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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Gusto Site

Sometimes all you want to do after a hard week's work is to relax... Well, may be not just sometimes! So after a crazy week of work, eating (of course!), a bit of drinking and live music was in order.

I live out on the Outer Ring Road (121) and although it's not that far away, going into town or Nimman feels like a bit of a hike, and I didn't fancy going through the traffic (and looking for parking!). Fortunately, there's a cool little restaurant / cafe on the New San Kamphaeng Rd, just only about 10 min from my house. The traffic, and parking, was a breeze!

Gusto Site. A newish (about 6 month old) restaurant on the New San Kamphaeng Rd.
There's plenty of parking!

The ambience is lovely. There's a big garden and seatings inside and outside the restaurant. There's live music on Friday and Saturday nights. I've been there on a couple of Saturday nights and the band played great easy listening music. A really nice place to chill out.

The atmosphere of the restaurant / cafe. 

The food here is pretty good too. Gusto Site has mainly Thai dishes,Thai style pasta dishes, as well as various great looking desserts.

The Deep Fried Pork Belly with Galangal Chilli Dip was lovely. The pork was well seasoned, and the chilli dip was very refreshing. It's like the northern green chilli dip (Nam Prik Noom) with galangal. An interesting twist. (95 baht)

Deep Fried Pork Belly with Galangal Chilli Dip, an icy glass of Heineken.. Mmm
BTW, thanks Zalora for the green bag that I took to the restaurant. 

The Deep Fried Tilapia (Tabtim fish) with Garlic. This is also quite good and nicely done.The fish pieces (not fillets as the pieces still had bones in them) are very nicely fried with light crispy skin, and pillow soft on the inside. It comes with a sweetish sauce with galangal (I think they really like galangal here!). I found I only needed a bit of sauce on the fish as the sauce is quite sweet. 185 baht.

Deep Fried Tilapia (Tubtim) Fish with Garlic. Served with a sweet galangal sauce. 

Gaeng Ratajuan with Pork Ribs. This is quite a lovely, interesting "curry". It features a lot of the usual suspects of Thai herbs (lemongrass, kaffir lime, and other herbs) as well as shrimp paste, which makes the soup/curry really smooth with earthy flavours. Westerners may not appreciate this as it is a bit of an acquired taste due to the shrimp paste. 95 baht

Gaeng Ratajuan with Pork Ribs

What I really love most at Gusto Site (that also helped to replace the calories burnt from that morning's kickboxing session), were the desserts. Oh well, that's one of the benefits of exercising, I guess.. so we can eat more!

The French Toast is really lovely. There's a thick, buttery, slightly salty toast that contrasted well with the scoop of strawberry sorbet (which was.. wow! .. it was full of strawberry flavours). There was also half a mango and various fruits served with the french toast as well. 165 baht.

Loved the French Toast!

Their signature dessert is the Little Bear Chocolate Mousse Cake. Very cute.. and tasted great too (I love chocolate!). My friend wasn't too fussed about chocolate so I ended up eating the whole thing myself (too good to waste!). The mousse was lovely, creamy and soft, not too sweet, and very chocolatey. 95 baht.

.. and the Little Bear Chocolate Mousse Cake! So cute (and decadent)!

I really enjoyed my time chilling out and eating at Gusto Site.

The restaurant seems quite popular with local families from near by moo baans (housing estates). Worth a try if you're in the area!

Gusto Site
T. Ton Pao, A. San Kamphaeng
GPS:18.744124, 99.077092
Tel: 087 657 9889
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GustoSite

Great live music

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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My Secret Cafe

Yes, this charming cafe really lives up to the name, and I do wish that it really is a secret... Which means I shouldn't really write a post about this! LOL

When a friend first took me to this rather well hidden location... my first thought was... wow! This is rather adventurous.... Then it was... where on earth are you taking me? She took me through a beautiful tree lined street, crossed a little canal, over a dirt road, and into a rather bushy carpark with no building in sight.

A short stroll through a row of roses later, a pink house appeared. I excitedly quickened my step towards this littIe cafe. I could see immediately that this would be a very nice and relaxing place to hang around for the afternoon.

