Eating At A Different Place Every Day Of The Year!

[chanchao]

> Hors d'oeuvre.

Ah.. thanks! Seems I was pretty close, phonetically anyway. ;-) While we're on the topic of things French, has anyone paid a visit to that bar/restaurant next door to Mango Tree on Loi Kroh? French guy owns it, or his girlfriend does, whatever, but the point is that they serve a wine that's TOTALLY acceptable, especially by Thai standards, at 60 baht for a fair sized glass. Especially liked the red. Forgot the name but would recognize the (large, 2L) bottle if I stumbled upon it at Tops, Tesco et al.

Cheers,

Chanchao

[chanchao]

Saturday night, I went to Sai Lom Joy restaurant on Chan Klang rd. Their "pla sa nam sai" is probably one of the best in town (if not the best). And at 99 bahts, it's a bargain. At the Brasserie, it costs 150 or 160 bahts and it's not as delicious.

Sai lom joy... is that on the road connecting Chang Klan to Kamphaeng Din? Or on Chang Klan proper? Wherabouts? It's kind of a long stretch..?

Cheers,

Chanchao

[lamphun]

It's moved to Chang Klan almost opposite the front of Chiang Mai Land

[JAN]

i visited Sai Lom Joy with 3 Thai friends last week and it was a sad experience. The waitress / waiters had never heard of "plaa sa naam sai" nor could I (we) find it on the menu ( I read Thai) The music was overwhelming and bad. The food mediocre. Not on my next visit!

[adjan jb]

i visited Sai Lom Joy with 3 Thai friends last week and it was a sad experience. The waitress / waiters had never heard of "plaa sa naam sai" nor could I (we) find it on the menu ( I read Thai) The music was overwhelming and bad. The food mediocre. Not on my next visit!

Sorry about that. Actually it's the fisrt time that i hear someone complaining about Sai Lom Joy.

"Plaa sa maan sai" is on the menu. But i must admit that most of the times i don't use the menu when i order and i always get what i want, including my favourite fish.

Did anybody have a similar experience as Jan ?

[mango head]

Ican already hear Tutsiwarrior when he sees this thread, GO TO McDONALDS AND GET A BIG MAC.

[chanchao]

> "plaa sa naam sai"

In all fairness, that doesn't ring a bell with me either. "Nam sai" is any kind of clear soup/curry. Like when you'd want your tom yam NOT as rich soup with coconut, you'd order it 'nam sai', as opposed to 'nam khon'.

Also plaa sa ... ? Plaa Saba perhaps? You can't blame a restaurant for not having something on the menu unless perhaps it's a vary basic dish or variation.

I *DO* very much agree with loud music being a potential issue. I think too many restaurants have music that really tortures the ears when you just want to enjoy your meal. Decided to leave quite a few restaurants without ordering because of it. (This comment in general; I've never been at Sai Lom Joy. Or not recently anyway)

Cheers,

Chanchao

[adjan jb]

i visited Sai Lom Joy with 3 Thai friends last week and it was a sad experience. The waitress / waiters had never heard of "plaa sa naam sai" nor could I (we) find it on the menu ( I read Thai) The music was overwhelming and bad. The food mediocre. Not on my next visit!

I've read your post again. And then I noticed that you complained about the music that was too loud. Are you sure we are talking about the same restaurant ?

Sai Lom Joy is on Chan Klang road, opposite Chiang-Mai Land and the last times I went there, There was no music at all (neither a band nor a sound system).

To Chanchao,

"Paa sa maan sai" does exist. It's a steam fish served in a clear soup (with cabbage, ginger, garlic, tamarind, lard, etc...). It's a shame that I don't know how to use my Thai keyboard, otherwise I would type it. I'll ask my GF tonight.

[adjan jb]

> "plaa sa naam sai"

In all fairness, that doesn't ring a bell with me either. "Nam sai" is any kind of clear soup/curry. Like when you'd want your tom yam NOT as rich soup with coconut, you'd order it 'nam sai', as opposed to 'nam khon'.

Also plaa sa ... ? Plaa Saba perhaps?

Any fresh water fish can do.

