Cat House

[Ulysses G.]

The Cat House is on the same soi as Tuskers used to be (25 Chaipoom soi 1) and it is quite good for an inexpensive, health food type of place. Most meals are 85 baht and they have a lot of vegetarian options like bean chili on brown rice, Indian curry, burritos and such. You can get them with tofu or chicken. They also have a bunch of different kinds of fries - like pumpkin, sweet potato. zucchini and eggplant that I have not seen anywhere else. The woman who runs it is quite friendly and the staff are very nice.

[eyecatcher]

I went to their place near kad suan Gaew 6 months ago before they ran that business into the ground.

afraid to say the service on a couple of drinks at the time was intolerable...the food order was subsequently cancelled due to time restraints.

In my book you dont get a second chance to make a first impression so I for one will be giving it a miss for ever more.

no doubt your "edit" will include those immortal words "and just like to add, I have no business connection or otherwise etc etc"

[Ulysses G.]

I want people to know about them because there are not a lot of options for non-Thai vegetarian/health food type restaurants in Chiang Mai.

I couldn't possibly own all the restaurants that I recommend on Thai Visa.

Edited March 24, 2013 by Ulysses G.

[eek]

The woman who runs the Cat House is Jackie. She is an awesome cook. She didnt run the last place into the ground, the owner put up her rental rates stupidly high that she had to relocate. Sorry eyecatcher, im not saying your opinion isnt valid though. Jackie trains up young guys that have no other opportunies (usually Burmese), and treats them like family. Yes its a business, so customers have expectations, but its a small run affair and run with compassion, so i never minded that things took some time..i just made sure that i went when i had time to spare! Since Jackie moved to the new location i havent had opportunity to visit. Used to go quite a lot to her old location, for food, and even just for her wicked smoothies!

Edit: and if you talk to Jackie, shes adorable. ..and she really takes pride in cooking.

Edited March 24, 2013 by eek

[dave2]

re

The Cat House is on the same soi as Tuskers used to be (25 Chaipoom soi 1)

hes right !

if you go down the soi to the right of this skin clinic

the cat house is about 400 yards on the left !

dave2

[eek]

and its THE cat house, not A cat house...if you are after the latter, go down Loy Kroh !

[StevieH]

The woman who runs the Cat House is Jackie. She is an awesome cook. She didnt run the last place into the ground, the owner put up her rental rates stupidly high that she had to relocate. Sorry eyecatcher, im not saying your opinion isnt valid though. Jackie trains up young guys that have no other opportunies (usually Burmese), and treats them like family. Yes its a business, so customers have expectations, but its a small run affair and run with compassion, so i never minded that things took some time..i just made sure that i went when i had time to spare! Since Jackie moved to the new location i havent had opportunity to visit. Used to go quite a lot to her old location, for food, and even just for her wicked smoothies!

Edit: and if you talk to Jackie, shes adorable. ..and she really takes pride in cooking.

indeed, the previous place was off sirimankalajarn and they were forced out of there for financial reasons. they do cracking baguettes on what i think is really good homemade bread. "ran it into the ground" my arse. ditto on jackie, really friendly and a great cook as you say.

[butterisbetter]

I had Jackie's food at the xmas bazaar a couple of years ago and I thought it was excellent. And Jackie's company and conversation is even better. She's a pleasure to hang out with. I'll be heading that way soon.

Edited March 25, 2013 by butterisbetter

[rene123]

and its THE cat house, not A cat house...if you are after the latter, go down Loy Kroh !

I was going to say exactly the same thing, but eek beat me to it. I laughed when I read the post. A "cat house" in Canada is exactly what you find along Loi Kroh road.

[uptheos]

and its THE cat house, not A cat house...if you are after the latter, go down Loy Kroh !

I was going to say exactly the same thing, but eek beat me to it. I laughed when I read the post. A "cat house" in Canada is exactly what you find along Loi Kroh road.

I bet a lot of guys go and look it up eh?

[DaBloodyMess]

I agree with Ulysses, at House is good for a cheap and healthy feed.

I never went to their old location, but have been regularly visiting the new place since it opened. I can agree that the service can sometimes be a bit slow, but it has never bothered me greatly.

[DiamondKing]

Service Sucks and so does the Food tried it once, NEVER AGAIN

[mesquite]

My experience: Great food, great prices, average service.

