TianZi Teahouse

My French friend told me, "It's a charming organic restaurant". Ok, sounds good. I've always wanted to try more of Chiang Mai's many vegetarian restaurants, but it's hard for me to find people to go with! Most of my friends are meat eaters. : )

So of we went, and I discovered TianZi Teahouse, indeed, a charming little oasis opposite Imperial Mae Ping Hotel, just about 5 min walk from Chiang Mai's Night Bazaar. TianZi Teahouse is associated with the TianZi Biodiversity Research and Development Centre, based in Yunnan, China. The teahouse specialises in serving healthy food, and they say they only use ingredients that are not harmful to our bodies, so no MSG, dairy products, etc. The oils used are cold pressed, and grains used are all organic. If you're on a special diet, you can also let them know and they'll try to cater to your needs.

TianZi Teahouse is set in a small but beautiful garden. They say it contains "several hundred rare and beautiful species of the Golden Triangle". It's a very slow and tranquil place (including the service!) - so it's not the the place to go if you're starving and in a hurry. Dishes are prepared one at a time and can take a while to come out. Great for just relaxing, laying back on the cushions, and talking the afternoon or night away with your friends! It was a bit of a shame though that the music from the restaurant next door was quite loud, but it wasn't too bad. And the food? Glad to say I was quite impressed:

The Brown Rice Salad was lovely, made from organic brown rice, herbs, seeds, nuts, vegetables and seasoned with organic apple cider vinegar, sea salt and cold pressed sesame oil. The salad was served with a miso dressing. This was one of my favourite dishes. Who would have thought something so healthy and wholesome can be so full of flavour and so delicious? 180 baht (medium size).

Homemade Buckwheat noodles. The noodles (although they were more like chunky pieces of pasta) were made from organic buckwheat, and stir-fried with olive oil and mixed vegetables. This was our French friend's favourite dish. I thought it was quite tasty, and the vegies very fresh, but I found the "noodles" too starchy for my liking. 100 baht.

Tofu Steak - perhaps designed for people like me who never thought they'd feel full eating vegetarian food! (As an aside, I was already surprisingly very full by the time the tofu steak arrived.) This turned out to be my other favourite dish. The slabs of tofu were fried until golden brown, crispy on the outside, but still firm and softish on the inside. I think sea salt was then sprinkled over the "steaks", and the whole thing with stir-fried vegies in a gingery sauce. Simply delicious! 100 baht.

We also had another protein dish, Soju tofu "meat". It had tofu, burdock roots, sesame, onion, garlic and herbs. It was described in the menu as "simply beyond meat". It was quite a nice dish, but we didn't find it that special. 160 baht.

All in all TianZi Teahouse is a great place for relaxing and enjoying wholesome, healthy vegetarian food. A little pricey - our bill came to 620 baht for 3 people, although where was a lot of food left. Definitely worth a try, especially if you're looking for somewhere a bit different.

[I haven't mentioned their tea, as we didn't order any, but as it is a teahouse, they also have a variety of tea available, including an interesting sounding Orchid tea. I think that was around 220 baht/set.]

TianZi Teahouse

119/1 Kampangdin Rd

Chiang Mai

Opposite Imperial Mae Ping Hotel

Open for lunch & dinner

Website

Salad Concept

After reading Chiang Mai Epicurean's review of Salad Concept, I just had to go check it out!

Salad Concept is a cute little salad restaurant on the corner of Nimanhaemin Soi 13. As you can tell from the name, they serve salads. You can design your own and choose from one of their amazing homemade dressings, which include Japanese Soy Sauce, Carrot, French, Pumpkin, Tofu and Tamarind Sesame, or you can choose a salad off the menu. They also serve healthy smoothies and delectable looking cakes.

I had the Grilled Beef Salad which comes with the Japanese Soy Sauce dressing. The dressing was gorgeously tasty and light. The beef was tasty and tender. Notice - no burnt bits - very healthy indeed, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! 90 baht

The Organic Tofu Salad looked fantastic too, and again, came with the Japanese Soy Sauce dressing. The tofu were fried with sesame oil. 85 baht.

The meal was nice and light, actually, too light for me, as I was still hungry afterwards. Our party of 5 for some reason, didn't feel like a dessert after the salads so we went off somewhere else for our second dinner.

On my second visit, I tried a design your own salad, and I noticed pasta is available as one of the additions. This made the salad a bit more filling. I also chose grilled chicken. I guess chicken is cheaper than beef, because I got a lot more of it! By the way, the Tamarind Sesame Dressing was great too - light and tangy.