[chanchao]

It's a shame that I don't know how to use my Thai keyboard, otherwise I would type it. I'll ask my GF tonight.

Use the tilde (~) key to switch between Thai and English.

If that fails, try the Alt-Shift key combination.

Or select the little blue square in the system tray that says 'En' and switch it to 'Th'. (bunch of icons near the bottom right near the clock).

Note that you may have to set the 'Encoding' in your web-browser to Thai before posting. This often means selecting 'Thai' and then reloading the page.

Cheers,

Chanchao

[adjan jb]

It's a shame that I don't know how to use my Thai keyboard, otherwise I would type it. I'll ask my GF tonight.

Use the tilde (~) key to switch between Thai and English.

If that fails, try the Alt-Shift key combination.

Or select the little blue square in the system tray that says 'En' and switch it to 'Th'. (bunch of icons near the bottom right near the clock).

Note that you may have to set the 'Encoding' in your web-browser to Thai before posting. This often means selecting 'Thai' and then reloading the page.

Cheers,

Chanchao

I've got a French keyboard. I know how to switch from a language to another, it's just that i don't know what key to press to type a specific Thai letter.

[francois]

hmm ...

I put my 2b in here ...

I had a french keyboard once ... sometime ago

well, the only way to write thai is to have a us/th keyboard or at least stickers that you can put on the keyboard.

there is no fr/th keyboard .. as far as I know

the switch is described above

francois

[chanchao]

> I've got a French keyboard. I know how to switch from a language to another, it's

> just that i don't know what key to press to type a specific Thai letter.

Oh.. then you'll have to get keyboard stickers.. And get used to a standard US keymap for your English and French typing! No more Azerty!

Note: If you get a USB keyboard, conceivably you could easily plug in a US/Thai keyboard and switch between the two quite easily. (Regular PS/2 keyboards don;t like being unplugged and re-plugged). With USB you could have two of them connected at the same time. Then just let Windows switch between US, French and Thai.

Cheers,

Chanchao

[et33.com]

i had backpacked in thailand

for a month a couple of years back

and i love chiangmai the most...

[Doisaketmoobaan]

Being in the Food Industry I think your reviews of Places to eat in chiang mai is one of the best i have ever seen.

I hope its going well!

We are new to the area and have found a few of these on our own but will probably now follow your tour.

We love to eat!!!

Thanks-

Ps- this is a very informative website!! Finally i found something that deals with Chiang mai!!

[Guest IT Manager]

doisaketmoobahn thanks for that. We try really hard to keep it interesting.

IT

[lamphun]

Being in the Food Industry I think your reviews of Places to eat in chiang mai is one of the best i have ever seen.

I hope its going well!

We are new to the area and have found a few of these on our own but will probably now follow your tour.

We love to eat!!!

Thanks-

Ps- this is a very informative website!! Finally i found something that deals with Chiang mai!!

P1P or anyone else interested. An occasional posting of where you've been eating in the last week would be a good critique of local eateries, as Trink used to say. Places open and close so quickly round here that finding great places to eat is difficult.

[Guest IT Manager]

Does anyone know Swai Riang? If not I will do a post about it tomorrow. also Pii Khun Chai, both in the Nong Hoi area, both briolliant food and few foreigners.

[piet pompies]

Zendesigner, there is an Israeli Place ( Jerusalem Falafel?) just down the street from the Top North Hotel. Does middle Eastern Greek Style food. I enjoyed it and will go back. Wine is also moderately priced. Nice lady in charge. If you also don't like Aroon Rai, you may like this place!

There is a Somtam Isaan food place on Boon Ruang Rit Rd. After Suthep rd, towards Huay Keaw, on the left. This was good, have been there several times. I don't know if it was described. I cannot remember the name. I will try to get name.

[lamphun]

Italian Food (Used to be called Italien Foo as the N had fallen off the sign)

Suthep road behind the university. It was one of the food stalls but is now self contained. Just before you reach the turn off to Wat Umong. Food is really cheap and good.

Pizza 45 baht !!

[chanchao]

> There is a Somtam Isaan food place on Boon Ruang Rit Rd. After Suthep rd, towards

> Huay Keaw, on the left. This was good, have been there several times. I don't know if

> it was described. I cannot remember the name. I will try to get name.