[huli]

Jackie has created a unique menu of basically Mexican food with her own tasty spin. Her workers duplicate the dishes very well, no doubt due to her training and quality control. Yes, sometimes it is kinda slow service if the orders are piled up. The kitchen is so dinky! I miss seeing Jackie, though. It seems like she is never there anymore when I go there, and I used to really enjoy talking with her. But, I give her credit, for creating her signature dishes, starting her business, and training her staff so well.

[eyecatcher]

The above reads like typical trip advisor reviews, ranging from excellent to well under par. It seems I was perhaps misinformed about the demise of the last business, and thats the danger of hearsay but one thing is clear from the above reviews...the service is not upto standard, and a business can not survive if service is not tip top because there are too many inpatient farangs here....good service is indemic to the Western world and if we dont like something, or we are waiting THEN 9 times out of ten we will stand up and make it known.

So my conclusion here, is the people saying they had a great time at the cat house are simply being sympathetic to her cause and her personality and not offering an unbiased opinion.

[StevieH]

The above reads like typical trip advisor reviews, ranging from excellent to well under par. It seems I was perhaps misinformed about the demise of the last business, and thats the danger of hearsay but one thing is clear from the above reviews...the service is not upto standard, and a business can not survive if service is not tip top because there are too many inpatient farangs here....good service is indemic to the Western world and if we dont like something, or we are waiting THEN 9 times out of ten we will stand up and make it known.

So my conclusion here, is the people saying they had a great time at the cat house are simply being sympathetic to her cause and her personality and not offering an unbiased opinion.

well your assumptions would be spectacularly misplaced. i went to the cathouse probably about a dozen times when it was off huay kaew. it's a good place, really good food, service perfectly acceptable, very friendly hosts, no commercial connection to the place whatsoever.

based on one visit and a bit of hearsay / misinformation you should probably keep your 'conclusions' to yourself.

[eek]

I give to charity if i feel sympathetic to a cause, not a business which involves me having a hunger that needs sated.
Im Scottish..that means I dont open my purse-strings just for anyone, haha!

The Cat House has been going for years, and people keep going back to it, so i recon that must be for a reason!

As for me, there are tons of anonymous eateries around where i can go get a standard fast service, but sometimes i want a bit of an atmosphere, as well as good food. I dont give praise where its not due, and im sure like any place the Cat House has times where service and even food might not be as great as other days. But each to their own! At least we can say Chiang Mai isnt short on places to eat

[anselpixel]

Jackie is the bomb. Both incarnations of The Cat House have consistently served me better than average food every time I've gone, and always the best salad mix in Chiang Mai.

It's true Jackie serves healthful food, but the hand cut fries with garlic mayo are among my favorite sinful dishes.

A gem.

[huli]

The above reads like typical trip advisor reviews, ranging from excellent to well under par. It seems I was perhaps misinformed about the demise of the last business, and thats the danger of hearsay but one thing is clear from the above reviews...the service is not upto standard, and a business can not survive if service is not tip top because there are too many inpatient farangs here....good service is indemic to the Western world and if we dont like something, or we are waiting THEN 9 times out of ten we will stand up and make it known.

So my conclusion here, is the people saying they had a great time at the cat house are simply being sympathetic to her cause and her personality and not offering an unbiased opinion.

almost everyone agrees that the food is good or great, and that the service can sometimes be slow. Does not this agreement seem genuine and unbiased?

you say her "business can not survive" because "there are too many impatient farangs here" and if "we are waiting THEN 9 times out of ten we will stand up and make it known" Come on, man, you are sitting in a little restaurant and they are obviously busy making food, are you really gonna stand up and complain? Have you no decency? Can you not put yourself in another's position for that moment? I mean, is impatience and self-centeredness really something you are proud of, being from the "Western World"?

[purushanti]

Chaipoom? is that the same as Chaisipoom or Chaiyapoom? (Across the moat from Moon Muang?)

[Ulysses G.]

Yes

[seesip]

The service is a bit slow but compared to what? There's not many places in Chiang Mai that have fast service. It comes down to the quality of the food--if the service is great and the food is mediocre it's not worth it, and vice versa. This place falls into the latter category: food is really good and not the typical western fare, and if they're busy you might have to wait a few for your food.