One smoothie also caught my eyes - Banana Brand Smoothie, which contains banana, milk and peanut butter. I actually had this on my second visit. I was expecting a Western style smoothie - rich and creamy, but I was surprised that it was a Thai style smoothie - light and refreshing, blended with ice. I needn't feel guilty! I'm not sure if I can say the same for the dessert though! I didn't try any of the cakes, but I heard that the carrot cake is very good.

What I like about Salad Concept:

• Lovely, fresh and healthy salads with amazing dressings
• Dressings served on the side, but we ended up pouring the whole thing into the salad anyway!
• Delicious and healthy drinks available, including an anti-cancer drink. I'd imagine you'd have to go back everyday and drink it though if you're after the anti-cancer effects!
• Dynamic atmosphere & quick service

The only little thing I'd mention is that that the tables are very small seating only 2-4. We were a group of 5, and luckily we managed to get one of the bigger round tables. Even then, it was still quite tight - having to fit all the huge salad bowls/plates, napkin dispenser, etc.

Still, it's a great little restaurant to go to if you'd like a vegie fix or feels like something light. It's definitely very popular - Salad Concept was packed both times I was there.

Salad Concept

Nimanhaemin Soi 13

Opens: 11am-10pm

Tel: 053 894 455

Tha Nam (Riverfront) Restaurant

Listen to live Northern Thai folk songs as you dine in the garden next to the Ping River. Tha Nam (which means Riverfront) is a great choice if you're looking for somewhere with a relaxing ambience in an atmospheric Thai teak house setting. Tha Nam is situated on the "quieter" spot of the Ping River near Ratilanna Hotel, about 10 min drive South of the famous Night Bazaar. The restaurant serves Thai & Northern Thai food.

The restaurant building was made from 5 old teakwood houses, with plenty of woodcarvings and an art gallery. As we stepped into the restaurant, it was almost felt like we were stepping back in time. It was so peaceful and and even though we were so close to the centre of town, it felt like we were somewhere very far away!

The test, of course, is the food. Often you get lovely restaurants, but not so great food. How was Tha Nam's food? I'm pleased to say, the food, at least what we had, was excellent, and the price, reasonable.

Without further ado, this are what we had:

Lemongrass Salad with Green Leaves. This was so lovely and made a great refreshing appetizer. If you haven't tried lemongrass salad before, I'd highly recommend you try it. A lot of restaurants make the dressing too sweet. I found Tha Nam's version sweet as well, but there was a nice balance of saltiness, tanginess, sweetness and just a touch of spiciness. In case you are wondering, the green leaves are called "Cha Pu" leaves, similar to betel leaves, but have a less intense flavour and smaller. To eat the salad, you put the salad on the leaves, and wrap it up, and pop the whole "parcel" into your mouth, then enjoy! The salad was srumptious, full of flavour, and crunch (from the peanuts!). Mmm very nice indeed! 75 baht.

Since we didn't feel like anything too heavy that night, we ordered Somtum, aka papaya salad. You can of course, find somtum EVERYWHERE in Thailand. The best (most delicious) place to eat this dish is probably at street stalls, but those who are worried about hygiene, "proper" restaurants also offer decent renditions (but some better than others!). Tha Nam's Som tum was very good, and the dressing quite intense in flavour, and not TOO spicy. Just the way I like it! 55 baht.

Hor Mok Talay (in Coconut). Steamed Seafood Curry in Coconut. This was excellent, possibly one of the best hor moks I've had. There were lots of prawns and other seafood (no seafood stick in sight! yeah!). Hor Moks are usually quite firm in texture, and come served in banana leaves (or aluminium foil). The ones served in coconut are normally runnier, more like the consistency of a thick curry, and this was the case here. Very tasty. I really liked the way the coconut was overfilled too....looked a bit like an exploding volcano with larva flowing down...150 baht.

At this stage, we were quite enjoying the food, and our "light" meal wasn't to be. We ordered a few more dishes:

Stir fried fish fillet seasoned with mixed herbs - This was also very nice. Pla Klung ("Klung" fish) was used (not sure what the English name for it is). Very good also. 120 baht.

Spring rolls- had "everything" in it, including taro strips. Quite good & fairly large serving. 80 baht

Tom Kha Gai - "Chicken Galangal Soup" - a hot and spicy soup similar to the more well known (at least among foreigners), Tom Yum, but with coconut milk added. In many ways, I prefer Tom Kha to Tom Yum because the coconut milk gives the soup a smoother, rounder flavour. It's also often milder than Tom Yum, so I think it's a great dish to try if you can't take spicy food. Tha Nam's Tom Kha was quite creamy, which was very nice, and also full of chicken meat. Eventhough I prefer my Tom Khas lighter, there wasn't much of it left! 80 baht.

