Vegan Restaurants In Chiang Mai

[yeehi]

Hello!

I am a vegan in Chiang Mai and I want to find all the best places to eat.

I know Ohm near Thae Pae gate is good.

Anywhere else?

[meadish_sweetball]

Hello!

I am a vegan in Chiang Mai and I want to find all the best places to eat.

I know Ohm near Thae Pae gate is good. 

Anywhere else?

Personally I dont like Aum very much, I think the food is too adjusted to tourist tastes, but this is a matter of taste - each one to their own.

There is a small and very simple vegan restaurant on the left hand side of the road opposite Chiang Mai Gate (just outside and opposite of the moat and city wall - check a CM map for the location of Chiang Mai Gate). Their vegan Khao Soi is really excellent.

Gap's House off Thanon Rachadamnoen (not too far from Tha Phae Gate, turn right into the soi just past AUA language school) have a veggie buffet serving the Thai food most popular with Westerners (curries based on coconut milk and some other stuff). If you like Aum this place should be to your liking too. I think the buffet starts at 19.00 and goes on until 21.00.

You should also try the Chiang Mai vegetarian association's place on the right hand side of the large road that runs in a north-south direction from the south west corner of the moat towards CM Airport Plaza known as "Robinsun" to the Thais.

Khun Chern on Nimmanheimin Road have a nice veggie buffet during day time, but I think some of their food is not 100% vegan - some dishes contain egg - the staff will tell you which ones though and it is probably still worth your while as a vegan.

In general, there are PLENTY of inexpensive veggie restaurants in CM. There used to be a vegetarian restaurant map floating around, but I am not sure if it is still available.

[chanchao]

There's a map of Chiang Mai with vegetarian restaurants floating around on the internet somewhere, Google for it.

Note: ALL Chinese-Buddhist-"Jay-Food" restaurants are vegan, not merely vegetarian. THese are VERY spread out over town, often in small sois or otherwise away from the tourist area. See that map and hunt them down!. Vegetarian places (as in, 'not vegan') are a minority, mostly in the tourist scene. Thai food doesn't really use butter, cheese and milk anyway, so it's a much smaller step towards strict vegan.

Here's the highlight of your stay in Chiang Mai, food-wise: Blue Diamond in Moon Muan Soi 7/1. (Sub soi connecting sois 7 and 9). This is tourist area, so not jay-religious strict vegan place so you will have to specify you really want 'jay'. Try the vegetarian Khao Soi, it has to be experienced to be believed. Same for the veggie spaghetti-curry dishes.

Excellent general hints on being difficult & adveturous about food in Thailand, if I may say so myself: http://travelmenu.netasia.org It's written by me and deals with most things food in Thailand, including vegerarian/vegan food.

In general: Thais are MORE familiar with what vegan means (as opposed to vegetarian) compared to people in the West. Make the effort to request interesting dishes and you will have a great time. Sometimes you're even totally surprised at how places can make awesome veggie food where you don't expect it. The Mae Ping Hotel outside beer garden restaurant is one of those: Very few veggie things on the menu, but there's someone in that kitchen who knows what he/she's doing! Ask the mostly clueless waitresses to go find the kitchen en recommend something. Most things with meat on the menu can be made with soy-protine based replacements that taste out of this world.

Cheers,

Chanchao

[yeehi]

I had a late lunch at blue diamond today.

IT was fantastic! I had the khao soi. It was very good. ANd one of those lovely light wholewheat buns they make as a tofu advocado sandwich. Excellent with mustard. And then two great treats and surprises!!

Vegan ice cream and vegan cookies. Next time i will mash them together!

ANd the coffee was top quality too.

WHat an amazing place.

Keep telling me where to go. I will eat everything in my path!!

[yeehi]

Went to Blue diamond again and had the curry spaghetti.

It was good.

Mashed the cookies in with the strawberry vegan ice cream and that was fab. strawberry even better than the mulberry.

[yeehi]

I went to blue diamond again on sunday.

It turns out it is always closed on sunday, however i did manage to get another vegan ice cream out of them.

I went to the pure vegetarian indian restaurant just nearby blue diamond. They do 700 baht cooking courses that last a day and you learn 10 recipes. I ate there and the food was very good, though they let themselves down on presentation. But the food was good, that is the main thing. I especially liked the alloo gobi (cauliflower curry).

