Nopakhun Pochana (นพคูณโภชนา) - Now Closed

Pad Krapraw with fried egg

Nopakhun Pochana is your typical Thai lunch time restaurant that serves one dish meals (fast food - Thai style!).

"One dish meals" include things like fried rice, rice dishes with various kinds of toppings, noodle dishes like pad see ew or pad thai, etc. Generally in most places, you'll get your meal within 5 min or so of ordering (may be 10 min or a bit longer if the eatery is very busy).

I've been to Nopakhun Pochana several times. It's a relatively new eatery that opened up in the new section of Ruamchok Market (behind Meechok Plaza). It's nice and clean, and only has a few tables. Also of note, the servings are very big compared to eateries at Meechok Plaza (may be lower rent might have something to do with this). Most of the dishes are around the standard 30 baht mark. There is quite a large variety of dishes available here as well.

Pad prik kaeng

As I enter Nopakhun Pochana, I notice Moo Krob (crispy pork) which look enticingly good! Now crispy pork (due to high fat content, and me trying to be health conscious) is not what I would usually order, but I couldn't resist. A bit of crispy pork fat won't kill me...I just have to walk a little more! lol. Crispy pork pad krapraw (crispy pork stir-fried with basil leaves) comes to mind, but I spied another option - Pad prik kaeng with snake beans. Pad Prik Kaeng is prepared by stir-frying red curry paste with meat and vegies. It turns out to be great. The consistency of the curry is just right - not too dry, not too runny - just enough to spread over all the rice.  I am not disappointed with the crispy pork either - the skin nice and crispy, and there are plenty of it in the dish too. The chef certainly is quite generous! The serving is huge and I couldn't stop eating even if I was quite full as it was so good. May be it's not a good place if you're on a diet!

Other dishes available include: Pad Krapraw pork / chicken / beef / seafood with fried egg; fried rice; chicken stir-fried with ginger; panang chicken / pork; various noodle dishes.

Nopakhun Pochana
Shop D16, Ruamchok Market
Opens 9:30am-6pm

PS. This is my 100th post! : D

Tipparot Noodle Shop (Beef and Pork Noodles)

Tipparot's Mixed Beef Noodles with Soup

I wouldn't actually say it's the best beef noodles in Chiang Mai, as there are so many good places to go...but I can safely say Tipparot is certainly one of the good ones. The stewed beef is nice and tender, the beef balls are firm and has a nice and chewy texture, and the soup tasty, but not overly so. Actually, I find the soup perfect for my taste -  I don't have to add any condiments (sugar, fish sauce, etc) to the dish except for a bit of chilli/vinegar dip that comes with the noodles. Some people may be interested to know that the soup at Tipparot is not sweet, so it's great for people who doesn't like too much sugar added to their food. If you have a sweet tooth, you can always add sugar! 30 baht/bowl.

If you don't want noodles, you can always ask for the Gaow Low version (as in all other noodle shops). This is basically just meat, vegies and soup without noodles.

The eatery itself is nothing more than a big shack on the side of the road, but it's very clean, and the people making and serving the noodles are nice and friendly. 

Tipparot Noodle Shop

Chiang Mai-Doi Saket Road

Go pass Samyeak (Sansai) Market towards Doi Saket, pass the traffic lights. The eatery is just before Petronas Petrol Station.

Open daily 8am-3pm

(Click on the link at the bottom of the post next to "Location" to be directed to google maps)

Good Morning Chiang Mai

Good Morning Chiang Mai Cafe

Lazy Sunday mornings are sometimes hard to find, but what a better way to spend it than lazing around with friends in the lovely garden of  Good Morning Chiang Mai, a cafe tucked away in a quiet soi (lane) off Rachamankha Road right in the Old City.

Arriving for brunch, a friend and I ends up staying for lunch as well, as we wait for other friends to join us. So it is...brunch and lunch at Good Morning Chiang Mai.

The breakfast menu comprises of goodies like various types of pancakes (buttermilk, gingerbread, etc); various eggs - classics like fried, poached on croissant or toast, various types of omelets. Not feeling very hungry (yet), I opt for their homemade granola (very nice, by the way, with lots of nuts and seeds) and shar an organic sencha tea (very good) with my friend. Looking around, I notice many other patrons enjoying their eggy breakfasts and they look pretty good!

Homemade granola 

As a couple more friends arrive, it's time to order lunch! Good Morning Chiang mai doesn't have a huge lunch menu, but they do have the usual Thai lunches (eg. Pad Thai, fried rice, etc) as well as sandwiches and burgers.

I decide to have a roast pork burger. True, it doesn't look too exciting, but it's actually quite nice and has a homemade feel. The pork has been specially marinated in a kind of smokey flavoured BBQ sauce. Not bad.

Pork Burger

Good Morning Chiang Mai is a lovely cafe to enjoy a meal. The food there is pretty good, and the cafe has a very nice ambience. The garden is nice and relaxing. There's even an above ground pool for the kids (or adults) to jump in on hot days! The wait staff are very nice, but we find that they tend to about us bit - perhaps because as we were sitting in the garden and they couldn't see us? Oh well, it's kind of a chill out place so why get upset?

Nice garden setting, even has a pool! 

Good Morning Chiang Mai Cafe
29/5 Rachamankha Soi 6
T. Phra Singh, Chiang Mai
Tel: 057 278607
http://www.goodmorningchiangmai.com/

Make sure you watch your kids!!!