Location of THE LEAF KITCHEN map.

Google maps reviews rating 5.0 with over 30 reviews perhaps a lot for a newer restaurant..

 

On 12/3/2025 at 11:11 PM, Jingthing said:

  

Google maps reviews rating 5.0 with over 30 reviews perhaps a lot for a newer restaurant..

 

 

 

 

If you look at the review history of the people who wrote the review, almost all of them have no other reviews than that one for that restaurant.

 

They probably forced all the staff to sign up to review the restaurant and give it 5 stars.
I no longer read reviews from people who don't have more than 100 reviews published on different sites.

 

 

6 minutes ago, Espanol said:

 

 

If you look at the review history of the people who wrote the review, almost all of them have no other reviews than that one for that restaurant.

 

They probably forced all the staff to sign up to review the restaurant and give it 5 stars.
I no longer read reviews from people who don't have more than 100 reviews published on different sites.

 

 

The staff is tiny. I'm not saying rely on google reviews. I'm saying that in my opinion this is a place with excellent food and good value offering some dishes you won't find anywhere else in town.

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

The staff is tiny. I'm not saying rely on google reviews. I'm saying that in my opinion this is a place with excellent food and good value offering some dishes you won't find anywhere else in town.

 

Yes, I have to go try it. I'm not familiar with Burmese food, and from what you've said, that place is definitely worth a visit.

Thanks as always for the information.

 

12 minutes ago, Espanol said:

 

Yes, I have to go try it. I'm not familiar with Burmese food, and from what you've said, that place is definitely worth a visit.

Thanks as always for the information.

 

 

 

Yeah I developed a taste for Burmese food back in the U.S.  I rarely get to Bangkok so I haven't had any in decades. So I am super excited that it is now available here.

 

So to say proactively why am I trying to give extra special attention to this particular place?

 

The restaurant business is very hard and the competition is brutal.  A place can have great food but not have the business details such as sufficient capitalization to wait a reasonable time to become profitable in place to make it work for very long.  So many times I have found great food in town, waited to go again, and then the place was gone! (If you find good food, don't ever take it for granted.)

 

The people behind this place are extremely friendly and very sincere in trying to satisfy customers. But they clearly don't have enough customers yet. It's kind of a "hole in the wall" and as I've said it's not even visible from the street.

 

So yes I have a selfish reason as well. I want the place to survive so that I personally can continue to enjoy it.

 

 

22 minutes ago, Espanol said:

 

 

If you look at the review history of the people who wrote the review, almost all of them have no other reviews than that one for that restaurant.

 

They probably forced all the staff to sign up to review the restaurant and give it 5 stars.
I no longer read reviews from people who don't have more than 100 reviews published on different sites.

 

 

I only read 1 star reviews to see what is wrong with the place, the item on Lazada or Shopee, hotels, flights etc. 

3 minutes ago, Will Iam Not said:

I only read 1 star reviews to see what is wrong with the place, the item on Lazada or Shopee, hotels, flights etc. 

 

Be careful with that. Sometimes the opposite happens: the competition floods the site with negative reviews to try to get rid of them. But in that case, those are usually comments from people who haven't reviewed any other place before, and that's their first review.

12 minutes ago, Espanol said:

 

Be careful with that. Sometimes the opposite happens: the competition floods the site with negative reviews to try to get rid of them. But in that case, those are usually comments from people who haven't reviewed any other place before, and that's their first review.

I'm pretty sure that I know WHY such a small, newish, hard to find restaurant has a relative high number of reviews (basically 5.0 ones). Because many people like me recognize a gem of a restaurant that I see, notice their structural limitations in attracting customers, and then ASK how they can help? The answer given will be please review on google maps. Nothing to be skeptical about They're trying to grow their business which is what they should be doing. 

 

Wondering about deliveries? I'm not sure but I don't think they will be joining Grab because of the high commissions but they will do their own deliveries locally. Not sure about longer distances.

3 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I'm pretty sure that I know WHY such a small, newish, hard to find restaurant has a relative high number of reviews (basically 5.0 ones). Because many people like me recognize a gem of a restaurant that I see, notice their structural limitations in attracting customers, and then ASK how they can help? The answer given will be please review on google maps.

 

 

You can help even more by also leaving a review on TripAdvisor.

 

 

33 minutes ago, Espanol said:

 

 

You can help even more by also leaving a review on TripAdvisor.

 

 

Are they even on there? If not, they should join for sure.

Uzbek and Russian restaurant

Dusha Za Granicel (name on Grab)

Phatsom Village 2

Soi Khao Talo 4

This place is really extraordinarily good whether you're already familiar with Uzbek and Russian food or not.

I've ordered from them maybe 20 times on Grab from so I've tried the majority of their menu (everything that I've wanted to try). They don't have all dishes available every day but there will usually be enough on offer for your taste to make a good meal.

What's great about it?

More than anything -- their SOUPS and house made dairy products.

They have borscht of course but my favorites are less common to find -- a chicken noodle soup with fresh noodles and a leg of chicken and especially their green pea and pork balls soup (reminds me of an Italian wedding soup but with a better broth). There are others as well including a pickle based soup that was good but not something I would want often,

Their house made sour cream, cottage cheese, and kefir and dishes made with cottage cheese, the cottage cheese pancakes and especially their cottage cheesecake pastry which reminded me of a wonderful and not too sweet Danish pastry.

On the Uzbek side you'll find their excellent rice pilaf and manti stuffed with well seasoned beef. I would say the pilaf is a must try.