The decor is an eclectic mix of antiques from various places, but somehow they work! The cafe itself is very comfortable and cosy.

If you like to have a bit of a walk afterwards to burn off some calories, you'll also be able to wander the grounds of My Secret Cafe, may be say hello to the resident dogs and horse, walk over to the large pond and check out the guest house.

Ja Jaa, the lovely young Thai owner lived in the UK for about 10 years, and studied cookery at an Irish country hotel before returning to Thailand, which explains the unusual (for Chiang Mai) country style cakes in the cafe...At My Secret Cafe, you'll be sampling homemade cakes such as Peach and Kumquat Upside down Cake (90 baht), GCC- Giant Cookie Cake (90 baht), Apple Cake (80 baht), and more..

The Peach and Kumquat Upside down Cake was nice and moist - quite lovely, and with chunks of peaches and kumquats providing a nice contrast of flavours and texture.

The GCC was exactly that - a giant cookie. Nice, chunky and rich.

We also had the brownie, which was very lovely and rich with all the chocolaty goodness. Perfect for a chocolate fix.

In terms of beverages, I ordered a Nutella cocoa drink. It was quite nice, but wasn't very hot when served. 65 baht. Hot coffee here cost about 55-65 baht.

....all these between two people...we were extremely full!

From front and going clockwise - GCC (Giant Cookie Cake),
Peach & Kumquat Upside Down Cake & Chocolate Brownie

The second time I visited with my family one afternoon, there weren't many cakes left. However, Ja Jaa was making fresh waffles - Thai Tea Caramel Waffles (with caramel sauce that has been infused with Thai tea) and Chocolate Chip Waffles. We ordered one of each and they both were fantastic - warm, crispy on the outside, richly flavoured and soft on the inside. They were great ... some of the nicest waffles I've had!

All in all, we all really enjoyed My Secret Cafe. It's such a charming place, and very relaxing. A perfect get away for an afternoon. The homemade country style cakes are lovely and very different from what you'd get elsewhere. Really worth visiting!

My Secret Cafe
10/4 Moo 3
T. Sanpheeseur A. Muang
Chiang Mai
Tel: 081 499 9911
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Secret-Cafe/160854730624889
Opens: Tue-Sun 10:30am-5pm



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Janey Scoop

You'll have no problem finding good ice-cream in Chiang Mai. There are ice cream parlors every where, from franchises such as Swensen's, Bud's, iberry to ice cream carts selling coconut ice cream for 10 baht.  A reader recently recommended a homemade ice-cream shop, saying that it was one of the best she's had...so off I went to give Janey Scoop a go.

Janey Scoop is a little shop in a little corner of Nimmanhaemin Soi 5 selling not only ice-cream, but various other desserts too. The shop was packed when we walked in after lunch on a Sunday, leaving only two tables outside.

There are exotic flavours eg. Nestea Oreo...I settled for a scoop each of the more mundane sounding green tea & chocolate-orange ice cream. Both were very nice - full of flavour. From the two flavours I tried anyway, Janey Scoop's ice cream seems less creamy and lighter than the usual ice-cream (eg from Swensen's and Bud's)...which is probably a good thing ... and hopefully means we can eat more of it without feeling too guilty.. (not that I do.) LOL. I would love to go back to try other flavours, and desserts .. the honey toast looked really good too.

Janey Scoop
Nimmanhaemin Rd Soi 5
Opens 11am-9pm
Closed on Wednesdays
Tel: 081 288 8889
https://www.facebook.com/JanieScoop

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Kafe Vino Coffee and Wine Bar

Kafe Vino is one of those places that only locals would know (unless you get the word from bloggers like me!)..actually, some locals may not even know about it... This funky cafe is a great place for coffee by day and wine by night! ...Although the you wouldn't want to have a little too much wine after leaving Kafe Vino for fear of driving (or falling) into the very large drain along the road side opposite the cafe (you'll know what I mean when you see it!). Don't let that deter you though...the food here is  good, the ambience nice and cosy, and there's a wine buffet for wine lovers!