I think I will try the vegetarian society for lunch today.

[SBACM]

aroy mak Edited December 27, 2004 by SBACM

[yeehi]

For a really great vegan breakfast try this : bake and bite bakery, right by thae pae gate, its soi 1 i think.

Try the roasted veggies on spinach/wholewheat bread. Ask for no cheese, no dressing on salad. Try it with a toasted raisin bagel with jam and the best coffee i have found in chiang mai. mmmmm!

I tried to find the vegetarian society yesterday but couldnt see it.

Instead i found another aharn jay place that was traditional thai with thai prices too (20 baht a course!!) It was really good, and served with love .

To find it I was on the south side of the moat travelling east west. About 2/3 of the way along there is a place where two roads fork off together at the same place. These roads head kind of south. The restaurant is just there near the fork.

btw, i think thae pae gate is on the east side, right? if not all my directions are wrong!

Anybody know the vegetarian society address/phone number?

[meadish_sweetball]

If it is any help, the name of the street where the vegetarian society is, is Boonreuangrit Rd. (might be romanized a little differently on the signs).

You are correct about Tha Phae Gate being on the East side.

When looking for the Vegetarian Society, look out for the gas station just before. Then the actual Vegetarian Society is behind the wooden fence, although not very visible. The fence is decorated with wooden carriage wheels.

[DaMan]

I'll second the recomendation for the vegetarian society. I stumbled upon it coming back from the airport on my motorbike. I am not vegetarian but eat that way alot. It was really delicious with incredible amounts (buffet style but not all you can eat) of food at cheap prices. To find it, the only advice I can give, is that it on the way to the airport, next to the gas station behind the white(?) fence..................

[yeehi]

I found the vegetarian society!

Go to the south west corner of the moat and head south west out of town on the dual carriageway. ABout a couple of hundred meters out of town on the right side there is a wall decorated with cartwheels, as a previous poster mentioned. That is the place.

Unfortunately it is closed till the 5th. What a horrible road to have to do a u turn on! Those drivers are psychos!!

I found a different place though. It was aharn jay, which i think means strict vegetarian, whatever that means. Very good, particularly good hot dogs! I would go back for those again, but they do not come in a bun. But good taste. He sliced them for me

Go to the west side of the moat. Half way up the moat is a big road heading out of town, suthep. Head along that road maybe 500 meters or so. There is a dental faculty on the right. That means you have gone too far. Haha! a road on the left before the dental faculty has the vegetarian place 20 meters in on the left.

Amazing high level of ginger!!

[DaMan]

I ate at Blue Diamond today. Major positive: The food was really good. I had the tofu sandwich on whole wheat bread and then had a salad. The salad was excellent, really enjoyed it. Major negative: Service was not even bad, it was non existent. This would usually not bother me at all. What did bother me was that staff and owner carried sullen faces and could not be bothered in slightest. The place had many tourists and they seem to be suffering from farang overload. Would i go back, most likely. However, what would have been a great meal was tarnished and I will go back with trepidation (It could have been a bad day). There are many places to eat where they will be nice to me............

[chanchao]

Yeah, Blue Diamond is typically a backpacker place in that respect. Then again, places like Daret Guesthouse which get even more of a KhaoSanesque crowd manage to do pretty well regarding service.

At Blue Diamond I don't think the owners are Thai. Shan, Thai Lue, Burmese, whatever. Could that explains the lack of smiles? And one time the owner repeatedly shoved/passed too close behing my wife's chair to reach a corner of their shop a couple of times, when she could have walked around like any polite person would do.

And to pay the bill you just have to go to the cashier and pay. But on that point they're no lower than Pizza Hut and the like.. Talk about absent service, at least virtually no place in Chiang Mai sinks lower than the fast food chains.

Overall though: Rarely that I find a place where the food really makes up for less perfect service, but this place would be one of those few! Another place... with perfect warp-speed service and perfect food quality but just less 'Thai' politeness: Kiart Ocha chicken rice. (Not vegan, obviously Very Chinese, there. Nice people, super service, but... that Thai smiles are just absent. They shout, throw plates on the table.. In this case, too, however it works. There's a certain charm to it, and the speed at which they work is just stunning.