So that was our meal. It was a very pleasant evening, and I will definitely be back, especially when I have overseas visitors. Tha Nam is a great place to have good Thai food in authentic Lanna (Northern Thailand) atmosphere. The prices are reasonable too.

Just a couple of annoying things, though. There were a lot of insects. I suppose you have to expect it, having dinner at dusk outside in the garden in the rainy season. The waiting staff were very quick to offer mosquito coils, but there were quite a few tiny insects circling us, we were still bitten by mosquitos. So a hint for you to take insect repellents with you when you go, especially around 6-7pm. I guess this problem would improve as we move towards the cooler months.

The other warning is for the ladies - be careful walking around with your high heels! The paths to the river side dining areas are rather uneven!

Tha Nam

43/3 Moo 2 T. Phardad, A. Muang, Chiang Mai 50100

Tel: 053 275125

Open: 10am-11pm daily

Live folk music nightly

Website & Map

Kitchen Hush, Japanese Restaurant

On a search for a more special, more authentic, Japanese Restaurant in Chiang Mai, we came across this little hidden gem (which is actually quite a well known restaurant, having been in business for 16 or 17 years). Kitchen Hush serves Osaka style home-cooked meals, and is located in a quiet residential soi (alley) off Kaew Nawarat Road. In fact, you wouldn't know it's there unless you're looking for it. It just looks like an average house, but once inside, it is said that you'll feel like you're in Japan. Sounds like a good place to check out!

When we got there for lunch, we were greeted with a kind of stale food smell (like in Chinese Restaurants with bad ventilation)...not quite a good start, but despite this mild odour, the restaurant was quite atmospheric with dark teakwood walls (like those of the old Thai wooden homes) and minimalist but elegant modern Japanese style decorations. In a corner stood a bookshelf full of Japanese magazines.

The test of authenticity is the food - not that I would really know, not having been to Japan since a very young age! Still, the menu, complete with pictures, was VERY extensive, and had many interesting dishes, including a range of sashimi, mochi, udons, etc. - I suppose almost everything you could want in a Japanese Restaurant, and certainly looked very authentic . Just a note - sashimi is only served at dinner time.

We ordered:

Takoyaki - a Japanese street food - little fried balls of batter with a chunk of boiled octopus in the middle. Kitchen Hush's takoyaki were softish and spongy on the outside, thick and creamy on the inside, and with, of course, a piece of chewy octopus. At the time, I thought the octopus was too chewy, but I now I think it made a nice contrast with the soft batter. The takoyakis were topped with mayonnaise, a tasty sauce, and plenty of bonito flakes. It was pretty good, and the sauce not too sweet, nor overpowering. 90 baht (6 pieces).

Katsu don with Miso Sauce - This was rather interesting - haven't had this style of the popular Katsu Don (rice topped with deep fried pork, eggs and condiments) before. A quick google search told me that this is a Nagoya version. It was great! The pork came in large pieces, crispy on the outside and not oily. It was served on a bowl of fluffy steaming Japanese rice and sliced boiled eggs, topped with a sweet and intense flavoured miso sauce. There were also a couple of dainty side dishes and a lovely miso soup as well. Quite a large serving (too big for me!). 170 baht.

Kitchen Hush Set 1 - This was a huge set. The mains were the boiled Saba and Ginger Pork (in the white packet). The saba was very tasty, served with a gingery gravy. The ginger pork was a bit fatty, and had a mild taste - a nice complement to the saba. The set also comes with miso soup, delicious baked pumpkin, steamed eggplant in a light sauce, tofu, potato salad, etc. 240 baht.

Other dishes: Gyu don - Rice with simmered slice beef and spicy sweet sauce. Nice and enjoyable, but a little too sweet. Again, a large serving (like the Katsu Don with Miso Sauce), and came with some side dishes. 160 baht.

For dessert, we were given complimentary strawberry ice-cream (Wall's). We were a bit disappointed with the lack of green tea ice-cream when we were there though, however, apparently, the owner makes home-made green tea ice-cream, and this is served at dinner.

By this time, we were very full, but I wanted to try Shiratama (Mochi with sweet red bean paste). The waitress said it was a cold dessert, but it took a while to come out - I guess they were quite busy at the time, and the mochis came out kind of warm. The mochis had a nice, firm and chewy texture, and very filling, which was not surprising, since mochi is made from glutinous rice! 80 baht

And last but not least, we still had a coffee from the Kitchen Hush 1 set. That was a bit of a novelty because we had a choice to grind out own coffee beans! After all the hard work, the coffee turned out to be quite lovely. : )

Kitchen Hush turned out to be very pleasant dining experience. If you enjoy Japanese home-cooking, and would like to have something authentic, I'd recommend this restaurant. It's a bit pricey though, for Thai standards, and the service a bit slow, but I think it's still worth it.

