Overstand Coffee Shop

Overstand Coffee Shop probably needs no introduction. It's one of the very popular coffee shops in Chiang Mai and is mentioned in several "best coffee shops in Chiang Mai" lists.  I finally got a chance to go for brunch recently to check out what the fuss is all about.

The coffee shop itself is certainly very hip and set in a shop house in a quiet soi in the Old City close to Thapae Gate, so is ideally located for travellers staying in the area. There's a big communal table and several small tables on the side - quite an intimate, friendly atmosphere as the little tables are quite close together.

By the time my friend and I arrived at around 10am, the cafe was filled up with people enjoying breakfast, chatting or working away on their computers.

I've heard a lot about the excellent coffee at Overstand. My friend and I decided to order the Dirty Chai (85 baht), a combination of coffee and chai tea, as it's not something I've seen elsewhere in Chiang Mai. It did not disappoint. Great coffee with a hint of natural sweetness and spice from the chai. Very nicely presented too, I might add. The only problem was that the glass was just a tad too hot to hold very comfortably. Other types of coffee range in price from 50-70 baht. It's also great that Overstand also has a selection of tea for non coffee drinkers.

For brekkie, I chose the chorizo with fried egg and hummus on sourdough bread. (about 160 baht). It came out very nicely presented and looked delicious. There was a generous amount of hummus (I love hummus!) which gave a nice contrast in texture and taste to the bread and the chorizo. Everything worked well together. I loved the chunky grilled tomato too! There are several cafes that offers open sandwiches like this (eg. Natwat Home Cafe & The Larder). I couldn't say which cafe makes the best sandwich as each cafe creates their own versions.

My friend ordered a bacon and egg sandwich which she also really enjoyed. This certainly isn't your traditional bacon and egg sandwich.  The flame grilled capsicum, rockets and sourdough bread adds an extra dimension. 130 baht.

Other dishes available at Overstand includes: muesli (the guy at the next table ordered this and it looked great), various salads and sandwiches. A good selection of drinks including smoothies and alcohol are also available.

Overstand Coffee Shop
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OverstandCoffee/
19/3 Soi 2 Rachamunka
A. Muang, Chiang Mai
Tel: 094 626 8311
Opens: 8am-3pm, closed on Tuesdays
GPS location: 18.786, 98.99263





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Bird's Nest Cafe

Healthy and delicious Thai and Mediterranean food are the order of the day for this homey little cafe in Chiang Mai Old City. 

Set in an old Thai teak house, Bird's Nest Cafe has a nice an relaxing ambience with a nice little corner on the 1st floor, and a place to lounge around on the 2nd floor.  

As we enter, we were greeted by a friendly lady on the counter / bar. We do need to place the order here and pay first before taking our seats. 

The menu is not huge, but there is a good range of breakfast; western food, including various types of sandwiches with options of homemade breads - pita, croissant, foccacia, ciabatta and whole wheat; various breakfast sets, tortilla wraps and salads. There are also some Thai dishes available. 

We decided to order one Western dish and one Thai dish, as well as the special Bird's Nest Coffee Latte (mixed coffee with cardamon, cinnamon, clove and star anise).

The coffee was ordered "mai wan" i.e. "not sweet". The spiced coffee was slightly bitter, had an interesting flavour, as you would have guessed from the ingredients! After tasting the coffee, I would have liked a bit more sugar! 65 baht. 

Interestingly, the straw used was of the non-disposable variety, and this fits well with Bird's Nest Cafe's philosophy of looking after our planet - they try to use less plastic and encourage customers to bring their own containers for take away food and drink. 

Organic ingredients and local produce are used as much as possible. A lot of products used, incidentally, are from Pun Pun. 

Grilled Mozzarella Sandwich with Tomato and Onion - We can choose from the various types of bread available (as listed above), and also from two "sauces" - cashew nut pesto or the sour cream garlic oregano.  We went for the foccacia with cashew nut pesto, and we weren't disappointed! The focaccia was very nice, especially with the very generous dollop of the cashew nut pesto (actually, more like half a jar rather than a dollop!) that gives a creamy and nutty accent to the "sandwich". Actually, I probably could have just eaten a jar the pesto by itself!  95 baht

Now onto the Thai dish - Tom Kha Mushrooms (Mushroom coconut soup) with brown rice. Tom Kha is one of my favourite Thai soups, so I was quite eager to taste Bird's Nest Cafe's tom kha. In case you don't know, this soup is a bit like Tom Yum soup with coconut milk added. The coconut milk tones down the strong spiciness in Tom Yum and gives a more mellow and rich flavour.

