Best restaurants in Chiang Mai

[JBChiangRai]

2 minutes ago, BonnieandClyde said:

Singling out this place as polluted is ridiculous - and under Thai civil law, defamatory.

It is no more or less unhygenic than any other eatery located on a busy throughfare anywhere else in Chiang Mai.

You would be well advised to understand that truth and falsehood are not the issues in defamation and liable cases here in Thailand.

It is the "intent to defame".

Guten appetit!

It’s in the middle of an upscale housing estate, I don’t get the pollution inference.

[VillageIdiot]

On 8/12/2024 at 1:05 PM, TooPoopedToPop said:

If Duke's pizza isn't the best in CM, where can you get a better NY style pizza?

Asking for a friend of mine from Brooklyn.

For years the consensus has been that Duke's has the best pizza in Chiang Mai if you like the kind made by New York Italians.

Everybody has their preferences.

Sinatra's was Grimaldi's under the BB on the Brooklyn side. He would have it sent up to his suite in the Plaza when he was in town.

The delivery boys would contend for the run and the c-note tip.

Little Italy; Arthur Ave. in the Bronx; Court St. in Brooklyn; all have their boosters - foodies who swear their place is the Gold Standard.

To each his own.

In Chiang Mai I'll stick to The Duke's [Iron Bridge] until something better comes along.

[freedomnow]

3 hours ago, BonnieandClyde said:

Singling out this place as polluted is ridiculous - and under Thai civil law, defamatory.

It is no more or less unhygenic than any other eatery located on a busy throughfare anywhere else in Chiang Mai.

You would be well advised to understand that truth and falsehood are not the issues in defamation and liable cases here in Thailand.

It is the "intent to defame".

Guten appetit!

Yeah, they can try suing me outside Thailand with an anon. username.

 

[freedomnow]

6 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

By teleportation? Wafted by ghosts perhaps?

 

Let’s keep sensible shall we.

Yes, you are right - air pollution tends to stay in the same place as we can see with fires  burning west of Chiang Mai.

The passage of traffic next to a place is going to move road pollution fumes into the place.

 

[Cameroni]

Chai n Thai is an interesting Indian restaurant, because it has a South indian menu  including dosas. Good quality, but sadly the atmosphere is not great and the last time there were very low class English people there.

[Nick Carter icp]

3 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

Chai n Thai is an interesting Indian restaurant, because it has a South indian menu  including dosas. Good quality, but sadly the atmosphere is not great and the last time there were very low class English people there.

 

  Even low class English people would be better than middle class Scottish people 

[Cameroni]

Just now, Nick Carter icp said:

 

  Even low class English people would be better than middle class Scottish people 

Hahahaha, I like English people. Salt of the earth, just those  people were heavily tatooed, very loud, demanding, it really was an irritant, glad when they left.

[gamb00ler]

On 8/14/2024 at 11:45 AM, JBChiangRai said:

Yes, I hope you enjoy it, best Penang I’ve ever had.

One of my wife's cousins is in the tour bus biz and knows a lot of great Thai restaurants that are under the radar.  I've been to one in Ayutthaya in a rural setting on the banks of the Chao Phraya river.   I've never been disappointed by any of the dishes we've ordered and the prices were hardly higher than side street vendors.

 

Panang is definitely a central Thailand dish and I've had many excellent versions of it, including my wife's.  She cooks as well as the restaurant I described above.  Her panang shown below.

[novacova]

1 hour ago, gamb00ler said:

I've been to one in Ayutthaya in a rural setting on the banks of the Chao Phraya river.

That’s a bit far from cm for a meal don’t you think?

[Mahseer]

Had lunch today at Norden the Swedish restaurant which has been smartened up since my last visit. One standout item on the menu for this bloke is the halibut which never disappoints. Top spot.

[Cameroni]

Stories on Ping River has suprisingly good Western breakfast options. The Thai food is good too. Plus nice atmossphere.

 

 

[maesariang]

On 8/13/2024 at 9:36 PM, Cameroni said:

More feedback in case anyone's already tried them.

I went there didnt eat. Seemed high for basic food. 

