Places to EAT around Chiang Mai - reviews and discussion

[wimpy]

12 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Does Mexican count as 'farang food'?

 

If so La Casita in Ratvithi Road is well worth a visit. 

Tried it last night. The beef quesadilla was excellent, and the margarita was perfect.

[ElwoodP]

Troll post and reply removed.

@georgegeorgia Stop this now.

[suzannegoh]

On 10/17/2024 at 8:39 AM, FolkGuitar said:

The Gekko Garden Restaurant on Sri Donchai Rd. offers a large Farang menu as well as Thai food. It offers good food and good value for the money.
They will be doing a Thanksgiving buffet, as well as their regular Sunday night buffet.

 

Might as well recommend Mad Dogs too if you're going to recommend that place.  Both offer inexpensive low quality food for people who drink too much to be able to recognize good food from bad.

[suzannegoh]

On 10/25/2024 at 7:46 PM, Old Curmudgeon said:

 

"Home-Style" farang food ... here's more, especially for my fellow Americans.

 

In my opening post, I emphasized "hole-in-the-wall" garden-style restaurants.

Well, the food is more important than the surroundings, right?

 

I think so, too, so I'm going to add another restaurant to this topic.

Not hole-in-the-wall.

Not garden-style either.

But excellent, home-style, farang food, mostly American, including Tex-Mex, but also a full-English, complete with a bottle of HP brown sauce.

 

Newly opened, just 3 months ago.

And apparently independent, owner-operated ... NOT a chain.  NOT in a mall.

 

Route 66 is an American diner-style restaurant.

On the outside, a non-descript building on the edge of the highway behind Payap University.

On the inside it looks like a real diner from 60-70 years ago in the USA.

(I'm thinking of Mel's Diner in San Francisco and countless others scattered along the highways of the USA in those days.)

 

But who cares about the decor?

I certainly don't.

Let's get to the food!

 

And that will take some explaining ...

 

When Thai cooks try to replicate Western food, they usually get the appearance right, but, they almost never get the taste or the texture right.

If pastries, too sweet or not sweet enough.

If meat, over cooked, or not cooked enough.

If bread, too soft and squishy.

etc., etc.

Would be a similar result if I tried to make som-dtum.

 

But Route 66 gets the tastes exactly right.

And I mean, exactly.

That tells me there's an American with lots of restaurant experience in the kitchen.

He gets it right.

 

Plus, whenever I walk into any restaurant for the first time,

I'm looking for indicators of quality and careful management.

Is it clean? ✓

Are things generally neat and in order? ✓

Is the place free from any bad smells? ✓

 

And there's another way I look for indicators of quality: the brands of products.

At Route 66, ketchup was Heinz. (NOT Rosa).

Butter packets were Anchor. (Not Imperial or Allowie).

My tea bag was Twinings (English). (Not some anonymous food service label).

 

So we're off to a good start at this new restaurant.

 

I'll let you dig through the menu yourself.

I ordered American-style breakfast: pancakes, link sausage, eggs.

Generous servings and arrived at the table hot.

 

Well, whether they know it yet or not, our venerable favourite, The Duke's, is in for some serious competition.

Except for location -- Route 66 is far out on the Eastern edge of town.

But plenty of parking right in front.

And motorcycles welcome.

 

In the opening post, I mentioned a Thanksgiving dinner at the old Garden Cafe near Thapae Gate.

What do you know:

On the table at Route 66 was an advertising card for their Thanksgiving dinner!

And a Christmas dinner, too.

 

I'll put a map and several photos below.

(Seems there's another branch in Pattaya, but I don't know anything about that.)

 

I have no connection with this restaurant in any way, other than as a satisfied customer.

 

(Photos below stolen from Google maps.  Not my photos.)

.

Agree that Route 66 is Excellent.  Currently the best option inCM for farang “comfort food".

[Old Curmudgeon]

1 hour ago, suzannegoh said:

low quality food for people ... [who can't] recognize good food from bad.

 

+1 to @suzannegoh

 

Based on recommendation here from @FolkGuitar, I ordered for delivery from Gekko Garden.

Bah!

Not worth eating.

No more Gekko Garden for me.

