Vietnamese food !

[BB1955]

Checked this place out yesterday , food was really good . The spring rolls were to die for ! First authentic Vietnamese food I ve food here in CM ...

They are on face book https://www.facebook.com/phoanhchiangmai

[seesip]

The pho looks legit from their pics. There's some other decent spots around town--two in Meechok that are good but the pho is a little bland. Might have to make a trip out to Saraphi one day.

[BB1955]

Was as good as I got in Saigon a couple years ago . I was impressed !

[Mekong Bob]

Was as good as I got in Saigon a couple years ago . I was impressed !

But not as good as the pho in Northern Virginia USA

[Mekong Bob]

Can we have some directions (with map) from Hang Dong?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Can we have some directions (with map) from Hang Dong?

You can.

https://goo.gl/maps/LZoYK

[BB1955]

Was as good as I got in Saigon a couple years ago . I was impressed !

But not as good as the pho in Northern Virginia USA

Never been there !!! So cant compare !!!!!!

[Ulysses G.]

Was as good as I got in Saigon a couple years ago . I was impressed !

I was not crazy about Pho in Vietnam. I usually prefer Vietnamese food to Thai food, but IMO, Kway Teow is tastier than Pho.

[jamhar]

WAHOO! another place to check out.

Thanks for the "heads up" guys!

[roger1999]

There is another Vietnamese place I can recommend. If you drive up Huay Gaow towards Chiang Mai zoo, it is basically opposite the main entrance to Chiang Mai University (actually, drive one more block past the main entrance to CMU and look across the street.)

Three dishes shared between two people will run about 250 baht with water.

The free veggies (mostly different types of leaves) that they give you is worth 40 baht on it's own.

I walk past there everyday and it's got a crowd at most any time of day, but I have never had trouble getting a table. They are open 10 AM - 10 PM normally. Now they probably close at 8 or 9 PM.

Edited May 25, 2014 by roger1999

[HansBlinkers]

Was as good as I got in Saigon a couple years ago . I was impressed !

I was not crazy about Pho in Vietnam. I usually prefer Vietnamese food to Thai food, but IMO, Kway Teow is tastier than Pho.

I agree with this, I've been to Vietnam and have eaten Pho all over it and Kway Teow is definitely nicer IMO.

That's not to say I don't want to try this place. I'm not familiar Chiang Mai Business centre 2. Is there any well known landmarks near by so that I can place it in my head?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

^ It's a bunch of new shophouses on the Middle Ring, just South of the intersection/underpass with the New Sankamphaeng Road (where Promenada is). There is a Google Maps link in post #6, above.

BTW, Thai kuaytiow may be nicer than Pho in Vietnam, but this place is nicer than either. Imagine it's closer to some of the really good Pho places in the the USA.

Edited May 26, 2014 by WinnieTheKhwai

[limegreenpatato]

the only semi decent pho i've had in chiang mai is the small viet shop at meechok plaza. even though its a little bland, its the only one that almost tastes right.

i don't have much hope for this place. but ill try it.

[tommytouch]

There's a cheap Vietnamese restaurant pretty much opposite the Shangri La hotel on Chiang Klan Rd, in a small cut through 'soi' near the corner of the road running parallel. Just a simple open fronted shophouse place. No idea what the food's like.

[jaideeguy]

There used to be a small Vietnamese restaurant in the old annex outside the Maechok plaza before the big remodel. It was located directly below the new 2nd floor VN restaurant and the owner was from VN, very friendly spoke excellent English and was a great cook.

She expanded her operations and opened another restaurant in the Rimping by the river, but they both closed down and I wonder if she is still around and has another restaurant?? I really liked her food and friendliness. If anyone knows, please tell..............

[junglechef]

The place in Meechok Plaza use to be pretty good and then they tried changed some things, maybe to seem a bit more upscale and/or to attract the Western customers. Such things as serving large slices of white breast meat fanned out on top of the Pho which was very hard to eat with chopsticks. They also didn't have their usual accompanying sauces (Vietnamese hoisin and chili) and other dishes weren't constitent as they used different ingredients each time. The service also lost it's charm.