[maesariang]

On 8/15/2024 at 11:18 PM, gamb00ler said:

One of my wife's cousins is in the tour bus biz and knows a lot of great Thai restaurants that are under the radar.  I've been to one in Ayutthaya in a rural setting on the banks of the Chao Phraya river.   I've never been disappointed by any of the dishes we've ordered and the prices were hardly higher than side street vendors.

 

Panang is definitely a central Thailand dish and I've had many excellent versions of it, including my wife's.  She cooks as well as the restaurant I described above.  Her panang shown below.

Panang curry has multiple claims of origin, reflecting its complex history and cultural exchange between Thailand and Malaysia. Here are the key findings:

Central Thailand: Some sources suggest that Panang curry originated in central Thailand, sharing similarities with traditional Thai red curry.

Laos: Another claim states that Panang curry originated from Laos, a local rural area in Thailand, before spreading to modern cities in Thailand and beyond.

Penang, Malaysia: A third perspective posits that Panang curry actually originated from Penang, an island off the west coast of Malaysia, and was later adopted in Thailand.

[Cameroni]

Kiti Panit is always an excellent choice, great execution on some standards.  

[placnx]

On 8/13/2024 at 8:48 PM, Cameroni said:

 

Speaking of San Khampaeng, along the San Kamphaeng road to Mae on is Nasi Jumpru. A superb thai restaurant. Nice inventive and original menu, good service and surroundings and moderate mid-range pricing

Nasi Jumpru has good food, but it's a bit too far to get take away for us.

[Cameroni]

3 minutes ago, placnx said:

Nasi Jumpru has good food, but it's a bit too far to get take away for us.

 

They really do, I especially like their lychee starter. But it is a bit out the way, true.

[placnx]

On 8/13/2024 at 8:48 PM, Cameroni said:

 

Speaking of San Khampaeng, along the San Kamphaeng road to Mae on is Nasi Jumpru. A superb thai restaurant. Nice inventive and original menu, good service and surroundings and moderate mid-range pricing

Nasi Jumpru has good food, but it's a bit too far to get take away for us.

 

On 8/14/2024 at 10:25 AM, marin said:

 

So you live in Chiang Mai. Where have you been eating? How has it been? What are some of your favorite Thai dishes? Where in your opinion is the best Khao Soi?

Dont you get tired of Thai food breakfast, lunch and dinner?

We have gotten khao soi gai from Khao Soi Mae Sai for years, always good.

https://guide.michelin.com/th/en/chiang-mai-region/chiang-mai/restaurant/khao-soi-mae-sai

[BritManToo]

On 8/14/2024 at 2:07 PM, BKKKevin said:

Yes joking about Taco Bell...

But for a really good taco check out La Casita inside the moat... Especially thier hardshell pork red chile tacos!... 80 baht apiece with free tortillas and salsa 😉

 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/a1GKXNa72uRtSoXm6?g_st=ac

 

I've just started eating at La Casita and agree it's good.

I like the soft shell chicken taco and the pork chorizo taco.

[Cameroni]

I'm really keen to try Chennai to Rangoon, South Indian should be worth the trip.

[placnx]

On 8/14/2024 at 2:56 PM, novacova said:

She needs to find a better source for corn, the tortillas she makes with corn she uses just isn’t quite right, possibly some genetically modified. Though she does know how to cook Mexican.

Does she grind the corn? Is it white corn?

[gamb00ler]

On 8/15/2024 at 8:18 PM, gamb00ler said:

Panang is definitely a central Thailand dish and I've had many excellent versions of it, including my wife's.  She cooks as well as the restaurant I described above.  Her panang shown below.

 

On 8/22/2024 at 9:17 PM, maesariang said:

Panang curry has multiple claims of origin, reflecting its complex history and cultural exchange between Thailand and Malaysia. Here are the key findings:

Central Thailand: Some sources suggest that Panang curry originated in central Thailand, sharing similarities with traditional Thai red curry.

Laos: Another claim states that Panang curry originated from Laos, a local rural area in Thailand, before spreading to modern cities in Thailand and beyond.

Penang, Malaysia: A third perspective posits that Panang curry actually originated from Penang, an island off the west coast of Malaysia, and was later adopted in Thailand.