[chanchao]

> It was aharn jay, which i think means strict vegetarian

Jay is 'strict vegan' more than strict vegetarian. Eating Jay means no animal products of any kind, and also excludes things like onions, garlic, alcohol (!) and some other things I forgot.

Somehow honey seems to be allowed, though. But no milk, eggs, etc.

[meadish_sweetball]

Yeah, Blue Diamond is typically a backpacker place in that respect.  Then again, places like Daret Guesthouse which get even more of a KhaoSanesque crowd manage to do pretty well regarding service.

At Blue Diamond I don't think the owners are Thai.  Shan, Thai Lue, Burmese, whatever.  Could that explains the lack of smiles?  And one time the owner repeatedly shoved/passed too close behing my wife's chair to reach a corner of their shop a couple of times, when she could have walked around like any polite person would do.

And to pay the bill you just have to go to the cashier and pay.  But on that point they're no lower than Pizza Hut and the like..  Talk about absent service, at least virtually no place in Chiang Mai sinks lower than the fast food chains.

Overall though: Rarely that I find a place where the food really makes up for less perfect service, but this place would be one of those few!    Another place... with perfect warp-speed service and perfect food quality but just less 'Thai' politeness:  Kiart Ocha chicken rice. (Not vegan, obviously   Very Chinese, there.  Nice people, super service, but... that Thai smiles are just absent.  They shout, throw plates on the table..    In this case, too, however it works.  There's a certain charm to it, and the speed at which they work is just stunning.

My take on Blue Diamond: They started out quite small catering to an overall friendly and understanding (sometimes over-understanding) backpacker/new age/hippie veggie hare krishna crowd, and always had a *genuine* smile to spare because they were getting compliments and smiles themselves. Culturally curious and naive backpacker farangs blended with the odd expat has gradually changed into a more mixed crowd who go there for the food, which is still very good value for what you get. This new crowd demands something resembling international standard service and does not have the same familial and easy-going attitude to the staff and owners.

Well, now their business is booming, they dont seem to have enough, space, time or people to handle the onslaught of customers. In the middle of this, they are trying to maintain a marriage and raise a small child. I think they are currently having personal problems and trying to run a business that has expanded beyond a small family operation - bad combination.

I really love Kiat Ocha despite the sound level. They go 100% for the food quality and speed and dont give a shit about the rest. Very different and refreshing. I just cannot seem to find even half as good Khao Man Kai anywhere in Chiang Mai. Whatever you do, DONT try the Khao Man Kai on the corner of the same street unless you want to be reminded why you go to Kiat Ocha.

I was told (myth, misconception?) a high sound level (and slurps, burps and loudly clearing your throat) when/where you eat is a way of showing respect to the cooks in Chinese culture - a quiet dinner party are supposedly seen as not enjoying the food.

[DaMan]

^ I definitely have to agree with meadish on his take on their business. I sensed the same vibe as to their family situation. That being said, I really do not expect much service in thailand, especially at a place like blue diamond. I have no problem going to the counter and ordering and paying. If the food is as good as blue diamond, I would take that everyday. The only reason I even mentioned it was their was distinct sour undertone to the staff that left a bad taste in my mouth. Hence, my farang overload comment.

On a side note, I ate lunch at Khun Churn, nim soi 7, today. The lunch buffet was very good at a extremely reasonable 60baht. Will absolutely return, just wish I was hungrier at the time. Vegetarian delights galore, i would recomend it. On a side, side note, a few days earlier when I was stumbling around on my motorbike looking for the old location of khun churn, I found this isaan chicken joint at the end of nim soi 11. It is almost at the end of soi 11, you will see the guy grilling chicken outside. Half chicken is 45 baht and is enormous amount of food and fresh, fresh, fresh and delectable. Menu is all in thai but seems like khao niaw and somtum and the usuals.......

[sendbaht]

What a wonderful site this is.

My wife and I both vegetarians ( she is a chef by trade and Thai) are moving to CM

in 3 years. (daughter in collage now in CM) All this is VERY helpful. Thanks.

[sabaijai]

I really love Kiat Ocha despite the sound level. They go 100% for the food quality and speed and dont give a shit about the rest. Very different and refreshing. I just cannot seem to find even half as good Khao Man Kai anywhere in Chiang Mai. Whatever you do, DONT try the Khao Man Kai on the corner of the same street unless you want to be reminded why you go to Kiat Ocha.