So how is Bird's Nest Cafe's Tom Kha? It's actually quite nice, but the flavours have been toned town, I guess to suit the mainly Western and Japanese clientele (from my observation from the one time I've been to the cafe!). Although it wasn't spicy at all (at least to me!), I still enjoyed it a lot.  85 baht (includes a plate of brown rice.. well..red in this case!).

Bird's Nest Cafe is a lovely and comfortable place to relax and have some good healthy food. The rest of the menu seems quite tempting too, and would love to go back to try it if I get the chance. I particularly like their philosophy of looking after the planet, and serving as much organic ingredients as much as possible. 

Bird's Nest Cafe

Singaharat Rd Soi 3

0894292467

Opens daily 9am-8pm

Music and Film events on Friday nights.

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Fongkaew Kafe

Having followed Appleeyes's rather delicious looking food photos (especially of her cakes!) on Instagram for a little while, I decided to try her little cafe in the north eastern corner of the Old City - Fongkaew Kafe.

Fongkaew Kafe is in a set of shop houses in an area with lots of guest houses, and has a nice selection of drinks priced from around 40-65 baht. Cakes are around this price range as well.

This is their specialty drink - The Expresso Bomb. Frozen expresso balls in a sugar dispenser, served with milk, which you pour over the cinnamon stick to give a hint of cinnamon flavour. As the frozen expresso melts, the drink becomes more and more bitter. Honey is also served with the "bomb" in case it gets too strong! 65 baht. I didn't drink this one, but my friend said it was good!

The cakes are very good too! We chose the Coconut Cake -  very moist and smooth cake, full of coconut flavour, especially yummy with the creamy coconut sauce that's served with it.

The Red Velvet cake is also very good - nice and moist and has a lovely smooth, velvety texture with cream cheese topping.

The great thing I found about the cakes are not too sweet, just the way I like them!

The cafe itself is lovely and comfortable.. A nice place to hangout with friends!

Fongkaew Kafe
Turn left and Moonmeung Soi 9, after 20m, turn right into a soi full of shop houses.
Opens: Tue-Sun 8:30am-7pm
Tel: 085 107 8387

Facebook page


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Magical Garden Cafe (now closed)

It was a nice breezy night as we entered an lovely cafe with several bamboo salas scattered around the leafy garden. Each sala has a name on it - these are gifts from generous donors from Singapore who supported the Magical Light Foundation, a non-religious, non-profit organisation that is dedicated to building schools for underprivileged children in Northern Thailand and Myanmar. The proceeds from Magical Garden Cafe is used to support Magical Light Foundation's projects to help educate local and hill-tribe children.

Within 6 months of opening, Magical Garden Cafe has shot up to rank no 6 of listed restaurants in Chiang Mai on TripAdvisor. I was curious if the cafe lived up to its fame when my trusty foodie friends took me to have dinner there.

The ambience was certainly very nice and relaxed. Peter and Shii Hua, the people behind the foundation and the cafe, were very friendly. The food by Chef Noi, a local Thai chef, was great. The food did come out quite slowly, but was worth the wait.

First up to quench our thirst - Strawberry Fruit Shake. 55 baht. Nice and refreshing blend of strawberries and ice, very thick, almost like a thick shake! Didn't have to ask for "mai wan" ("not sweet"). I wouldn't mind some now, actually.. since it's been SO hot!

The spicy fries (45 baht). Very nicely done, dusted with paprika to give a slight punch (very slight!). The Seasonal Greens salad (85 baht) - very fresh and lovely with the honey mustard dressing. There are also two other choices of dressings - Thai and Oriental Soy Sauce. 

The Bruschetta (75 baht)  - Tomato and Basil & Mashed Eggplant with hard boiled egg served on Toasted Baguette. The tomato and basil bruschetta was very good, but I loved the mashed eggplant with hard boiled egg.. that was WOW!  I was quite amazed that eggplants and eggs go so well together!

