sesame seeds and pandanus leaves for added flavour. For khao mao, the banana is covered in a thicker coconut coating first and then fried. Do look out for them when you're getting fried banana, the taste of sweet banana & coconut goes real well together. If you get khao mao fresh & warm and then also source some ice cream and Cointreau liquor to go with it then you've got a dessert that's so good that authorities in charge of the social-order campaign would most likely ban it if the word ever got out. Don't tell anyone you got this from me. 0)
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| Wednesday, 12-May-2004 00:00 |
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Khanom Khrok miniature pancakes
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Khanom Khrok stall ("Phee Tu")
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Baking khanom khrok on pans with small round holes in them.
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10 Baht gets you quite a lot..
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The further you go, the more things look the same it seems sometimes. From holidaying in Europe, I distinctly recall these Dutch style miniature pancakes. Thailand has a sweet snack that looks rather similar, though they're not quite the same in taste and structure.
The Thai 'khanom khrok' are equally crisp on the outside, but the inside remains more 'custardy' rather than 'doughy' of the Dutch/Danish variety. Also either sweet corn, taro or spring onions (yes) are added to give three different varieties, though the white coconut-custard remains the dominant flavour.
Khanom Khrok can be found all over town, mostly at markets or like this one on Kaew Nawarat Road, after the Bamrungrat Road traffic lights but well before you get to McCormick Hospital. 10 Baht gets you quite a lot of them.
On two non-food related pictures I include we can see that the hot & hazy season is definitely over in Chiang Mai. Had some long awaited rain that freshened everything up, and you can almost see the place turn more 'green' by the hour. During the hottest/haziest times, you couldn't even see Doi Suthep mountain which is right next to the city. Now you can clearly see that we're actually in a big valley, with mountain ranges all around. You can even see Doi Inthanon, Thailands highest mountain. The summit is some 100 kms away from Chiang Mai city.
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