Pasta Cafe

[sabaijai]

I've tried the new location for the Pasta Cafe (Soi 5, Nimanhemin) a couple of times and have to revise my previously unfavourable opinion based on the old location on Nimanhemin itself.

I've enjoyed meals at the new one, which is much more spacious and inviting than the original 'hobby' resto. Good pastas and salads. Not as good a Da Giorgio (best in town for my tastes) but considerably cheaper and more relaxed, not as cheap as Italian Lang Mo but a tad better quality-wise and a step up atmosphere-wise - tho I quite like the casual atmosphere at Lang Mo for everyday dining.

Also there's a newish place selling pizza by the slice late nights, near the Rasta Cafe/Heaven Beach, etc. Not the best pizza around by a long shot (I haven't found any Chiang Mai pizzas to be all that special), but edible and convenient for that area.

[chanchao]

Thanks for that report!!

Yes 'hobby restaurant' was almost exactly my verdict on the old location. So far I only drove by the new location and it does look stunning I have to say.. so with your good review to back me up, I'll definitely give it a try soon!

> Da Giorgio

Where's that? I'm still without a fave Italian since Sergio's place in Moon Muang soi 2 was sold..

Cheers,

Chanchao

[sabaijai]

Thanks for that report!!

Yes 'hobby restaurant' was almost exactly my verdict on the old location.  So far I only drove by the new location and it does look stunning I have to say.. so with your good review to back me up, I'll definitely give it a try soon!

> Da Giorgio

Where's that?   I'm still without a fave Italian since Sergio's place in Moon Muang soi 2 was sold..

Cheers,

Chanchao

The way the Pasta Cafe chefs do their pastas - the kitchen is open so if you have a table nearby you can watch them cook - is to quickly stir-fry the noodles/pasta with the toppings, in a large saute pan over a very hot fire. This is of course more of a Chinese, rather than Italian, technique, and maybe it's aimed at the Thai market. I think it works, it adds a smokey flavour to the pasta dishes. The pasta is fresh (except the spaghetti, which like anywhere else is always dried) and cooked al dente, toppings light and fresh. I don't like cream sauces on pasta, so don't know how those menu items compare.

Da Giorgio has been around for about three years. It's off Chang Khlan Rd, south of the Si Donchai intersection, on that split that runs alongside the petrol station. The owner and his lovely Thai wife are there pretty much every night, making sure the quality is good and the customers are happy. If you order a salad, he'll come to the table and offer to make the dressing and toss the salad for you at tableside, which is the way it's done in Italy. I used to think he was just being showy, but I traveled three weeks in Italy last Sep/Oct and at the better restos the wait staff would usually offer to toss the salad at your table. Everything I've had at Da Giorgio has been good, on the dozen or so times I've eaten there. I think it's better than Sergio's was at his peak.

It's pretty fancy and a little more expensive than average, though neither as fancy nor as pricey Piccola Roma (and much better, I think).

Let us know what you think once you get to try them.

One Italian place I've yet to try is La Casa, supposedly HM the Queen's favourite.

[scottie]

Ate at Pasta cafe twice whilst in CM earlier this month.

Food was good, inexpensive & really garlicky garlic bread.

The only fault we could find was, when I chose a non pasta dish, chicken something or other it took a long,long time to come. A good hour+.

But that could just have been a one off blip.

The place we really loved was Bann Bu Ree. Near Suan Dok. Absolutely superb.

Tastes, presentation & price. Only been open a month or so.

Give it a go. Next door to Paddy Field.

Thai food, with some twists.

Enjoy.

Scottie

[PeaceBlondie]

We've been using Pasta Cafe for several months. I like the beef lasagna, but no dish has disappointed us. But we're not gourmets. Atmosphere in the winter has been great; not sure how hot it's going to be soon. But they have inside. Great private, guarded parking by the lawn.

La Casa, on the klong road, is still good, too. And Pompui, on the soi going from Tha Pae gate to top north GUESTHOUSE, is good, too.

Now if Chiang Mai could learn to do Mexican food, or Tex-Mex. Has anybody tried that Cantina on the way to the Night Bazaar going from the moat? Don't even think about the Art Cafe's Mexican food...

[sabaijai]

We've been using Pasta Cafe for several months.  I like the beef lasagna, but no dish has disappointed us.  But we're not gourmets.  Atmosphere in the winter has been great; not sure how hot it's going to be soon.  But they have inside.  Great private, guarded parking by the lawn. 