Kafe Vino offers Thai and Western food, as well as mouthwatering desserts. Lunchtime specials start from 49 baht. I went for dinner though...with a goal of eating dessert in mind...

So I order a...Crispy Prawn Salad with Thousand Island Dressing, which is lovely and fresh. The thousand island dressing is quite interesting with a peachy orangey flavour. My friend orders the Grilled Beef Salad with Sesame Dressing, which is also very nice ...looks exactly the same, but with tender grilled beef on top. Both 125 baht each.

We also order the Fried Chicken with Wasabi Mayo Sauce to share, which is more of a snack size. I would have liked the chicken to be hotter (but it could have turned cold as I took photos though..hehe) and crunchier, but overall, it's pretty good, and the wasabi mayo adds a nice punch to the dish. 115 baht.

...And now the dessert... There is a selection of about 6 different types of cakes in their fridge and they all look great. The owner recommends:

Green Tea Crepe Cake...crepe cakes seems to be the rage in Chiang Mai at the moment. I have been meaning to try one for a while so here is my chance. The layers of the green crepes and cream looks great. The flavour was quite subtle. The cake is served with a strawberry sauce (very yummy!), but it overwhelms the green tea flavour. Still, the crepe cake is very nice.

Coconut Cake - lovely subtle flavour, only slightly sweet. The fresh cream is mixed with coconut juice, and there's a generous layer of thin coconut slices as well. I really enjoyed the coconut cream (and I'm not normally a cream person).

The ambience at Kafe Vino is very nice and cosy. The cafe is set in a Thai wooden house, and the tables are set in various rooms of the house. There is a very quiet, comfortable and relaxing feel when sitting down for a meal or chat.

Kafe Vino
38 Moo 2
T. Nongjhom, A. Sansai
Chiang Mai
(near Meechok Plaza/Ruamchoke Market)
GPS Location: 18.831780, 99.020130
Website: http://kafevinocm.com/
Tel: 084 595 5777
Opens from 10am-11pm
Closed on Mondays


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Baan Piem Suk - Cafe / bakery

After hearing one of my friends gushed about Baan Piem Suk's coconut cake, I simply had to visit this little cafe selling drinks, cakes and cookies.

Baan Piem Suk is a cosy little shop on the "Riverside" strip .. If you come from The Riverside Restaurant towards Good View then keep going down the road, the cafe is on the left hand side of the road, opposite Sop Moei Arts. There are only about 5 tables. We were lucky it was a quiet moment when we arrived.

Their specialty cakes are the  Coconut Cream Pie and Coconut Cake.

As I was going with another lady friend, we couldn't possibly try everything...we do have to watch our figures! We settled on Mango Cream Pie to share, as it was the special of the day. Mango is in season!
Although it's pretty much a biscuit base with mango pieces and lots of cream, the "pie" was rather light and lovely. The mango was nice and ripe - very intensely flavoured - a nice contrast to the lightly sweetened cream and slightly salty base. We both rather enjoyed it.

Since Baan Piem Suk is famous for the coconut cake, I took away one of these, as well as a cheesecake to try. The coconut cake was great - light sponge cake layered with cream and fresh young coconut pieces. Very refreshing when served chilled. The cheesecake was nice, but not really something to write home about. I'd love to go back and try the other cakes (and have more coconut cake!).

Mango Cream Pie & Thai Tea

There's not much by way of parking in front of the shop. If you are riding a motorbike, there's a small parking area at the back of the shop. If you have a car, you can park at the sheik temple across the road from the  (I've checked this with the shop assistant!).

Baan Piem Suk
Charoenraj Rd, T. Watket,
A. Muang, Chiang Mai
Tel: 0857088988, 0855250752
GPS location: 18.792908,99.001831
Opens daily: 9:30am - 7pm daily
https://www.facebook.com/baanpiemsuk

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Cafe Din Dee (Mudhouse Cafe)

Nestled in a little mud house in the carpark of Chiang Mai University Art Centre on the quiet end of Nimmanhaemin Rd, this Japanese runned cafe offers lovely healthy vegetarian meals, fantastic looking drinks (especially on a hot day!) and desserts.

