Wawee Coffee Shop, Tita Gallery

Wawee Coffee Shops are popping up everywhere! ...Or perhaps they have always been there, but I'd never really noticed! Here's a lovely one in Mae Rim, just across the lane from the plush Four Season's Resort in Chiang Mai, and a great little get away from the hustle and bustle of town. There is a great selection of delicious looking cakes, and the coffee is not bad too. 

At around 70-80 baht per coffee, we were able to soak in a little of the Four Season's atmosphere without the price tag. : )

Here are some photos: 

Tita Gallery

68 Moo 6, Mae Rim-Samoeng Rd, Mae Rim. 053 298373

Pho Vientiane

Pho is one of my favourite Vietnamese dishes, along with the fresh spring roll. The first time I had Pho was at a friend's place in Sydney. Her mum cooked this most delicious noodles in beef broth dish. It was my first introduction to Vietnamese food. Well, I haven't had Pho for a long time, and was really happy when Pho Vientiane was recommended to me.

Pho Vientiane is one of those "local" restaurants, nothing fancy with simple tables and plastic chairs. The first thing that we noticed was that it was quite busy, which is always a good sign! I couldn't wait to try the Pho. Here it is! 

Well, I remembered Pho to be somewhat tastier, but this one was still quite nice, and it was only 30 baht. For non-beef eaters, they also have the pork version. Might try that next time.

Their deep fried spring roll dishes were great though. We had fish spring rolls with the loveliest soft and fluffy fish, and a yummy dipping sauce (above). The deep-fried pork spring rolls were delicious too (below). 

Somehow, we ended up with mostly fried dishes, but I will try the fresh spring rolls next time and will report back.

All in all, it was a good value meal. The dishes are between 30-60 baht. 

We're sure to go back to try the other dishes. 

Location: Right at the end of an arcade opposite the Shangri-La Hotel on Changklan Rd. Watch out for a bright yellow sign with red writings.  

Opens daily - 9am-9pm

Ridgley's (now closed)

Touted by many expats as having "the best pizza" in Chiang Mai, I simply had to check it out and I was certainly not disappointed. Not sure if it's the best in town, but it's certainly right up there, and the price is very reasonable too.

The restaurant itself is quite small, but has a cosy, home-like feel. Interestingly, Ridgley's has an open kitchen, right at the front door. It's quite nice being greeted by the kitchen staff as you walk into the restaurant.

Although I had an idea that the pizza was good, I also wanted to see what else was on the menu, and I was pleased to find that "French Fries" was spelt correctly! Thai restaurants serving Western food often spell it "French Fried". : )

Other things on the menu included various salads, sandwiches, burgers and pastas. The desserts, ice-cream and shakes all look very indulgent! If you have tried them, please let us know how they are!

This is what we had:

Bruchetta! I haven't had these in a while! ...and they were pretty good.

Yes, I love my salads. The mixed salad was great! The serving was quite big and the large size was very reasonably priced at 79 baht. The garlic-vinaigrette dressing was rather interesting though - we didn't really expect a tomato-sauce look alike dressing, but it was nice.

This is the Sweet & Spicy BBQ Pizza - yum! Very nice and not oily base. Loved the BBQ sauce (?) on the pizza and the Jalapenos peppers were a nice touch. (205 baht for the medium size)

I was hoping for a bigger range of pasta - there were only two. We opted for the Spinach & Chicken Alfredo - nice and creamy. (119 baht)

It turned out to be a very nice and hearty meal. The service was very good and the staff attentive. The food came out rather quickly, much faster than expected. On the way out, we saw the BBQ Spare Ribs being prepared - looked delicious - so I guess having the kitchen by the door as we walk in and out was a good idea afterall. We will definitely try this when we go back next time!

The whole meal came to around 475 baht for 4 people! Fantastic value!

For a map, check out Ridgley's website. 053 490 846

Mon-Sat 11:00-21:00, Closed Sundays

If you've been to Ridgley's, let us know what you think!

Khao Soi Farham (Hang Dong Branch)

This branch of Khao Soi Farham is conveniently situated near a market just before the road that leads to Baan Tawai Woodcarving & handicraft village. The open air restaurant is quite nice and spacious, and importantly, clean!

The Khao Soi itself is not too bad - not as tasty as Lumduan and Samoer Jai. I found the soup spicy, but not very tasty. The good thing is this place offers self-serving condiments and veggies - so you can get as much as you want of these buffet style. 

We also tried Kanom Jean Nam Ngiew ( Kanom Jean or Somen noodles topped with a fishy curry with pork ribs). Normally, I don't really enjoy this dish, but this restaurant does it quite well and it was delicious! We initially ordered one dish to share/try and ended up ordering another one! Just a word of warning though, this is a rather acquired taste, but a more adventurous foodie may want to give it a try, or you may want to order one to try with the others on your table to see if you like it. : )

Dishes were from 30 baht, so pretty good value!