Tengoku De Cuisine (Japanese)

Tengoku De Cuisine

Tengoku is a lovely Japanese restaurant in a quiet soi opposite Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi. The restaurant is indeed delightful and oozes authenticity, yet very warm at welcoming at the same time. The wonderful distinctive aroma of Japanese food permeates the restaurant promises a fantastic meal ahead.

We were ushered onto the second floor and given the menu. It was hard to miss that Tengoku won Thailand Tattler's Best Restaurant award for its "exceptional cuisine and service" in 2012 seeing that the certificate was pretty much the cover of the menus! Another promise of an unforgettable meal...perhaps...we shall see!

This was my second visit to the restaurant. The first visit left me with a very favourable impression due to a combination of the lovely ambience, good service, and good company. I was in a rather good mood especially after tasting the miso soup and fresh wasabi!

The second visit was more about tasting the food again - was it as good as it seemed? There is no doubt about the quality of the food at Tengoku. However, I did have very high expectations and you'd expect everything to be top notch, considering the location (opposite Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi), the Thailand Tattler's certificate, and especially the price - not cheap, at least for Chiang Mai!

What I loved:

Fresh wasabi - very interesting and I haven't seen anything like it before. Fresh wasabi (plant, root and skin) chopped up and marinated in soy sauce and salt. I find it not as pungent as the usual wasabi served in regular Japanese restaurants that I've been to. Very nice with sashimi (and various other dishes as well). 50 baht.

Fresh wasabi

Salmon Sashimi - Thick chunky pieces of salmon sprinkled with salmon roe that pops in your mouth as you eat. Nice and fresh.

Salmon Sashimi

3 Kinds of Seaweed Salad - I thought this was rather interesting and haven't seen it anywhere else. There are 3 kind of fresh seaweed served with lettuce and on a big bowl of ice. Very fresh, and nicely presented. The best bit is the miso dressing (great on rice too!).

3 kinds of Seaweed Salad

Eggplant with Miso Sauce - I must really like miso sauce as I really enjoyed this dish as well.You can also get the same at Naruto Japanese Restaurant at Meechok Plaza. The soft melt in your mouth eggplant goes really well with the intense flavour of the miso. Yum!

Eggplant with Miso Sauce

What I think could be better:

Tempura Ramen - The ramen and the soup was very good. The soup had a nice intensity of flavour. The tempura, though, was a little disappointing as the batter was softish (not crispy at all), and luke warm.

Tempura Ramen

Rice - The rice (both times I visited) was on the soggy side, at least more so than rice from other Japanese restaurants.

The Verdict

Beautiful restaurant and ambience. Great food, but I don't find the food (at least the dishes we ordered) a lot better than other good Japanese restaurants around in Chiang Mai. There are some interesting dishes that I don't see a lot elsewhere though, and they would be worth a try eg. Beef Takai (Raw beef), if you're into it.

You'll be able to find some recommended dishes from Tengoku here (in Thai).

The price worked out to be about 500 baht/person for what we ordered. They do have a buffet for 800 baht/person as well.

The service is fine - friendly and pretty efficient.

Reservations are a good idea as both times I went, the restaurant was pretty full!

Have you been to Tenguku De Cuisine? What do you think?

Tengoku De Cuisine
55/8 Soi Wat Buak Krok Luang
Opposite Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi
T. Tasala A. Muang Chiang Mai
Tel: 053 851 133, 081 885 5959

Monkey's Kitchen by Monkey Chef

Don't know what to eat? Tired of the same old beef / pork / tom yum , etc noodles, rice, etc? There is so much good food in Chiang Mai, but sometimes it's nice to have something a little different, something a little more exciting....Monkey's Kitchen to the rescue!

Tom Yum Pizza, Baked New Zealand Mussel with Panang Curry Sauce & Cheese are just some of the interesting sounding dishes on the menu of Monkey's Kitchen - a funky little cafe serving homemade fusion (Asian+Western) style food, located in a soi off Suthep Road, behind Chiang Mai University.

The Food

The waitress recommended the Pizza 30,000 (aka Tom Yum Pizza), which actually was the runner up of the Thailand Global Pizza Challenge 2011. So we obliged and ordered the small pizza (79 baht) - it turned out to be rather cute (ie small), but good as a tasting portion for 2. The taste was a little unusual. Spicy BBQ sauce came to mind. I did begin to appreciate it more after the 2nd piece, and quite enjoyed the 3rd one (there were 6 pieces altogether).