The Hummus was lovely too. (75 baht). You have a choice of chickpeas, broccoli, or roasted tomatoes hummus, served with cucumber and carrot sticks. We opted for the chickpea hummus, which was really great.

Magical Garden Cafe also has some Thai dishes. We had the Crispy Morning Glory Salad. (65 baht) which consisted of deep fried morning glory leaves in a Thai dressing - tangy, slightly spicy, salty, all in one. Very nice and loved the crunch!

The verdict:

I really like Magical Garden Cafe. The ambience is lovely, and the food is great too! The servings are on the small size (more like snack sizes), but that also means we can try many dishes. The food did come out quite slowly, so please be patient. Very nice, dedicated, friendly staff.

The proceeds, as mentioned earlier, does go to a great cause to help underprivileged children get an education, and Peter and Shii Hua are doing an excellent job keeping everything running.

If you would like to volunteer or help in anyway, please talk to Peter and Shii Hua. They would really appreciate it, so will the children!

Magical Garden Cafe
24 Sriwichai Rd,
Suthep, Chiang Mai 50220
(Behind Wat Suan Dok)
Tel: 093 135 3288
Opens daily (Except Wednesdays) 5pm-10pm
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/magicalgardencafe/

Note: Magical Garden Cafe will be close during Songkran 2014 for renovations. Please check their Facebook page for details!



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Casa Diverso (Mediterranean and Thai Food)

I was kindly invited by Khun Oh, the ex-manager of Oyori The Grill to come and try out his recently opened Mediterranean and Thai restaurant in Chiang Mai's Old City. Khun Oh and his partner, Chef Lek have a lot of experience in the hospitality industry, having worked in Pattaya, Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Their  dream is to open their own restaurant one day, and Casa Diverso is that dream coming true!

The Casa Diverso is in a lovely spot, just around the corner from The Rim Hotel. There's a large outdoor dining area in the garden, and also a rather stylishly decorated indoors area, giving the restaurant a classy, but still relaxed and warm feel.

I was quite surprised by the menu offering both a large selection of European food and Thai food as I was expecting only European food. My friends and I all opted for European food, but I would think the Thai food would be good as well. I hope I'll have the opportunity to go back soon to try the Thai food and other items on the menu!

Some very nice bread with herbed and garlic butter was served.

A green salad was ordered as an entree....and it was... green!...comprised of various types of nice and crispy lettuce with balsamic dressing.

Bruschetta Mozzarella Cheese was highly recommended by Khun Oh. It was lovely with chunky pieces of tomato, mozzarella cheese, and pesto sauce. The bruschetta was quite large and a little hard to eat gracefully without using the knife and fork. 120 baht. 

For my main course, I chose the Grilled Pork Tenderloin (very, very juicy and tender!), which was topped with a blueberry gravy sauce. The gravy was cooked a couple of days in the traditional way, and the blueberry gave the sauce a slightly sweet tang. The potato wedges were great too! 320 baht.

I didn't try this one, but my friend reported that the slow cooked salmon was very good, served with horseradish sauce, as well as pesto sauce on the side. 340 baht.

I just had a little taste of the Spaghetti Alle Vongole - a very simple pasta with clams, oil, garlic and parsley. It was lovely and fragrant, and quite spicy! Very good as well. I wouldn't mind going back to have this all to myself next time!

For dessert, we shared a rather large Creme Brulee (120 baht) which was spectacularly "torched" in front of us by Khun Oh. It was nice, creamy and smooth, but unfortunately, quite sweet. I mentioned this to Khun Oh, and he was really happy to receive the feedback. He seems very dedicated to providing good service and making customers happy. :-)

We all had a very enjoyable time, and we all thought the food at Casa Diverso was great, and the prices very reasonable. Definitely a place we can go back to, and I'm happy we have another quality addition to the Chiang Mai eating scene!

Casa Diverso
184/1 Rachamankha Rd
Phrasing, Chiang Mai.
(Old City)
Opens daily: 11am-11pm
Tel: 084 174 0699




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Matsu Japanese Restaurant

How fortunate us Chiang Mai-ers are to have a plethora of Japanese Restaurants to choose from. It's amazing how many good Japanese restaurants there are here. The other day, I visited the new Central Festival Mall, and wow, there must be about 25 Japanese restaurants there... Thai people must really like Japanese food!