If you want to best enjoy their sour cream (the best I've ever had) I suggest ordering the borscht and the pork/beef dumplings together as both go so well with it. You must order the sour cream as an add on for a very generous portion.

Two dishes that were more meh for me were the mashed potatoes and stuffed cabbage.

They have the classic Russian herring salad which is well reviewed on Grab but I'm not a herring or mayo guy so haven't tried. Their samsa (beef or chicken pastry) tasted authentically Uzbek but for me the pastry was too heavy in animal fat. I do like their potato pie which is much lighter.

But overall, I'm a huge fan of this place.

I don't believe or read Google reviews anymore as they do tend to censor many comments and the more it goes, the less I like the Google style and concept. I prefer X (former twitter)...no censoring.

Also have read so called Google reviews that were great, but the reality was totally the opposite with dreadful service, prices or food. So I only trust one and only review...that is my own "check-for-yourself" review.

Singapore's legendary Bak Kut Teh chain SONG FA, now open at Central Fesitival Mall.

There are other places in town to get bak kut teh but I doubt any one else can beat the incredible BROTH at Song Fa.

I tried the signature dish pork ribs with noodles in the epic broth, braised tofu skin, and fried fritters. I could have done without the fritters.

The signature dish was so good I've developed an instant craving for it.

The menu has a lot of options beyond this video including assorted clay pot dishes.

But the signature dish isn't the signature dish for nothing.

Available on Grab.

GRANO

Italian Bakery, Cafe, etcetera

Dark Side

GRANO Italian Bakery Café Pattaya – Authentic Italian Baking, Now Open – GranoItalianBakery

www.granothailand.com/blogs/granothailand/grano-italian-bakery-cafe-pattaya-authentic-italian-baking-now-open

OK, I know, I know, local food freaks will already know about this new and exciting place, but for those who haven't heard of it before or know of it but haven't tried it yet, I'm here to say after two Grab deliveries that their food is amazing.

Of course, being an Italian bakery, their breads are their stars, and rightly so.

It's real bread that will go stale the next day and that's a good thing.

On my two orders I was given extra assorted types of their bread and appreciated that very much.

But what prompted to me to post about Grano was their EGGPLANT PARMAGIANA.

It's one of my favorite Italian dishes from childhood and not easy to get a decent version in Thailand.

But this was among the best I've ever had in Thailand or anywhere.

It was so good it will hard not to order it again as part of any future orders.

No, I haven't tried their pizza which they sell by the slice.

Have tried their lasagna, Caeser Salad, and one of their fancy tapas sized sandwiches on various choices of their breads. All very good of course but their flippin' eggplant parm takes the cake!

Speaking of cake they do have tiramisu and it would be shocking if it isn't great.

Close your eyes and you're in Chiang Mai.

Just did a Grab order from Khao Soi Chiang Mai Kru Aor South Pattaya

A very popular place that perhaps you already knew about but somehow it was new to me.

It was really better than it needed to me. Please don't tell them!

All the components, all the classic rich flavor, in a large portion.

A larger version is available but the regular is very ample.

I added an order of fresh stuffed wrapped rice rolls which were excellent as well.

PRO TIP -- On Grab the rolls are pictured correctly but the label is very wrong. Says it is just rice noodles in plain broth. Nope! I took a chance and got the rolls as I wanted.

KHAO SOI CHIANG MAI KRU AOR, Pattaya - Restaurant menu, prices and reviews

www.restaurantguru.com/ข้าวซอยเชียงใหม่ครูอ้อ-Pattaya

Map on link.

11 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Close your eyes and you're in Chiang Mai.

That the coconut milk has split says it all to me.

10 hours ago, TaaSaparot said:

That the coconut milk has split says it all to me.

Good for you but that was a very unhelpful comment that it would be polite to clarify.

I assume you didn't mean spit or spilt but were probably talking about the natural phenomenon of coconut milk separation (which does not indicate spoilage).

So what are you saying exactly?

You went there and the served dish had separated coconut milk?

If so, that shouldn't been served that way.

Are you talking about the picture? (Which is from a webstite.)

In any case, I didn't notice such a problem with my order.

But I can't read your mind. Tell us.

10 hours ago, TaaSaparot said:

That the coconut milk has split says it all to me.

That's actually how it should be. With oil separation. If you are getting your curries looking like milk, they are undercooked.

21 minutes ago, IsmeUno said:

That's actually how it should be. With oil separation. If you are getting your curries looking like milk, they are undercooked.

Interesting, A quick google indicates there is some controversy on that subject but you may be correct. I never thought about it before as I for me if it tastes good, I'm not asking questions.

Just now, Jingthing said:

Interesting, A quick google indicates there is some controversy on that subject but you may be correct. I never thought about it before as I for me if it tastes good, I'm not asking questions.

There's no controversy. Fresh coconut milk has been part of my diet from childhood.

Either way, it's is just a matter of taste. Nothing wrong with how you like it.

Just now, IsmeUno said:

There's no controversy. Fresh coconut milk has been part of my diet from childhood.

I tend to believe you but the other member seemed to be trashing this restaurant entirely based on it being served separated.

That said, his post was characteristically not very informative.

Regardless of the separation question, I stand by my enthusiasm for the Chiang Mai style restaurant as posted. I would be surprised if you can find better in town and in my experience people in Chiang Mai would like it too.

Just now, Jingthing said:

I tend to believe you but the other member seemed to be trashing this restaurant entirely based on it being served separated.

That said, his post was characteristically not very informative.

If he likes it purely milky, that's up to him. 😊 As long as it's tasty 😋

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