Kitchen Hush

18/1 Kaew Nawarat Soi 2

Wat Gate, Muang, Chiang Mai

Tel: 053 247 731

Opens for lunch: 11:30am-2:00pm

Dinner: 6pm-10pm

Closed: Wednesdays

Khun Churn Vegetarian Restaurant

Chiang Mai is a great place for vegetarians. Most restaurants are very accommodating, and it is very easy to find vegetarian restaurants serving quality food in Chiang Mai. One of these places is the ever popular Khun Churn on Nimanhaemin Rd (Soi 17).

The food at Khun Churn is very tasty, fresh and healthy. This is very different to other vegetarian restaurants I've been to. I must admit, I'm a meat eater, so eating at a vegetarian restaurant hadn't really been my cup of tea, so I didn't go very often! The times when I ate at such restaurants (overseas), I found the food too oily and sweet.

This was actually the first vegetarian restaurant I've been to in Thailand. I've heard a lot of good things about Khun Churn , and a friend suggested it, so why not? I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food, and I enjoyed myself tremendously. I have been back a couple of times!

The "Tofu Cashew Nut" (below) was colourful and scrumptious. It's the vegie version of the ever popular (at least to foreigners) Chicken Cashew Nut. Very tasty, not too spicy (for those who can't take it!) and the water chestnuts gave the dish a refreshing crunch.


The Grilled Mushroom Salad was fantastic too. The grilled mushrooms and had an intense flavour, which was nicely balanced by the fresh salad.

The menu at Khun Churn is very large. However, the restaurant is actually quite famous for its lunch time vegetarian buffet. Great value at only 98 baht per person, including refreshing herbal drinks. There is a good variety of food served as well, including a very good salad bar and a range of Thai food such as som-tum (papaya salad), khao soi (northern curry noodles), various curries and soups. There were too many dishes to try, but one dish that stood out for me was the pumpkin curry. It was very delicious. Tasty, but mild enough to eat by itself without rice.

The restaurant itself is very nice. Simple and comfortable, but still quite stylish. They have a large outdoor dining area, and an air conditioned room as well. Fellow diners consisted of expats (Westerners & Japanese), Thais and tourists.

Khun Churn

Nimanhaemin Soi 17

Chiang Mai

Tel: 053 224 124

Opens: 8am-10pm

Buffet Daily: 11am-2:30pm

Khun Churn's Facebook Page

Chiang Dao Nest 1, Chiang Dao

Hello everyone! Recently I went on a little weekend away to Doi Angkhang, a mountain about 3 hours north of Chiang Mai to escape the searing Chaing Mai summer heat. Well, that's another story, but today, I'd like to introduce you to Chiang Dao Nest, where we had lunch on the way to Doi Angkhang. Chiang Dao Nest is a cosy mini-resort half way between Chiang Mai and Doi Angkhang. Obviously, Chiang Dao Nest is situated in...Chiang Dao (translated "City of Stars"), and astroundingly, in this little country town in Northern Thailand, you'll be able to find some remarkable European food.

We've actually been there before for dinner a year or so ago and we loved it! I still remember my rather interesting choice - Grilled Chicken Stuffed with Blue Vein Cheese on Creamy Pasta. (above photo). Well, normally blue vein cheese isn't really my thing, and being Asian, creamy pasta doesn't normally agree with me, but the dish turned out to be delicious!

This time, we were back for lunch on a very hot day. Something light was in order.

Ceasar Salad with garlic croutons, anchovies and a very tasty creamy dressing. Yum! It was so nice we ordered a second serving. Just one little thing though - their parmesan was great, but rather hard on the edges, like it wasn't stored properly in the fridge. I suppose better to give us the parmesan than throwing it out, but it doesn't leave a good impression, especially for such a good restaurant. 125 baht.

Spaghetti with Prawns, Garlic & Zucchini. This was quite nice and light pasta dish, but just needed a bit more salt and it would have been great! We were expecting larger prawns though, because the menu said "king prawns", as far as I can remember. We were a bit disappointed to get puny ones. Ok, it wasn't THAT bad, just smaller than expected! 155 baht.

Spaghetti with Tuna. This was really very nice and very tasty. This pasta comprises of large chunks of tuna, dry chilli pepper, olive, parmesan, and also home-pickled jalapeno peppers. The jalapeno peppers were spicy, sweet and sour at the same time, and they made the dish. 155 baht.

