W By Wanlamun Restaurant And Patisserie

[Ulysses G.]

A new restaurant has opened recently on Chang Moi soi 2 near the Thai Farmers Bank on Chang Moi Road. It is called W by wanlamun restaurant and patisserie and is in is a nice garden setting with an air-con room as well. They advertise French pastries which are not all that common around these parts.

A few days ago, I stopped and looked at the menu which seemed to be mostly Thai food and not inexpensive. I don't mind Thai food, but I am not crazy about it either, so I decided to try a French desert instead.

The waitress led me inside to a showcase with about 20 different French pastries that looked great, but that does not mean a lot sometimes. I ordered one at random without many expectations and also an expensive coffee. The French pastry turned out to be absolutely delicious and rivaled any I have had in San Francisco or Montreal. I have never had anything this good even in Bangkok; I was surprised to find such good quality pastries in Chiang Mai. The coffee was good too.

The pastries were so good, that I decided to go back and try the food the next day. It is mostly fusion with an emphasis on Asian foods and pretty darn good.

I really look down on some of the expensive "fusion" restaurants around town that try to combine Western and Eastern foods and - IMHO - do a really lousy job of it, but charge premium prices. W has a much better sense of what works and what doesn't and is less expensive as well. They also have quite a few traditional Thai dishes.

It is a little pricey with a 10% service charge, but I felt that it was well worth it. The pastries are to die for and - as far as I know - not to be found anywhere else.

My directions have never been up to much, so here is a map to help you find the place.

http://www.wanlamun.com/images/mapwanlamun.pdf

[Maccheroncini]

My visitors from Bangkok were surprised how good the dessert were too. The guy who made them told me it's all self-taught.

[THAIPHUKET]

I am a regular, when my daughter was visiting she asked to go there almost every second day.

The patisserie Chef learned his art in Paris and you taste it , you see it!

The mainly Thai cuisine is very fine extremely, tasty as well.

Here I found a real taste difference in the art of Thai cooking, normally it doesn't matter much where you eat Thai food.

On the expensive side?? No way, dead cheap for what you enjoy!

[Ulysses G.]

On the expensive side?? No way, dead cheap for what you enjoy!

I agree, but I just want to warn our more frugal freinds not to expect to pay noodle stall prices.

Edited January 30, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[anonymouse]

Glad they are living up to the reviews they've had I noticed a piece on them in the Bangkok post at the end of last year and thought it might be all hype.

Looks like I'll be giving them a try.

[ThailandTommy]

Glad they are living up to the reviews they've had I noticed a piece on them in the Bangkok post at the end of last year and thought it might be all hype.

Looks like I'll be giving them a try.

I have eaten there several times and never been disappointed, the pastries are the best I have tasted in Thailand, try the St Honore (not a calorie in it ).

The pumpkin soup is awesome served with two toasted french bread and butter. Check on the times that the kitchen is open, the restaurant opens at 11am to 11pm but I think that the kitchen closes at 2.30pm and reopens at 6pm

I would not say it is expensive, you get what you pay for!! I would rather pay double/triple and be served something I enjoy, rather than a plate of inedible crap that is dished up at some Thai run establishments.

The Thai guy who owns it studied art/design in Paris for several years his mom 'fronted' the money to open it, it is gradually getting busier and busier.

He is nearly always there you cant miss him, black eye make-up often seen sporting an equestrian style outfit and matching scarf.

A nice guy speaks perfect English and French, obviously well educated, and genuinely interested in his customers.

It is a pleasure to eat there rather than the I couldn't give a F"$·!* if you like your meal or not restaurants on the river.

[DavidOxon]

often, where food is concerned, fusion = con-fusion . .

David

[THAIPHUKET]

Every detail has class, no cheap tin cutlery, beautiful procelain, presentation most pleasing to the eye.

The garden restaurant intimate and elegant, discreet background music.

The Cafe inside small and elegant Parisian bistro style.

In short a multi star restaurant without ostentatious pomp.

[just_Elaine]

Thanks for the recommendation. We went to eat dinner there. We had duck curry, eggplant salad (yam makua yeo), stir fried beef dish with fresh green peppercorns (can't remember the name), rice bowls, 2 large Singha beers for around 800 baht. The dishes were very well prepared and presented. We were stuffed by the time we finished so we haven't tried the pastries yet. They did look delicious.

Elaine

[hmficc]

Wife and I had lunch. Shroom soup and grilled tuna- Heaven. Pastrie was very good. We will return.

[Rasseru]

Darn that Ulysses G. for letting the cat out of the bag!

Been loving the food there for over a month now and enjoying the extremely fine food, good prices, wonderful atmosphere and lack of crowds. Word gets out it could ruin everything. : )

They have a Facebook presence, which includes weekly or so notices about different desserts. Haven't spent much time running the Thai language content through Google Translate, so am not sure what it all means, but it does give the impression of involving people who really care about food, which is consistent with what everything else suggests.

Three words that you should memorise and say when you order: The pomelo salad.

[butterisbetter]

We just ate at Wanlamun on Fri Feb 5 and we had excellent Bangkok style Thai food. It turns out that the chef, Tim, is the mother of Moo, the pastry chef. She's a very friendly warm person who speaks excellent english, as does her son.

The waitress warned us that some of the dishes we had ordered were very spicy, but, as it turns out, not a patch on the spiciness of northern and Isan food. Just the right degree of heat for me. My wife, though from Isan, lived in Bangkok for many years, and judged the dishes we had to be authentic Bangkok cuisine.

The dishes we had were a sweet and sour pomelo salad, which had just the right balance of sweetness and sourness; gaeng som cha-om with fish -- the fish being thin and perfectly fried slices; Kap moo which is a pork dish made from high pork belly and highly reduced to be crispy; and nuea pad chah made withbeef, lots of fresh green peppercorns; and a variety of galengale leaf.

Even the plain white rice was excellent - obviously a very high quality rice.

The desserts, as noted elsewhere,, were excellent. And the restaurant is beautifully decorated. Just the sort of place to take someone you are trying to hoodwink into thinking you are a civilized person.

[Asmerom]

We just ate at Wanlamun on Fri Feb 5 and we had excellent Bangkok style Thai food. It turns out that the chef, Tim, is the mother of Moo, the pastry chef. She's a very friendly warm person who speaks excellent english, as does her son.

The desserts, as noted elsewhere,, were excellent. And the restaurant is beautifully decorated. Just the sort of place to take someone you are trying to hoodwink into thinking you are a civilized person.

Its certainly a tastefully appointed place but I was mesmerised by the quality of the service being so polite,discreet,attentive yet unobtrusive.Speaking as a barbarian myself I worried about the question of tipping. The prices are already steep, they automatically deduct 10% so I'm left feeling frustrated about showing my appreciation for the rare quality of the courteous service.Do you tip on top of the 10%? I don't. But leave feeling cheated of the oppurtunity to personally reward the waiters.

Edited February 7, 2010 by Asmerom

[Ulysses G.]

The prices are already steep, they automatically deduct 10% so I'm left feeling frustrated about showing my appreciation for the rare quality of the courteous service.Do you tip on top of the 10%? I don't. But leave feeling cheated of the oppurtunity to personally reward the waiters.

I feel exactly the same. I refuse to tip after paying a service charge, but I know dam_n well the staff hardly ever see the money and I resent that. This practice of is growing in Chiang Mai and as you said, it is frustrating.