Mon Cham

Mon Cham isn't really the name of the restaurant. Actually, I don't know what the name of the restaurant is. Mon Cham the the name of a place and is a part of the Nong Hoi Royal Project. It's located at the peak of the mountain above Mae Sa Valley. People go there to camp, take a stroll in the lovely garden, pick strawberries, and eat at the bamboo restaurant while drinking in the vista of the mountains and valleys below.

You can eat in the open air restaurant:

Or sit in one of these huts:

...and enjoy the view...and your meal:

The restaurant serves simple but tasty dishes. Great value too - the dishes start from 60 baht.

The deep fried chicken wings are great - simple but perfectly seasoned - just eat it as it is. No sauce required.

The herbed omelet is lovely too, served with chilli sauce. The omelet itself has a nice subtle flavour. If you feel you need sauce, just put a little so as not to overwhelm the dish.

The tom yum is also very tasty, but has too much oil for my liking.

Probably the most interesting dish is the Tempura style deep fried egg plants topped with stir-fried vegies, mushroom, pork, basil and chilli. A kind of "pad krapraw" topping to the eggplants. The eggplants are not oily at all - we think that they must have been grilled before being battered and deep-fried. This is my favourite dish. The mini mushrooms and vegies are super fresh and tasty, although the diced carrots and peas are probably the frozen variety - understandable, I guess since we are in "winter" in Thailand, and it's pretty cold on top of the mountain!

May be it's a combination of the yummy food and cold weather, we ended up re-ordering most of the dishes.

I'd highly recommend you visit Mon Cham if you get a chance. It's a really lovely place with great views and great food!

Tel: 081 806 3993

Directions: Mon Cham is about 50-60min drive from Chiang Mai city. Head towards Mae Rim, and turn left at Mae Sa Valley Road (the one with Tiger Kingdom, Mae Sa Elephant Camp, etc). Keep driving till you reach Pong Yaeng Ang Doi resturant (on the left), keep driving for another kilometer till you reach the sign (on your right) for Nong Hoi Royal Project. Keep driving up the steep windy road for about 9km. You'll go through a small village, and Mon Cham is right on top of the mountain. There are plenty of signs so don't worry about getting lost.