By this time, we were quite full, but there was something else we wanted to try - Belgian Chips. These took a while to come out, and turned out to be french fries, fried the normal way. Cheddar cheese was then placed on top, and the whole thing baked. It was delicious, of course, but I must say, not too good for the waistline! 65 baht.

So our "light meal" became not so light after all! We were quite satisfied and happy, even if the meals came out quite slowly (they were quite busy at the time). We were also quite hot as the restaurant doesn't have air-conditioning. However, April IS one of the hottest months here in Thailand. It's probably quite comfortable there in the evenings and in the cooler months.

Overall, I'd say it's worth trying, and I would go back if I'm back that way!

Chiang Dao Nest also has a Thai restaurant down the road at their other mini-resort, Chiang Dao Nest 2.

By the way, this is the view from Chiang Dao Nest 1. Not bad, isn't it?

Chiang Dao Nest 1

144/4 M 5

Chiang Dao, Chaing Mai 50170

Tel: 053 456242

Website: Click here.

W for Wanlamun Restaurant, Patisserie, Tea Salon

What a name! They say "W for Wanlamun"'s French pastries are fantastic, some of the best in Thailand, and rivals those in Montreal and San Francisco. In addition, they are supposed to have lovely fusion and authentic (traditional) Central Thai (Bangkok style) food, prepared by the patisserie chef's mum. So I was curious...

The ambience was lovely. There is a air-conditioned indoor section, and a very nice outdoor garden area. Simple but comfortable. The waiting staff were very nice and helpful too, but sometimes they were a bit hard to find.

Since we were there at dinner time, the dessert will just have to wait! A selection of Thai dishes were ordered, including this simply sublime Yum Som-O (Pomelo Salad), a sweet and sour dish with combination of pomelo, prawns, pork, deep fried chopped garlic & shallots and toasted coconut, possibly one the best I've had. It was amazing how every ingredient complimented each other so well, there was just the right balance of sweetness, tartness and spiciness giving a "high tone" and the "earthiness" - a kind of undertone (if that makes sense!). The toasted coconut gives the dish a whole different dimension, and somehow every ingredients work together to become a kind of symphony in your mouth. Hmm..I think I'm getting carried away here, but it was really very nice. 110 baht.

The Hor-mok Pla Chon (Steamed Serpent Head Fish Curry in Banana Leaf) was also lovely. Beautiful firm texture, and not too spicy. Nice presentation too - someone told me it reminds them of a flower. Incidentally, this is the "cheapest" dish on the menu - 60 baht.

All the other dishes we had were also very good. We ended up ordering quite a few dishes as the servings were quite small (and we also wanted to try out other dishes as well!).

Other dishes of note were: Mee Grob (Crispy Fried Noodles) - very, very good ; Kaeng Keaw Wan Loog Chin Pla Krai (Fish Balls in Green Curry served with plain rice and Salted Egg Salad) - this dish was particularly interesting. The Green Curry was very nice, but the "salted egg salad" turned out to be tiny balls of salted egg yolk in a sour, spicy and slightly sweet dressing. Amazingly, it worked! The little balls of egg yolk (they gave us 3 - may be one per person?) and the curry were scrumptious eaten together.

So after a rather filling meal, we had to do what we came for --- try "W"'s famous pastries. By this time, there weren't a lot of choices left - a lot of the pastries have been sold in the afternoon. We ordered two to share - a lemon tart (85 baht) and a rather fascinating sounding Thai Tea Millefeuille (115 baht).

The lemon tart was quite good, but I don't know if it's the best in Thailand. The millefeuille turned out to be fantastic. The pastry was firm but crispy, actually rather hard to cut (and eat gracefully!), the thai tea custard had a firm texture and had the right amount of sweetness and went perfectly with the pastry. Gorgeous!

So would I recommend "W for Wanlamun"? It's a definite "YES"! I'll definitely be back - probably for afternoon tea next time. I've heard that coffee is quite good there too. It's not cheap though - the total bill for the 3 of us came to be 970 baht (well, it's on the expensive side for Chiang Mai). However, considering the quality and enjoyment factor, I think it's worth it.

W for Wanlamun

1 Chang Moi Rd, Soi 2.

A. Muang Chiang Mai

Tel: 053 232328

http://www.wanlamun.com/

Map here

Tuesday-Sunday

11:30am-10:00pm

Lunch: 11:30am-2pm

Tea and Pastries: 11:30am-10:00pm

Dinner: 6:30pm-10:00pm