Agreed, there is no better khao man kai in Chiang Mai. I think the service there is very good, for the kind of place it is. I never felt it was noiser than any other large Chinese-run jaan diaw place full of customers.

Perhaps we should move discussion of chicken and other disgusting foods to another thread though ...

[DaMan]

Actually I meant to ask in the last post, where is Kiat Ocha? And forgive me but exactly is kao man gai? I think I know what it is, but not sure. If you could give reasonably good directions, it would be appeciated as I have this ability to not be able to find anything until the second try...........

[Judge]

I'm not sure why the Blue Diamond gets such loyalty. The food is nice compared to Aum's at Thapae Gate, but nothing extraordinary. The staff completely ignores any customers so getting served is a chore. The pastries and deserts -other than the soy ice cream- are edible, but pretty much your same old lousy Thai baked goods - no hint of "healthy" ingredients like whole wheat, etc.

The avocado sandwiches are good, but not available most of the year.

I've eaten at millions of Thai places over the years and they are usually quite efficient about, taking your order, treating customers nicely, collecting your money.

At Blue Diamond, all these things seem to be nothing but a chore.

[chanchao]

> where is Kiat Ocha? And forgive me but exactly

> is kao man gai?

See here:

http://food.netasia.org/post/1/8

and here:

http://netasia.org/Fotopages/Fotopages/cha...tml?entry=69223

Cheers,

Chanchao

[chanchao]

> I'm not sure why the Blue Diamond gets such loyalty.

Order either the Vegetarian Khao Soi or the Masaman Curry Spaghetti. Then you know.

You could argue that in this style it's not actually Khao Soi anymore.. but... Wow.

Oh, and for great (but regular) Khao Soi:

http://netasia.org/Fotopages/Fotopages/cha...tml?entry=64940

I'll put up some pics of Blue Diamond soon.. I was there last Saturday; place was full as usual even though it wasn't any particular meal-time. But I did notice some more smiles. If you just acknowledge that you have to walk up to the counter to order or pay then you're fine. Didn't even that long for the order to arrive..

[Judge]

> I'm not sure why the Blue Diamond gets such loyalty.

Order either the Vegetarian Khao Soi or the Masaman Curry Spaghetti.  Then you know.

You could argue that in this style it's not actually Khao Soi anymore.. but... Wow.

Oh, and for great (but regular) Khao Soi:

I'll try those dishes, to be in the know.

I don't mind paying at the register. I mind not being able to order in the first place!

[DaMan]

I actually ate at kiat ocha today for lunch. I looked at your site yesterday and saw all the info (great site by the way, especially with the maps, and i am not kissing your ass). I thought was it good. Not to beat a dead horse about blue diamond, but I do not see how you can make any comparison what so ever with kiat ocha concerning the service. They are a tight and efficient machine, refilling your sauces and other items on a rotating basis. They seem to be nice under a gruff exterior. Similiar to alot of chinese places, it is not personal, everyone gets treated the same. I have a lot of respect for the forthrightness (?). Maybe the CM long timers know this (and this is bamboo network so i have no idea if it is true) but my friend told me that the owner won 78 million baht in the lottery and offered food for everyone free........

[sabaijai]

I actually ate at kiat ocha today for lunch. I looked at your site yesterday and saw all the info (great site by the way, especially with the maps, and i am not kissing your ass). I thought was it good. Not to beat a dead horse about blue diamond, but I do not see how you can make any comparison what so ever with kiat ocha concerning the service. They are a tight and efficient machine, refilling your sauces and other items on a rotating basis. They seem to be nice under a gruff exterior. Similiar to alot of chinese places, it is not personal, everyone gets treated the same. I have a lot of respect for the forthrightness (?). Maybe the CM long timers know this (and this is bamboo network so i have no idea if it is true) but my friend told me that the owner won 78 million baht in the lottery and offered food for everyone free........

Some Thai friends of mine were at Kiat Ocha the day the owner served everyone free to celebrate winning the lottery. I didn't hear the amount though. If it were 78 mil I would've thought he'd have sold the place off and traded up or retired. Then again, some people don't change their lifestyles drastically after a big win. But it seems to be true that he was a lottery winner last year or maybe the year before.

