Ratsstube German Restaurant

I was very excited to see a flyer in Rimping Meechok Plaza about a new German restaurant that recently opened in Moo Baan Tanawan.

The flyer described the food so deliciously and I was transported back a couple of years ago when I went to Munich & Vienna... German pork knuckle, Vienna Schnitzel, Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce.... Mmmmm.... so of course, I have to give it a try.

First impressions. The restaurant is rather grand and opulent. Filled with antique treasures, Ratsstube feels rather formal, but the wait staff and owner are very friendly and welcoming. The lovely Thai owner explains that she learnt the recipes served at the restaurant from a dear friend who owns Ratsstube Bangkok.

Everything here is home made, including the sausages, mustard and salad dressings.

On with the food!

The German Pork Knuckle is fantastic. Apparently (if I remember what the owner said correctly), the pork knuckle is marinated in pink salt and herbs for several days, then "boiled" at a very low temperature for a while, then frozen. When there's an order, the pork knuckle is taken out of the freezer and heated up slowly, then deep fried (I think). The result is fantastic crispy skin (YUM!), and super tender pork that is pretty much falling off the bone. Served with very nice potatoes and sauerkraut. 490 baht.

To go with all that meat, we need some vegetables! The Mixed Salad with the three home made dressings is also great. Fresh and crispy veggies. The dressings, I think, are Italian, French and Thousand Island. 80 baht.

....and more meat! Mixed Sausage Plate with Home-fries and Sauerkraut. These are all homemade, according to the owner. Very nice, and again, loved the potatoes. 490 baht

There are loads of other dishes on the menu that I'd love to try, like the Vienna Schnitzel - I really want to see as it's as good as the one I had in Vienna (which was amazing)!

The dessert is very tempting too - like the Apple Strudel with Warm Vanilla Sauce... but I was just too full to eat any more.

Thai food is served here as well, but I haven't even looked at the Thai menu.

I must go back!

Ratsstube Chiang Mai
197 Moo Baan Tanawan
T. Sanphiseur, A. Muang, Chiang Mai
Tel: 053 230 388
Mob: 081 640 5884
Facebook 

Opens:
Tue-Fri 10:30am-2pm & 4:30pm-10pm
Sat & Sun 10:30am-10pm
Closed on Mondays.

GPS location: 18.827712,99.004616



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G&M German Sausage

Legend has it that there is a wonderful German Pork Leg place in Doi Saket, Chiang Mai. It's also very hard to find, and I haven't been able to find directions anywhere. This even made us more determined to find this place! So, where is a better place to farewell our French friend from Chiang Mai than going to a German Restaurant?

Off we went - a motorcade of three cars following each other through Thai country villages, lush green rice fields and mountain backdrops. What a journey! After stopping a couple of times for directions, we finally came to a packed car park. Guess we've found the place!

Arriving at nearly noon, there doesn't see to be any tables left for us. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. 170 baht lunch buffet every Sundays would attract a lot of people. Most of the people I see are locals, and a few farangs (Westerners), no doubt local ones.

G&M German Sausage is a sprawling restaurant, and it was rather chaotic with so many patrons and not a lot of staff. It started as a small 3 table restaurant, and I guess as their reputation grew and more and more customers came, they added extra rooms as required. The ambience is more of a (very) local Thai style, also a little grubby and greasy. The rooms and curtains seemed to be quite old, and in need of a good refit. Not at all what I would imagine a German Restaurant would look like. In addition, I think a combination of a very busy period and not a lot of staff made us feel we had to fend for ourselves a bit. I must give the thumbs up to the staff though - they were lovely and did their best to help us.

We all had a pretty good time. After we got our food and settle in, we started to enjoy the various types of sausages made at the restaurant. (There is also a sausage factory on the premises.) My favourite is the spicy sausage, and this reminds me of Northern Thailand's Sai-Ua. G&M's spicy sausage is quite a lot milder than your typical Sai-Ua, but still very yummy.

After a bit of reminding, the staff eventually brought us what we came to the restaurant for - the pork legs. It turned out that these German pork legs were actually deep fried ham...well, that what it looked (and tasted) like to me anyway. Very interesting. Anyway, it was very tasty, especially the crispy outer parts, and even came with a Thai style chilli dip! ...Well, we ARE in Thailand and most of the customers are Thai...

The buffet spread itself wasn't bad - sausages, potato salad, Thai Vermicelli Salad, bread. We even had dessert! You can order Wall's Ice-cream from the staff. Try the lime ice-cream - very tangy and refreshing after the heavy meal.

The best part I guess was the price - only 170 bath per person. I think the experience would have been better if we came earlier - may be about 10am or 2-3pm, when there wouldn't be as many people. Would be quieter on the weekdays too.

G&M German Sausage Restaurant

269 M 4 Muangton, Doi Saket

Tel: 053 840531

Sunday Brunch Buffet - 170 baht/person

And the directions? It's quite complicated! It's off Borsang-Doi Saket Road. I suggest you call for directions! It's part of the adventure!