 

This thread asks for suggestions of independent restaurants in CM that offer home-style farang food, not detailed restaurant reviews.

So I won't post details.

[FolkGuitar]

2 hours ago, suzannegoh said:

 

Might as well recommend Mad Dogs too if you're going to recommend that place.  Both offer inexpensive low quality food for people who drink too much to be able to recognize good food from bad.

 

How kind and polite of you to say so...

I don't drink so perhaps I can recognize the quality of food, and I enjoy my meals at Gekko Garden, along with dozens of others who eat there regularly.
I don't find it necessary to eat at fancy, expensive restaurants every day. A good family-style place is fine for me.

[FolkGuitar]

1 hour ago, Old Curmudgeon said:

 

+1 to @suzannegoh

 

Based on recommendation here from @FolkGuitar, I ordered for delivery from Gekko Garden.

Bah!

Not worth eating.

No more Gekko Garden for me.

 

This thread asks for suggestions of independent restaurants in CM that offer home-style farang food, not detailed restaurant reviews.

So I won't post details.

 

Quite understandable!

Most restaurant critics have their foods delivered so that they can critique a meal that had been cooked 30 minutes before it even arrives at their table... after being bounced around on the back of a motorbike stuck in traffic.

 

Sorry you didn't enjoy your meal. We usually do. But then, we eat it while it's still fresh and warm in the restaurant.

[hakancnx]

Recommend "My Kitchen" in Nong Hoi. 

 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/sy52dND2R9WWViMt9?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy

[Old Curmudgeon]

2 hours ago, hakancnx said:

Recommend "My Kitchen" in Nong Hoi.

 

Photos look like a very pleasant garden-style restaurant.

And the farang food looks tempting.

 

@hakancnx what are your favorite items to order at "My Kitchen"?

 

[Tedly]

On 10/25/2024 at 8:46 AM, Old Curmudgeon said:

 

"Home-Style" farang food ... here's more, especially for my fellow Americans.

 

In my opening post, I emphasized "hole-in-the-wall" garden-style restaurants.

Well, the food is more important than the surroundings, right?

 

I think so, too, so I'm going to add another restaurant to this topic.

Not hole-in-the-wall.

Not garden-style either.

But excellent, home-style, farang food, mostly American, including Tex-Mex, but also a full-English, complete with a bottle of HP brown sauce.

 

Newly opened, just 3 months ago.

And apparently independent, owner-operated ... NOT a chain.  NOT in a mall.

 

Route 66 is an American diner-style restaurant.

On the outside, a non-descript building on the edge of the highway behind Payap University.

On the inside it looks like a real diner from 60-70 years ago in the USA.

(I'm thinking of Mel's Diner in San Francisco and countless others scattered along the highways of the USA in those days.)

 

But who cares about the decor?

I certainly don't.

Let's get to the food!

 

And that will take some explaining ...

 

When Thai cooks try to replicate Western food, they usually get the appearance right, but, they almost never get the taste or the texture right.

If pastries, too sweet or not sweet enough.

If meat, over cooked, or not cooked enough.

If bread, too soft and squishy.

etc., etc.

Would be a similar result if I tried to make som-dtum.

 

But Route 66 gets the tastes exactly right.

And I mean, exactly.

That tells me there's an American with lots of restaurant experience in the kitchen.

He gets it right.

 

Plus, whenever I walk into any restaurant for the first time,

I'm looking for indicators of quality and careful management.

Is it clean? ✓

Are things generally neat and in order? ✓

Is the place free from any bad smells? ✓

 

And there's another way I look for indicators of quality: the brands of products.

At Route 66, ketchup was Heinz. (NOT Rosa).

Butter packets were Anchor. (Not Imperial or Allowie).

My tea bag was Twinings (English). (Not some anonymous food service label).

 

So we're off to a good start at this new restaurant.

 

I'll let you dig through the menu yourself.

I ordered American-style breakfast: pancakes, link sausage, eggs.

Generous servings and arrived at the table hot.

 

Well, whether they know it yet or not, our venerable favourite, The Duke's, is in for some serious competition.

Except for location -- Route 66 is far out on the Eastern edge of town.