And here I am to introduce another Japanese restaurant to you, thanks to the recommendation of a couple of my friends. This one is a little hole in the wall place in the Old City. The shop looks a little ordinary, and the service so-so,  but their salmon sashimi is great! Served at just the right temperature, very buttery and smooth, melt in your mouth deliciousness! 160 baht.

Ten Zaru (Chilled Buckwheat Noodle with Tempura and Dip). Very nice and refreshing. The tempuras were quite nicely made and the prawns tasty. Very nice dish as well, and pretty good value! 95 baht.

Well, that's all I tried, and I was quite impressed with the quality of the food, and the price! The restaurant was packed when we arrived, and there were quite a few Japanese patrons too, which is always a good sign.

So, I'll definitely want to go back to try other dishes, which also look pretty good. The offering is pretty standard Chiang Mai Japanese restaurant menu, but the salmon sashimi is one of the nicest ones I've had here in Chiang Mai.

Matsu Japanese Restaurant
74/2 Singhrat Rd
Muang, Chiang Mai
(In the Old City)
Tel: 081 472 0171
Opens: 11am-2pm & 5pm-10pm
Closed on Mondays



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Mixology Bar and Grill

I first "saw" about Mixology from..Instagram! I would never thought of Instagram is a place where we can find new restaurants to try, but there was Mixology, featured in a few of fellow Chiang Mai foodies' photos. It's definitely a photogenic place!

May be it was the warm, quirky look of the bar/restaurant, the creative presentation of the food, or may be it was Junior, the bar's resident dog at attracted me to look into it further, and I found a very enthusiastic review, so of course I had to visit!

I wasn't disappointed at the first look. It's a very cosy looking place, and certainly very unique. The bar / restaurant itself is quite small with only a few tables. A I received a very warm welcome from a friendly waitress.

The waitress recommended their signature dish, the Mixology Chiang Mai Burger. A patty of minced pork spiced with various "Chiang Mai herbs" in a pandan sticky rice "bun"! The dish came out very nicely presented, with some greens and "kab moo" (deep fried pork rinds - a very popular local snack). As for the flavour, I can only say it's unusual. Perhaps it wasn't the taste that I expected. The ingredients were obviously very fresh and of good quality, and the vegies very lovely! The serving was slightly small, but that wasn't a problem. 160 baht.

For a starter / snack, we ordered Buffalo Wings, served with sweet chilli sauce. I rather enjoyed this dish. The wings were nicely made and tasty. I didn't need the sauce. If you're expecting an American style buffalo wings, you may be disappointed because this one is definitely Thai style!

And last but not least, I had to try some of their signature cocktails, after all, this is what Mixology is famous for. I decided to go for the sinful sounding Sin Angle - a very mellow and refreshing mix of peach schnapps, apple schnapps, fresh apple, lime & syrup. It wasn't overly strong, and I really enjoyed it. 220 baht/glass.

There are also other dishes on the menu I'd love to go back to try, like the Mixology Potato Skin with a Northern Thailand twist  - you can choose from toppings of Northern Sausages, Grilled Pork, Sour Cream and Sweet Chilli (which is now sounding quite traditional!) and Nam Prik Ong (a local chilli dip). The Nam Prik Ong one sounds great, actually.

Mixology Bar and Grill is definitely a place I'd like to go back to and hang around with friends and sip cocktails!

Junior! 

Mixology Bar and Grill
61/6 Arak Rd, Phra Singh, Chiang Mai  (Old City)
Tel: 0882613057, 0830706190
Tue-Thurs: 3pm-12am
Fri-Sun: 11am-12am

Map: coming soon! Sorry, Google Maps isn't co-operating today!

The Olive Tree (previously Jerusalem Falafel) - Middle Eastern food

Looking through various reviews of The Olive Tree, I was surprised to see all the mixed reports. Some raves about the restaurant, others hate it...the most predominant complaints being the "rude owner" and "tasteless food". Having been there 3 times - once in the old restaurant, Jerusalem Falafel, and twice in the new one, I've found my experience to be very pleasant, and very much enjoyed the food there each time. In fact, I look forward to my next visit.

The beautiful new restaurant, The Olive Tree, is quite exotic, and exudes a feeling of cosiness and warmth. The lady owner, whom I found to be very passionate person, tells me that it took her 3 years to create this new restaurant. I could feel that she put her heart and soul into it, and into her food as well. Her husband, the host,  is very friendly and accommodating, and always has a smile on his face.