[DaMan]

^ According to my friend he gave it up for awhile, but then couldn't take it and came back.........

[sabaijai]

I forwarded some of the comments on the Blue Diamond to a friend who is a regular habitue of the Blue Diamond - mainly because he lives around the corner -- and this is what his response was:

>Everything they say is true-They're way overworked and the food isn't that good. Here's what they didn't say. The farangs going there are the most belligerent , arrogant carpet pissers I have ever seen. Every order is a mass of confusion. I'm amazed the owners don't freak out and pull their hair. Also this is a place to be seen - IT"S NOT THE FOOD The place is super stressed. But everyone's heard it's the place to go and it has a buzz to it and you can meet your dream carpet flyer or carpet pisser.there. It's a happening. The waitresses and owners don't smile-don't acknowledge you-bump into you but the place is crazy. You'rr not going to get your warm fuzzies there. It's like a new york deli. So these people should go somewhere else if they're not happy - I do. There's plenty of places with better food and warm fuzzy people. Blue Diamond is way overrated but word of mouth is making it the most popular place in Chiangmai and IT'S NOT THE FOOD!

[Judge]

I forwarded some of the comments on the Blue Diamond to a friend who is a regular habitue of the Blue Diamond - mainly because he lives around the corner -- and this is what his response was:

>Everything they say is true-They're way overworked and the food isn't that good. Here's what they didn't say. The farangs going there are the most belligerent , arrogant carpet pissers I have ever seen. Every order is a mass of confusion. I'm amazed the owners don't freak out and pull their hair. Also this is a place to be seen - IT"S NOT THE FOOD  I go only early in the morning before it opens. The place is super stressed. But everyone's heard it's the place to go and it has a buzz to it and you can meet your dream carpet flyer or carpet pisser.there. It's a happening. The waitresses and owners don't smile-don't acknowledge you-bump into you but the place is crazy. You'rr not going to get your warm fuzzies there. It's like a new york deli. So these people should go somewhere else if they're not happy - I do. There's plenty of places with better food and warm fuzzy people. Blue Diamond is way overrated but word of mouth is making it the most popular place in Chiangmai and IT'S NOT THE FOOD!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have been there about three times, about 3 in the afternoon. The only belligerant farang that I saw was me - if you call waiting for ten minutes to be served, while the staff did nothing, then walking over to someone behind the cash register and giving them my order, "belligerant".

Every else was "cool" and just waited how ever many hours it took until someone bothered to serve them.

As you said, the food was nothing special, however, I haven't tried the two specialty dishes suggested by Chanchou.

After sabaijai's latest post, I'm not sure that I ever will.

[WanderingDude]

Just posted on the "good places to eat" thread and thought I'd add my comments here too. The Cafe De Nimman on Nimman Haeman (across from the Warm Up) serves really good pasta and Thai dishes. They'll also do up vegetarian versions of anything if you'd just ask. Cheers!

[meowchawpnom]

I used to go to Blue Diamond (hate that name) when it was just starting out and was a little hole in the wall with few customers. I would usually be the only customer there. But I thought she was a great cook and came back frequently. I watched how it gradually became more and more popular. I don't go frequently anymore, but when i do I never have any problem with the service or the food. Like others I too get the feeling there is some tension in the owners' marriage that has increased as they've gotten more successful.

Incidentally, there are two smaller clones of Blue Diamond (or used to be, last time I checked, which admittedly was over a year ago) that have similar menus and are run by Blue Diamonds' relatives. They're often open when BD is closed. They're both right around the corner, one on the soi that Sompet market is on, and the other on Moonmuang Soi 9.

I also used to frequent the Indian veg restaurant a lot, but stopped because their prices just seem to go up every year to take advantage of the increased presence of farangs. Prices are up well over 50 percent from when i arrived in CM in 2000.

Lots of other small Thai oriented places...i see you've found the one on the soi near Wat Suan Dok...there's another further out a bit on Suthep...and check out the place on Thanon Intrawarorot. There's also a place (or was when last I checked a few years ago) behind Talat...what's the name of that talat again? The one north of the Novotel...Siriwittana? I think that's the name.