But plenty of parking right in front.

And motorcycles welcome.

 

In the opening post, I mentioned a Thanksgiving dinner at the old Garden Cafe near Thapae Gate.

What do you know:

On the table at Route 66 was an advertising card for their Thanksgiving dinner!

And a Christmas dinner, too.

 

I'll put a map and several photos below.

(Seems there's another branch in Pattaya, but I don't know anything about that.)

 

I have no connection with this restaurant in any way, other than as a satisfied customer.

 

(Photos below stolen from Google maps.  Not my photos.)

.

I'll second the quality of food at Route 66 Chiang Mai, I've had lunch there a few times and everything I had was very good. It's a new favorite of mine.

[DD86]

On 10/25/2024 at 7:46 PM, Old Curmudgeon said:

 

"Home-Style" farang food ... here's more, especially for my fellow Americans.

 

In my opening post, I emphasized "hole-in-the-wall" garden-style restaurants.

Well, the food is more important than the surroundings, right?

 

I think so, too, so I'm going to add another restaurant to this topic.

Not hole-in-the-wall.

Not garden-style either.

But excellent, home-style, farang food, mostly American, including Tex-Mex, but also a full-English, complete with a bottle of HP brown sauce.

 

Newly opened, just 3 months ago.

And apparently independent, owner-operated ... NOT a chain.  NOT in a mall.

 

Route 66 is an American diner-style restaurant.

On the outside, a non-descript building on the edge of the highway behind Payap University.

On the inside it looks like a real diner from 60-70 years ago in the USA.

(I'm thinking of Mel's Diner in San Francisco and countless others scattered along the highways of the USA in those days.)

 

But who cares about the decor?

I certainly don't.

Let's get to the food!

 

And that will take some explaining ...

 

When Thai cooks try to replicate Western food, they usually get the appearance right, but, they almost never get the taste or the texture right.

If pastries, too sweet or not sweet enough.

If meat, over cooked, or not cooked enough.

If bread, too soft and squishy.

etc., etc.

Would be a similar result if I tried to make som-dtum.

 

But Route 66 gets the tastes exactly right.

And I mean, exactly.

That tells me there's an American with lots of restaurant experience in the kitchen.

He gets it right.

 

Plus, whenever I walk into any restaurant for the first time,

I'm looking for indicators of quality and careful management.

Is it clean? ✓

Are things generally neat and in order? ✓

Is the place free from any bad smells? ✓

 

And there's another way I look for indicators of quality: the brands of products.

At Route 66, ketchup was Heinz. (NOT Rosa).

Butter packets were Anchor. (Not Imperial or Allowie).

My tea bag was Twinings (English). (Not some anonymous food service label).

 

So we're off to a good start at this new restaurant.

 

I'll let you dig through the menu yourself.

I ordered American-style breakfast: pancakes, link sausage, eggs.

Generous servings and arrived at the table hot.

 

Well, whether they know it yet or not, our venerable favourite, The Duke's, is in for some serious competition.

Except for location -- Route 66 is far out on the Eastern edge of town.

But plenty of parking right in front.

And motorcycles welcome.

 

In the opening post, I mentioned a Thanksgiving dinner at the old Garden Cafe near Thapae Gate.

What do you know:

On the table at Route 66 was an advertising card for their Thanksgiving dinner!

And a Christmas dinner, too.

 

I'll put a map and several photos below.

(Seems there's another branch in Pattaya, but I don't know anything about that.)

 

I have no connection with this restaurant in any way, other than as a satisfied customer.

 

(Photos below stolen from Google maps.  Not my photos.)

.

Obese menu,but great.

[JimTripper]

There are so many restaurants in CM that I would not bother looking one up on a map and taking a special trip there. Just walk around the most popular areas. The food does differ, but not usually enough to make a big deal of it. I rarely care about or remember restaurant names.

[Old Curmudgeon]

 

Preamble:

"Restaurants" are a hot topic on any forum for expats -- anywhere in the world -- including this forum.

I suggested to root admin to add a sub-forum for restaurant reviews.

Hopefully it would self-organize with a separate thread for each restaurant.