[tfc]

I've always enjoyed the food at Cathouse at both locations. Sometimes the food took a bit longer than average for a restaurant but it was clear to see that the cooks and staff were not just sitting around but were working really hard so I had no problem at all with that.

[eyecatcher]

The above reads like typical trip advisor reviews, ranging from excellent to well under par. It seems I was perhaps misinformed about the demise of the last business, and thats the danger of hearsay but one thing is clear from the above reviews...the service is not upto standard, and a business can not survive if service is not tip top because there are too many inpatient farangs here....good service is indemic to the Western world and if we dont like something, or we are waiting THEN 9 times out of ten we will stand up and make it known.

So my conclusion here, is the people saying they had a great time at the cat house are simply being sympathetic to her cause and her personality and not offering an unbiased opinion.

well your assumptions would be spectacularly misplaced. i went to the cathouse probably about a dozen times when it was off huay kaew. it's a good place, really good food, service perfectly acceptable, very friendly hosts, no commercial connection to the place whatsoever.

based on one visit and a bit of hearsay / misinformation you should probably keep your 'conclusions' to yourself.

Yes I think you are right about the hearsay and I apologise. as for my opinion about the service, which in fairness has been mentioned a few times by others, this is something they obviously need to address; some people just dont have time to hang around when they are hungry, I am one of them.

[Ulysses G.]

Maybe I am just ordering things that are easy to make, but I am always surprised at how quickly I get my food in the evening.

[anselpixel]

I've been there when they were really busy, and waiting wasn't an acceptable option for me.

When that happens, I go to the kitchen, cancel my order, and go elsewhere.

Never any hard feelings about that.

[femi fan]

The above reads like typical trip advisor reviews, ranging from excellent to well under par. It seems I was perhaps misinformed about the demise of the last business, and thats the danger of hearsay but one thing is clear from the above reviews...the service is not upto standard, and a business can not survive if service is not tip top because there are too many inpatient farangs here....good service is indemic to the Western world and if we dont like something, or we are waiting THEN 9 times out of ten we will stand up and make it known.

So my conclusion here, is the people saying they had a great time at the cat house are simply being sympathetic to her cause and her personality and not offering an unbiased opinion.

well your assumptions would be spectacularly misplaced. i went to the cathouse probably about a dozen times when it was off huay kaew. it's a good place, really good food, service perfectly acceptable, very friendly hosts, no commercial connection to the place whatsoever.

based on one visit and a bit of hearsay / misinformation you should probably keep your 'conclusions' to yourself.

Yes I think you are right about the hearsay and I apologise. as for my opinion about the service, which in fairness has been mentioned a few times by others, this is something they obviously need to address; some people just dont have time to hang around when they are hungry, I am one of them.

You should stick to fast food outlets. I also wonder what your motive is for dissing restaurants after one visit, especially when realising that the restaurant is clearly a very successful one, yet you continue to diss the place.

If i was the owner i'd be very pleased that you were no longer patronising my place. In fact i'd probably turf you out.

[femi fan]

Don't know what happened there. My post began with my recommendation for eyecatcher to stick to fast food outlets.

[eyecatcher]

Don't know what happened there. My post began with my recommendation for eyecatcher to stick to fast food outlets.

well I just made an effigy of you and stuck a fork in it....

you are going at it a bit strong. I went to their place once, ordered drinks and waited and waited. I havent made any comment on the food which may or may not be any good i dont know and i wasnt prepared to wait and find out.

I apologised for making a sweeping statement about their last outlet and thats it.

not sure why you say i continue to diss the place....anyway i dont give a rams shackle what you say.

as for fast food places, well you will not find any comment from me anywhere here becasue I have never walked through the door of any of those places., nor will you find me commenting on western food as I havent eaten that for 2 years also.

in fact, i think i will go and see if my opinion of them has changed tomorrow lunch; hinting that i have a plane to catch at 4pm

[Rob8891]

I think eyecatcher hit it right in his later posts.....the service would seem to be OK for those who aren't in a rush. Maybe if you were in a rush before, nowhere may have suited you, but only you can know the answer to that.

So good on you for apologising openly, and good again that you're prepared to go back to review the place.... even with your tongue-in-cheek proviso . I hope you have the time to relax, get the craic and enjoy the food.