I tried the place by Chiang Mai U. on the advice of the above poster in this thread. Ordered Pho and got served poor very salty Thai noodle soup with slices of tomato for 2x the price. This place is a chain of fast-food called My Vietnamese Food and it sucks. I asked for sauces and got the four usual ones that come with Thai noodles soup and when I asked if they had any Vietnamese he brought me Kapi (made in Thailand) and assured me it was the real deal! I mean the choices were pork seafood or beef and only there was only one kind of beef served. So for the price of a noodle soup made with prepackaged just add water broth I could have had a nice noodle soup (with a broth made from bones) on the corner for 1/2 the price. I went at 12:30 and the place only had one table open and there was only one waiter behind the counter playing games on his phone with his head down and his headphones on so he couldn't even hear you right next to him. The rest of the large staff was in back some also on their phones and there were many diners trying to get service, checks etc.. I still don't understand why the public here puts up with crappy food and service while shelling out their money!

Planning on trying the place in Saraphi this week as I love Pho, even just a decent one, so to be continued ....

[Ulysses G.]

There's a cheap Vietnamese restaurant pretty much opposite the Shangri La hotel on Chiang Klan Rd, in a small cut through 'soi' near the corner of the road running parallel. Just a simple open fronted shophouse place. No idea what the food's like.

I used to eat there fairly often. Just a few dishes, but not bad for Thailand and inexpensive. Most of the Vietnamese restaurants in Chiang Mai, that I have eaten at, don't have very extensive menus.

[cardinalblue]

Fantastic new place - owner is Vietnamese but run as Lao restaurant...upscale place near phayup U on middle ring road near that big home furnishings store shukipan?

Very crowded at lunch to the point where RSVPs being made...customers were mainly thai chinese as i was only farang there. Seating in and outside. There is also Isaan noodle rest upstairs...both modern lanna style architecture

[seesip]

Fantastic new place - owner is Vietnamese but run as Lao restaurant...upscale place near phayup U on middle ring road near that big home furnishings store shukipan?

Very crowded at lunch to the point where RSVPs being made...customers were mainly thai chinese as i was only farang there. Seating in and outside. There is also Isaan noodle rest upstairs...both modern lanna style architecture

How long has that been open? I went to a Vietnamese place somewhere in that area about 6 months ago, but it was an all-Vietnamese menu, not the best quality. Wonder if this is a different place? They have Lao and Vietnamese on the menu?

[cardinalblue]

Don't know how long open...the sign says Lao restsurant but can find Vietnamese food on menu...nice new building and open design. There is a noodle restaurant upstairs but told tha is more for dinner...On land owned by Pyrap Uni. Paved parking lot with security guard....almost next door to that big home improvement store which means south side of road

Bill came to 500B 2 people so not your quick hole in wall restaurant...service quite good surprisingly...

[dingdongrb]

I ate at Pho Anh Saturday for lunch.... My first visit with more to come. The food and service was excellent.

Not knowing street names here's my take on directions to get there:

Take the middle ring road east past the super highway like you are heading towards the Promenada mall. Do a U turn at the first intersection (going over the first underpass) and head back west on the ring road. Pho Anh is located shortly after your U turn in a group of townhomes/stores on your left hand side (south).

BTW, I had the beef noddle soup and egg rolls....... a good first choice.

[PFV]

Stopped by today and was very pleasantly surprised. It is the first Vietnamese restaurant in Chiang Mai, that I know of, to serve one of my favorite dishes: Bun thit nuong!

[seesip]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Stopped by today and was very pleasantly surprised. It is the first Vietnamese restaurant in Chiang Mai, that I know of, to serve one of my favorite dishes: Bun thit nuong!

I ate at Pho Anh Saturday for lunch.... My first visit with more to come. The food and service was excellent.

Not knowing street names here's my take on directions to get there:

Take the middle ring road east past the super highway like you are heading towards the Promenada mall. Do a U turn at the first intersection (going over the first underpass) and head back west on the ring road. Pho Anh is located shortly after your U turn in a group of townhomes/stores on your left hand side (south).

BTW, I had the beef noddle soup and egg rolls....... a good first choice.

Any way to get a google map reference? Is it the last uturn before you get to Promenada?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

^ Post #6, above.

[seesip]

^ Post #6, above.

Ok got it--sounded like there were a few places mentioned and wasn't sure this was the same one.

[arunsakda]

One good place I tried was across the river near the iron bridge.