 

Root admin advised to start topics that could morph into a sub-forum.

So here goes:

And I suggest to others adding restaurant reviews to follow this title format:

     Sub forum - restaurant reviews - Chiang Mai: [restaurant name]

 

------------------

 

 

Route 66 is a new restaurant in Chiang Mai.

Opened just 3 months ago.

 

Menu American diner style.

Almost exactly what I'd expect of any roadside dinner in the USA, 40-50-60 years ago.

Expect to look up from studying the menu to see parking lot crowded with 18-wheelers.

 

• All-day breakfast, including pancakes, corned beef hash, biscuits & sausage gravy
• Home-made chili with cheese on top
• Pulled smoked pork sandwich with BBQ sauce and coleslaw inside the sandwich
• Wisconsin-style home-made bratwurst sausage
• Philly cheese steak and Italian meatball sub sandwiches
• Apple pie.  Pecan pie.  Banana splits

 

 

Thai foods just one page, at the end of the menu, but variety looks suitable to bring your Thai friend.

 

A full English breakfast, but I'm not qualified to comment on the taste.

And no other specifically British foods:  No savory pies, not chip buttie, no afternoon tea, either.

Clearly focused on American foods.

 

I've been there twice:

Clean, neat, well organized -- which tells me management is farang, and that's a good omen for the future of this restaurant.

 

Service quick and with a smile.

Waitresses very helpful and quite good English.

Eager to make sure we got exactly what we wanted, not just rush to take the order.

 

On of the things I liked best about Route 66, is the food comes to the table hot, or at least still warm.

Delivering hot food hot is not a Thai tradition.

So this was a pleasant treat.

Could improve if the plates were warmed before putting on the food, but that custom seems unknown in these parts.

 

I can recommend (and my taste buds are 100% USA born and bred):

• pancakes:  good taste, soft and fluffy texture, good quality ingredients (i.e. NOT "Imperial" pancake mix. but syrup was "corn syrup" imitation flavour, not even close to real maple syrup.
• scrambled eggs: cooked just right, no added anything, but could improve if cooked in butter.
• home-fry potatoes: cooked just right, not slightly raw as in some restaurants with Thai cooks in the kitchen
• fried shrimp with Sriracha-mayo sauce: I didn't taste this, but got a good report from my Thai companion who scarfed up every bite.

 

But no restaurant is perfect:

Those nice home-fries were doused with chili powder.  Ugh! 

I didn't enjoy at all, but some farang will. 

When I discussed with waitress, she instantly understood the problem of chili powder on the potatoes. 

And she advised next time to order:  "Potato: no preek". 

So apparently I'm not the only one to complain about that.

 

Lots of parking for motorcycles in front and cars around back.

Ramp for wheel chair, but looks like a very narrow ramp -- more like just a "thought" than a use-able ramp.

Clean toilets.

 

I just discovered Route 66 last week.

Already went back this week for another meal.

 

Major shortcoming for many expats, is location out on the Outer Ring Road.

The OUTER ring road.

Might as well be in Shaghai as far as some of my fellow expats are concerned.

And no song-taew from the moat area, as far as I know.

 

 

 

I recommend this restaurant for any American craving the authentic taste of home.

And not just "back home", but the taste and quality of years ago in the USA.

 

Restaurant home page and menu:

https://www.route66chiangmai.com/

 

Google map and driving directions:

https://shorturl.at/QSvUX

 

This is the first post in what may become a sub-forum for restaurant reviews.

Comments and critique welcome.

 

 

 

[suzannegoh]

11 hours ago, Old Curmudgeon said:

 

+1 to @suzannegoh

 

Based on recommendation here from @FolkGuitar, I ordered for delivery from Gekko Garden.

Bah!

Not worth eating.

No more Gekko Garden for me.

 

This thread asks for suggestions of independent restaurants in CM that offer home-style farang food, not detailed restaurant reviews.

So I won't post details.

Another one that might qualify as home style (though not a hole in the wall) is Food4Thought.  They have two branches now with identical menus and the same quality.  However I'd recommended eating at one of those branches, at least the first time, rather than judging on the basis of a Grab Food delivery.

[Old Curmudgeon]

 

Opps !