It's called B.K. or some such.. something with two initials anyway. I've been there once and at that time perhaps got a bit unlucky with the chicken & overall service.. Maybe will give it another go sometime though. It does seem popular.

Cheers,

Chanchao

[chanchao]

Does anyone know Swai Riang? If not I will do a post about it tomorrow. also Pii Khun Chai, both in the Nong Hoi area, both briolliant food and few foreigners.

I really loved Sawai Riang a lot a couple of years back..!!! Then they kind of hit a slump I think with not much maintenance going on and an overall drop in popularity. As they have a new entrance on the ring road now it seems they're fixing things up again.. but haven't tried it yet so I would love a report. ;-)

(Though will try it anyway one of these days)

Cheers,

Chanchao

[john b good]

If you judge a restaurant by state of it's toilet take a look at Daddy's (Changklan) There cannot possibly be a filthier toilet in the whole of Chaingmai (possibly Thailand) They make passable pizza when they "listen to your order and what you want by way of the base i.e. thin crusty / thick doughy". Other food is not bad particularly if you don't visit the toilet prior to eating as that is a sure way to lose your appetite.

Mango tree had a toilet at the other end of the specrum i.e. close to being the cleanest. Good food too and Alan kept a very good wine selection.

Leena's in Anusarn was, the last time I was there perhaps the biggest rip off joint in Chiangmai. I can't understand that they have any customers.

If you are looking for good "pub grub" look no further than Mad Dog on Moon Muang. They will also fill your glass of draught to the brim or give you some froth if thats your preference (personally I can't understand why anyone wants to buy "froth") Great selection of music, AND the toilets are very clean as well.

All are personal opinions but perhaps another way of rating a restaurant is how many people (customers) they have. A contradiction to this though is Daddy's which is well patronised (but perhaps that is untill everyone one uses the dunny)

[chanchao]

> Leena's in Anusarn was, the last time I was there perhaps

> the biggest rip off joint in Chiangmai. I can't understand that

> they have any customers.

Tourist customers; getting repeat customers isn't really a priority in that target market. (Also especially including Thai tourists from Bangkok and elswhere here)

Cheers,

Chanchao

[Ajarn]

> Leena's in Anusarn was, the last time I was there perhaps

> the biggest rip off joint in Chiangmai. I can't understand that

> they have any customers.

Tourist customers; getting repeat customers isn't really a priority in that target market.   (Also especially including Thai tourists from Bangkok and elswhere here)

Cheers,

Chanchao

It could also be that not everyone agrees that Leena's is a (no reason given) rip-off.

And it's not just tourist customers who eat there.

I happen to like the place, and the people working there. I've eaten there perhaps 30 times in 20 years, always with good service, good food (and fresh!), and with a good people-watching perch. I also like going there because the large open prawn pools keep the place nice and cool. And, finally!, I can catch something when I go fishin'!

The prices for prawns there are expensive @ almost 500 baht per kilo for the largest, but not really much more than you'd find in any fresh seafood market, and they do prepare them exactly the way you want.

[chanchao]

Fair enough. Have people tried 'Similan Seafood' on Fa Ham road? It's near 'The Resort' but on the other (non-river) side of the road.

Cheers,

Chanchao

[Johpa]

Leena's in Anusarn was, the last time I was there perhaps the biggest rip off joint in Chiangmai. I can't understand that they have any customers.

I am surprised that any of the establishments at Anusorn have customers these days, which is too bad as it once was a great traditional night time Thai food court.

Happy Trails

Johpa

[Ajarn]

I am surprised that any of the establishments at Anusorn have customers these days,

Happy Trails

Johpa

Oh... Back in town?

[Ajarn]

Fair enough. Have people tried 'Similan Seafood' on Fa Ham road? It's near 'The Resort' but on the other (non-river) side of the road.

Cheers,

Chanchao

I read the sign as Simian Seafood

[chanchao]

Being a fan of "Sang Som Similan", I'm quite used to the name. Apparently a bunch of islands was named after the liquor too.