It would be more accurate if I had said that panang is much more common in central Thailand.  My wife has explained to me that many central Thai dishes were heavily influenced by Malaysian cuisine. 

[gamb00ler]

On 8/15/2024 at 9:51 PM, novacova said:

That’s a bit far from cm for a meal don’t you think?

Definitely true... the intent of my post was to suggest that if someone wants good panang they should choose a restaurant focusing on central Thailand cuisine.

[Keeps]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I've just started eating at La Casita and agree it's good.

I like the soft shell chicken taco and the pork chorizo taco.

I often get a takeaway from La Casita if I've been further down Ratvithi Rd having a couple of drinks in the Score bar. Agree that the soft shell taco's are very good. With a takeaway you still get a big bag of complimentary chips and all the dips. Great value. 

 

They actually do some good snacks at the Score bar. The owner is Dutch and does Frikandellen, krokets and other similar snacks. 

[novacova]

3 hours ago, placnx said:

Does she grind the corn? Is it white corn?

Yellow corn. 

[Bill97]

58 minutes ago, novacova said:

Yellow corn. 

Many kinds of corn and it needs to be processed before grinding 

[ricklev]

1 hour ago, novacova said:

Yellow corn. 

That's interesting. I thought the tortilla chips, which I liked, were made from flour?  Anyway, it is a good restaurant.  

[novacova]

22 hours ago, Bill97 said:

Many kinds of corn and it needs to be processed before grinding 

She only uses yellow corn for the corn tortillas at La casita.

22 hours ago, ricklev said:

That's interesting. I thought the tortilla chips, which I liked, were made from flour?  Anyway, it is a good restaurant.  

it's probably made from corn flour out of a bag as opposed to fresh corn, but that shouldn’t matter, type of corn and how it’s cooked, lime and cooked in lard. She makes flour tortillas used for the burritos and quesadillas.

[ricklev]

6 minutes ago, novacova said:

She only uses yellow corn for the corn tortillas at La casita.

it's probably made from corn flour out of a bag as opposed to fresh corn, but that shouldn’t matter, type of corn and how it’s cooked, lime and cooked in lard. She makes flour tortillas used for the burritos and quesadillas.

Lard!  Say it ain't so....  It's possible, but I doubt they are frying the chips in lard.  Surely, they would not serve chips fried in lard with the vegetarian tofu chorizo burrito (damn good!).

Edited October 12 by ricklev

[novacova]

1 hour ago, ricklev said:

Lard!  Say it ain't so....  It's possible, but I doubt they are frying the chips in lard.  Surely, they would not serve chips fried in lard with the vegetarian tofu chorizo burrito (damn good!).

La casita doesn’t use lard, probably palm oil? If you want a good crunchy tortilla chip, then lard does the trick as how it’s cooked up in Mexico. Personally I prefer lard fried tortilla chips with roasted chili goop.

[Cameroni]

On 10/11/2024 at 10:31 AM, placnx said:

Nasi Jumpru has good food, but it's a bit too far to get take away for us.

 

Following our exchange I went to Nasi Jumpru today. It was a good reminder of just how good Nasi Jumpru is.

 

As starters of course the crip battered Lychee stuffed with minced pork in satay sauce was a must, I also ordered the ham and cheese spring rolls as I had a taste for cheese. Obviously the filled Lychee was the star, but the ham and cheese spring rolls were excellent.

 

I couldn't decide between the Hang Lay ribs with roti and the duck in red curry so I ordered both, the girlfriend ordered the barbecuded mackarel. The duck in red curry was very good, high quality duck meat in big juicy chunks, however, the Hang Lay ribs really were the highlight. They reminded me of these beef short ribs I had in an Indian restaurant, incredibly tender but still with excellent bite. Nice cocktails, alas with too much ice as always.

 

Now, what really takes Nasi Jumpru a notch above the competition is the eclectic artful decor, which really entertains and pleases the eye, the soft western music and the excellent unobtrusive service. The giant red sofa and plush chairs and attractive table also round out an accomplished ambience.

 

Bit of a drive, but very worth it. Especially because it is not too crowded due to its location.

 

Highly rate Nasi Jumpru today still.