This thread started by simply asking for suggestions of restaurants.

Understandably it veered off topic into restaurant reviews.

 

So I suggest, instead of posting "restaurant review" here, please add new topics with the title:

     Sub forum - restaurant reviews - Chiang Mai: [restaurant name]

 

The purpose in doing it that way is to motivate the forum boss into creating a new "sub topic" specifically for restaurant reviews.

Each restaurant would have it's own topic thread.

[1FinickyOne]

On 10/30/2024 at 10:30 AM, BritManToo said:

Well overpriced IMHO.

Food is good, portion size is large - I didn't find it expensive for what they give you - - 

[Tazmo]

Archers ; UN Irish ; Crustys; Cafe du Siam ; 

The Score Sports Bar; 

( google them for menu, all top quality and service)

[hakancnx]

19 hours ago, Old Curmudgeon said:

 

Photos look like a very pleasant garden-style restaurant.

And the farang food looks tempting.

 

@hakancnx what are your favorite items to order at "My Kitchen"?

 

 

I have been there a few times for his lunches. It's different every day. 

See the weekly list on facebook. 

 

 

 

[newbee2022]

Auf der Au

Huge Buffet every day, Sundays with pork legs 

[suzannegoh]

On 10/30/2024 at 10:30 AM, BritManToo said:

Well overpriced IMHO.

You must be on a very tight budget.

[Bill97]

14 minutes ago, suzannegoh said:

You must be on a very tight budget.

The opinion of being overpriced doesn’t mean he can’t afford it nor does it speak to his budget.   

[BritManToo]

3 hours ago, suzannegoh said:

You must be on a very tight budget.

I'm not on a tight budget, just generally tight.

[Maybole]

It's actually on the MIDDLE ring road according to Google maps.

[jeffandgop]

It's on Middle Ring Road

[chesterubi1]

One excellent part of their menu that you missed, is the kids section. Good choice of kids dishes for 99 Thb, all of which come with free drink and free ice cream dessert.

[Kiniyeow]

Humm, nobody has recommended "The Hideaway" yet.  Very extensive western and breakfast menu (Thai also).  Not far, but easy to miss.  Located here.  

https://maps.app.goo.gl/AkBju4QxxkWDC2G57

 

[Old Curmudgeon]

25 minutes ago, Kiniyeow said:

"The Hideaway" ...  Very extensive western and breakfast menu

 

Thank you, @Kiniyeow, very much.

I never even heard of "The Hideaway".

 

Pictures show nice atmosphere, big breakfast menu, even Mexican food.

Certainly looks worth the effort to get there.

 

 

For anyone who hasn't had breakfast yet ...

[Keeps]

I tried to locate and add this to an existing thread regarding Chiang Mai restaurants. Could I find it? No? Anybody else find the search function on here utterly useless? Seems that if it's not a thread posted/or commented on recently then you are buggered. Yes, I have tried searching for it, searching forums, trying to find old posts, notifications etc but to no avail. Probably down to my ineptitude.

 

Before I waste any of my time and any anyone else's (that will come with the post I intended), can anyone provide a link to it or any advice on how to search before this negative post gets swarmed over and deleted.

 

Thank you very much in advance. 

[chickenslegs]

6 minutes ago, Keeps said:

I tried to locate and add this to an existing thread regarding Chiang Mai restaurants. Could I find it? No? Anybody else find the search function on here utterly useless? Seems that if it's not a thread posted/or commented on recently then you are buggered. Yes, I have tried searching for it, searching forums, trying to find old posts, notifications etc but to no avail. Probably down to my ineptitude.

 

Before I waste any of my time and any anyone else's (that will come with the post I intended), can anyone provide a link to it or any advice on how to search before this negative post gets swarmed over and deleted.

 

Thank you very much in advance. 

You will get better results by searching google. Type in the subject of the thread followed by aseannow.

E.g.- https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=chiang+mai+restaurants+aseannow

[gamb00ler]

you're correct... the built in search function is hardly useful

 

I use Google advanced search at:

http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en

and I enter: aseannow.com/topic into the field labelled: site or domain

 

play around with the search terms to get the best results