The owner recommended the special of the day, Chicken Tagin with Tomato & Olive. A tagin, she explains, is like a clay pot. The chicken is slowed cooked with the sauce in the tagin, which also imparts an aroma onto the chicken....and it was absolutely lovely! The chicken was so tender it's falling of the bone, and tasted wonderful with the tomato based sauce, and the olives...I think they were my favourite part of the dish....creamy and mellow. I couldn't have enough of of the olives! 240 baht.

I didn't have much of the Lamb Cutlets, and I don't normally eat a lot of lamb, but from the little bit that I had, the meat seemed to be well flavoured, although a little chewy. My friend seemed quite satisfied with it. 300 baht. 

So it seems, at least from my experience there, The Olive Tree is a very good restaurant, and the food is great. The previous time I went with some vegetarian friends, and we each enjoyed a platter of falafel, hummus and pita bread. Actually, Jerusalem Falafel (now The Olive Tree) is their favourite restaurant in Chiang Mai, and they make a point to come to the restaurant every time they visit this city.

A lot of people (from the reviews I've read) also complains that the restaurant is quite pricey. As for me, I think it's quite reasonable for the quality and type of food.

I'll definitely go back again.

The Olive Tree Restaurant
29/7 Moon-Muang Rd
A. Muang, Chiang Mai
(Between 7-11 & Pharmachoice Pharmacy)
Tel: 053 271 196
Opens: 11am-3pm, 5pm-11pm
Closed on Fridays




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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!!! 

Ruam Jai Gai Yang - Som Tum (Grilled Chicken & Papaya Salad) รวมใจไก่ย่าง-ส้มตำ

From Where to eat in Chiang Mai?

Gai Yang (grilled chicken) - Som Tum (papaya salad) is one of those ubiquitous street food dishes in Thailand. Each shop has its own version of these tasty grilled chicken, usually served with just as tasty papaya salad, and sticky rice. Yum!

Driving past Ruam Jai Gai Yang-Som Tum shop one evening on the way to visit a relative at Chiang Mai Ram Hospital, a stream of people entering the restaurant catches my eyes. So how could I not have dinner there that night?

From Where to eat in Chiang Mai?

First thing I noticed? The aroma of chicken being grilled on Thai style BBQ right at the entrance. Fantastic! I then take a good look at this rather large and rustic restaurant, built around a tree. Most of the tables are taken up, and the food on look pretty good!

From Where to eat in Chiang Mai?

The menu is actually quite extensive. They have more than just chicken. There are roast pork, and also various kind of fish and soup dishes. There are various kinds of som tums available as well, including ones with brined crab, fermented fish, as well as carrot som tum and mango som tum (and various versions of these), and more! For the newbie, I suggest you stick to the regular som tum.

I ordered half a chicken (55 baht. Whole chicken: 110 baht). Very nice, tasty and tender chicken, the meat falling off the bones. Scrumptious! (Aside: I don't think I've had a bad grilled chicken in Thailand yet). Very nice with sticky rice and the accompanying chilli dip. My sticky rice came with a little added surprise of extra protein in the form of a dead ant. LOL...a dead ant is not so bad, I guess. It could have been worse!

From Where to eat in Chiang Mai?

And of course, I had to order the Som Tum (30 baht). Actually, the chicken came first and I kind of almost finished it before the papaya salad came out...quite a little while later. Well, I was hungry! The som tum was richly flavoured, and quite spicy (I asked for "mai ped" - not spicy). The salad was little on the sweet side for me, however, delicious, nonetheless. A little gripe:  the serving was pretty small.

From Where to eat in Chiang Mai?

I'd really like to go back and try the soup and the serpent head fish that look rather good here:  link

The verdict:
The restaurant seemed clean enough (until I saw the ant in my sticky rice)..lol.
The service isn't fantastic, but acceptable for this type of restaurant.
The food is great (well, from what I've had) ; prices are quite reasonable too.

Ruam Jai Gai Yang - Som Tum
รวมใจไก่ย่าง-ส้มตำ
Bunreungrit Road
Next to 7-11,  about 50m or so  from Chiang Mai Ram Hospital
Tel: 053 215 912
Opens: Daily 10am-10pm



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