On Sundays, you'll also be able to sample some of their freshly baked bread... and I must say, these breads are delicious - quite heavy, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. The bread is a little salty and no butter is needed. I'll be happy munching on these all day! I even bought some to take home for breakfast for the next few days.

Other than the bread, the menu is pretty extensive, from Muesli with natural yoghurt to sandwiches to curry dishes and salads. Dishes are mainly Japanese, Thai and Indian inspired, and MSG is not added.

After much deliberation on the type of curry I want, I settle for the DinDee Original Curry, which contains chickpeas, kidney beans, vegetables and gram masala. If you can't eat spicy food, you'd be relieved to know that this curry is only very mildly spicy, and it's very lovely with the brown rice - a very nice, light, gentle and comforting meal. White rice is also available if you don't like brown rice. The soup that comes with the curry is great too. 109 baht for the set or 90 baht for curry only.

Yum Bai Bua Bok - Thai Pennywort (Gotu Kola) Salad. Pennywort (or Gotu Kola) is a herb that is generally served pureed as a bright green  drink in Thailand. (It's very good for you!). This salad contains gotu kola leaves, cucumbers, tomatoes, shallots and toasted peanuts. The dressing is mildly tangy and spicy, just enough to make the salad refreshing and vibrant. My Japanese friend loved it!

By this time, we are quite full, and didn't really have room for dessert! From various reports, I've heard that the cakes here are great. I'd love to try their chocolate cake and cheese cakes, so I must make an effort to get back there! :P

The price is pretty reasonable too. It ended to be around 250 baht for 2 people for the 3 dishes above. Free drinking water available. 

Cafe Din Dee

Chiang Mai University Art Center

Nimmanhaemin Rd

T. Suthep, A. Muang, Chiang Mai

Tel: 053 289 046

Mobile: 089 755 0192

E-mail: info@dindeecafe.com
Opens: Tuesdays-Sundays 9am-6pm
Closed on Mondays. 

http://www.dindeecafe.com/

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Nakara Jardin Patisserie & Bistro

Nakara Jardin is such a lovely place I almost wanted to keep it as my secret garden and not blog about it. But, for the greater good, I guess I should let my wonderful readers know. : D

Nestled in a beautiful garden next to the Ping River, Nakara Jardin is a tranquil place to spend a few hours either by yourself or with friends. It's a little oasis in the middle of sometimes crazy Chiang Mai!  I really enjoyed the quietness eventhough it was a Sunday afternoon and the shop was quite busy.

Now, let's meet the young chef, Pomme. Chef Pomme opened Nakara Jardin only 2 months ago. Previously, he studied French Cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu in Bangkok, and worked for 5 years in the city. Later on, Chef Pomme went back to Le Cordon Bleu to do the patisserie course and returned to Chiang Mai to open Nakara Jardin. The reason I know all this? I actually got to meet Chef Pomme as he brought us our order.

...And he's serving us this beautiful Blueberry Mousse Cheesecake (90 baht), which is not only pretty looking, but is also very good. I loved the plump, juicy blueberries sandwiched between the blueberry mousse and the cheese cake. The creamy tanginess taste is lovely, but I wouldn't mind a bit more of the actual cheese cake.

 

Opera (85 baht) - lovely too. The different textures are very interesting. For some reason, the cake kind of "melted" as we were enjoying it. Still tasted great though.

The Verdict
I love Nakara Jardin. The location is beautiful, the ambience is great, the cakes are good. Prices comparable to similar quality bakeries / cake shops / patisseries. What else can you ask for? I'll definitely go back and try other cakes. They also serve simple lunches like soup and pasta as well.

Nakara Jardin Patisserie & Bistro
11 Soi 9 Charoenprathet Rd
Chiang Mai 50100.
(Behind Ping Nakara Hotel)
Tel: 053 818977
Opens: 10am-6pm
nakarajardin.com

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