La Casa, on the klong road, is still good, too.  And Pompui, on the soi going from Tha Pae gate to top north GUESTHOUSE, is good, too. 

Now if Chiang Mai could learn to do Mexican food, or Tex-Mex.  Has anybody tried that Cantina on the way to the Night Bazaar going from the moat?  Don't even think about the Art Cafe's Mexican food...

Do you mean El Toro Cantina on Loi Kroh? I ate there recently for the first time since the owner, Lek, had moved from her old location next to what's now Bake and Bite. The fresh salsa is good. She uses only (wheat) flour tortillas, so you miss out on the dishes that should use corn torillas. Except for the salsa, nothing on the menu is terribly authentic by even California standards, much less Mexico standards. But OK eating if you're not too harsh a critic. If you're from the USA or Mexico you will be disappointed unless you've been away a very long time ...

All of the attempts at Mexican food in Chiang Mai suffer from the lack of a source for good corn tortillas. At the former America resto on Tha Phae, the owners made their own corn tortillas but I thought they were nearly inedible.

Nowadays there's a company in Bangkok that makes decent corn tortillas (though nowhere near as good as real Mexican corn tortillas), so there's no excuse for the Art Cafe, El Toro and the restaurant at Bamboo Riverside in Chiang Khong not to use the real thing. Maybe it's too expensive.

[Ajarn]

Gawd, I though America's corn tortillas were delicious!

A few years ago, I ate at Art cafe. I noticed they were making corn tortillas using bits of corn and wheat flour, which they fried... Compared to corn meal, flour grains are much smaller and get way too crispy when fried. It was impossible to eat a taco without the first bite turning the whole thing into tiny pieces.. I mentioned it to the owner and gave her Danito's # in BKK for fresh corn tortillas (about 3 baht each, wholesale), but nothing had changed the next time I was there... I didn't like ElToro in either location. Just thought it was poorly made stuff all around. The best Mex is still made by my Thai housekeeper

I was also very dissapointed a few months ago with the Poompui near Thapae. New ownership. The original owners moved to Mae Jo road, and they have a nice setup, with the same delicious fare I remember from the original place...

[sabaijai]

Gawd, I though America's corn tortillas were delicious!

Well, I'm really picky about the two cuisines I know best, Mexican and Thai. During America's tenure in Chiang Mai, I was spending several months a year travelling around Mexico. And the clash between the thin, aromatic tortillas served in Mexico (where they would never serve a corn tortilla even one-day old, except as migas, chilaqules or totopos) and the thick, odd-smelling ones served at America was probably just too great a gap to close.

I find the packaged Danitas tortillas to be pretty flavourless, too, but OK if cooked in a chilaquiles casserole or fried for chips.

I'm less picky now that I've given up the Mexico rambles and spend all my time in Thailand. I wouldn't have dreamt of eating Mexican food at either America or El Toro 10 years ago. I can take it better now - in small doses. Also the Mexican food at Upper Crust on Chang Khlan. Or what I make myself at home for friends ... thought that's rare as I don't have the time.

By the way Danitas chips, salsas, etc are made in BKK by Danny Loveland, singer of the 60s chestnut Billy Don't Be a Hero and proprietor of the Charley Brown's Tex-Mex resto in the Lat Phrao area of BKK.

Charley Brown's

1361 Town In Town Srivala Rd Ladprao Soi 94 Bangkok

Danny

[SBACM]

Is the Buonisimo owner Sergio the old pompui Owner? If so his restaurant on Mae Jo Road is Incredible!!!! Great Ambiance and Food.

We eat there about once a week since it Opened at that Location

Gawd, I though America's corn tortillas were delicious! 

A few years ago, I ate at Art cafe. I noticed they were making corn tortillas using bits of corn and wheat flour, which they fried... Compared to corn meal, flour grains are much smaller and get way too crispy when fried. It was impossible to eat a taco without the first bite turning the whole thing into tiny pieces.. I mentioned it to the owner and gave her Danito's # in BKK for fresh corn tortillas (about 3 baht each, wholesale), but nothing had changed the next time I was there... I didn't like ElToro in either location. Just thought it was poorly made stuff all around. The best Mex is still made by my Thai housekeeper 

I was also very dissapointed a few months ago with the Poompui near Thapae. New ownership. The original owners moved to Mae Jo road, and they have a nice setup, with the same delicious fare I remember from the original place...

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Edited February 1, 2005 by SBACM