[junglechef]

Had a late lunch today at the place mentioned in post # 18-20 called Tumzep Punnua (their transliteration). It's a Laos restaurant with a Chef from Laos and said Lao Cuisine on all their literature including the water bottles but that was the only thing in English so I can't vouch for any Vietnamese affiliations or offerings. But the Laos food was really good and I imagine I would have enjoyed it even more with a menu translator (just the job my Thai GF, and who said ... oh never mind). My sweet waitress spoke enough English, I think the only one there who did but give them credit for sending her over first, and she was so patient explaining options like the different kinds of sticky rice they had instead of just doing the easiest thing and giving me white. Even the owner (manager?) didn't speak enough to know the word "bathroom" but luckily my eight years of living here finally paid off! The food was also falang unfriendly (not the people but the language and the too often food preferences) as it was spicy, so much so that the first words out of my waitresses mouth were "Can you eat spicy?". But I would imagine from the level of service that she would have had happily accommodated me if I said no. There was always someone in the dining room with roving eyes, not enough to make eye contact as I imagine that would be a cultural faux pas here (note to Mod: I'm very sorry if I broke the TV English only rule there), but alert enough to see a little hand gesture or head nod. The dining room was spacious and had a modern old S.E. Asian feel as did the beautiful wood exterior. These combined with the nice view of a pond from the large window next to my table all gave the restaurant class. Even the intentionally directed multiple speakers playing nice background music at a sensible volume made the dinner conversation enjoyable.

All good signs of a "real" restaurant if that can be backed up by the food and I am happy to say it did. I had a pork rib and mixed mushroom soup, the meat fell off the bone and it was full of mushrooms and well seasoned, a bit on the spicy side even after I fished out all the different peppers. Since I couldn't read the menu I asked if they had my go-to Laos dish of Larb and of course they did, either beef, pork, fish and salmon. I ordered the fish which she described a big catfish, which I now imagine might have been Giant Mekong Catfish which is delicious but I avoid as it is endangered due to overfishing. Another complex and well seasoned dish (read spicy). Together with black sticky rice and water with ice (I'll get to that) the bill came to 270 bht.

I'm sure you've been waiting for my "critiquize" and my only two complaints are that for 270 bht for lunch for myself I feel paying 15 bht for a room temperature bottle of water and then having to order 10 bht small bucket of ice cubes (big enough to keep only one bottle cool) is just a little petty at a place like this. Stick a few bottles in the cooler and charge me 20 bht for it (or even 25 bht if you have to since you have fancy bottles with your name on it). To me this is old thinking management here that goes just because you can get away with it might as well do it. Secondly, under the same kind of thinking, although understandably at 4 pm there was only one waitstaff on the floor, though there were quite a few tables full (good for them!), it took quite a while for me to get my check because the waiter stood around waiting for the people at the next table to read the bill and get their money out and then wait for the cashier and then wait for her tip instead of helping another patron in between. I hope these antiquated practices go out with such things as surly service and having to get up every time one wants something, which are thankfully changing here , albeit slowly. Oh and one more thing (did you really didn't think it was just two?) I was served my food without rice and had to again ask for it. I know this has been discussed before and another poster wrote that he always gets his too early but since then it has happened to me three more times, maybe it's just the curse of the junglechef.

Well perhaps off the Vietnamese food topic, but I feel well worth adding my two cents (two dollars?) about this place as it truly is a worthwhile dining experience especially for those whom like the real deal.

p.s. It's located right in-between Payap University and Home Sukkapan in the strip mall called VCOMMUNITY

Edited June 2, 2014 by junglechef

[Ulysses G.]

Did you ask for a glass of water? A lot of places with mostly Thai clients give bottled water in a glass for free, but if you want your own individual bottle, you have to pay for it. I don't understand why anyone would do that, but many Thais order them for some reason.

Edited June 2, 2014 by Ulysses G.

[junglechef]

No I didn't, but when she asked if I wanted to drink anything as she pointed to the drink menu I said just water. By no means is this her fault as I might have even gestured towards the water bottle displayed on the table to make my point. I do find it funny that lots of 40 bht soup places, including one of my favorite duck stands on Chang Puaek rd., automatically bring iced water to the table for free when others where your spending thousands of baht charge as much as the noodle shop's entree for a bottle of water which is probably just filtered tap water anyways. 7/11 charge just a few baht so I imagine they are getting it for less and gouging their good customers for a few more baht, this is not what we call good will in the restaurant business where I'm from (but then again I'm not in Kansas anymore!)

[Ulysses G.]

I agree with you. If the cheap noodle stalls can give their customers free ice water, it seems like more expensive places would do it too.

Edited June 2, 2014 by Ulysses G.