Next came the salad. Monkey's Kitchen has quite a few varieties  including Ceasar Salad, Green Salad with chicken, Japanese Seaweed salad, etc. We were after something light, so just asked for a salad with only vegetables. There are a variety of dressings to choose from such as Balsamic Dressing, Honey Mustard Dressing. Chilli Lime Mayo sounded interesting - mayonnaise with lime juice and green chillis. The vegies (and apple slices) were nice and fresh. The dressing wasn't something to write home about, but was pleasant enough. Slightly too sweet.

The third dish was Manhattan Chowder Spaghetti, which looked and tasted very nice.  The sauce was tomatoey and slightly creamy, but not overly so. The seafood was fresh. Nicely done.

There were other dishes I'd love to try. I've heard that dishes such as Salted Fish Spaghetti, Dried Tom Yum Spaghetti, amongst others, are all very nice. Perhaps next time I'm in the area.

The drinks are pretty creative here as well, especially mocktails such as Blue Island (coconut water with butterfly pea flowers infusion) - 39 baht - would have loved to try it, but they were out of coconut. LOL. So I ended up having Pink Kiss (lychee juice with pomegranate syrup), which was refreshingly sweet on a hot day.

The Cafe

The cafe has, well..., a monkey theme with cute and cuddly monkey soft toys around the place. There are only a few tables here, and they are comfortably spread out. Comfy lounges would have been nice, but the wooden seats / tables are fine. I rather like the fake grass carpet!

The Service

Friendly staff, but the food came out rather slowly!

The Verdict

Nice restaurant, nice interesting homemade style food. Very comfortable and funky setting. Worth a try if you're in the area.

Monkey's Kitchen
Facebook Page: Link
Off Suthep Road behind Chiang Mai University
(See Map by clicking "location" link below)
Opens daily (except Mondays)
Lunch: 11am-2:30pm
Dinner: 5pm-10pm
Tel: 080 5051132

Kuay Tod Yod Heng (กล้วยทอดยอดเฮง​) - Fried Banana Shop

Crunchy coconut and sesame batter on the outside, sweet and soft semi-ripe banana on the inside. This oh-so-good snack is another typical street food in Thailand. It's not something I have everyday - deep fried banana fritters are not exactly great for the waistline (even if you're eating fruit!). Once you start, its quite hard to stop!

Kuay Tod Yod Heng (roughly translated as "Very lucky deep fried banana fritters" - I just love the way Thai people name their shops) was first discovered by my father. He was having lunch at his favourite beef noodle shop when he saw a big queue next door. Just like any good foodies, he decided to investigate, and voila, there was Kuay Tod Yod Heng.

From the menu board, it seems they also sell noodles (haven't tried it), but bananas are definitely their specialty. They do grilled bananas as well that also look pretty good (and healthy!). 

...But I was there for the Kuay Tod (fried bananas). Asking the lady owner for her "secret", she mentioned using cake flour. The Kuay Tods were definitely great, with the mild aroma of coconut and sesame in every crunchy bite. The bananas had a firm texture, but still soft and sweet, and not squishy (as you would get in very ripe bananas). She also gave us some deep fried sweet potatoes, but I like the bananas better; and also lots of bits of deep fried batter at the bottom of the bag (yum! - I think this might be the best bit! ). 20 baht/bag.

Definitely very good Kuay Tod, and I'm craving for some right now!

Kuay Tod Yod Heng
Chiang Mai-Doi Saket Road (118) between the Middle Ring and Outer Ring (121) Road, just before PTT Station.
For location on Google Maps, click on the "Location" link below.
Tel: 089 4334571, 081 724 3885

Kuay Tiew Pla Doctor ("Doctor" Fish Noodles)

Having been away in Sydney for a month, I came back to Chiang Mai craving something spicy and sour. Yen ta fo came to mind and off to Kuay Tiew Pla Doctor, a newish noodle restaurant around the corner from my office at Meechok Plaza.

When I arrived though, I promptly changed my mind (this happens quite often!) to another rather spicy and sour dish - Tom yum with crispy wonton skins (45 baht), and boy, was it "sap". "Sap" is the Thai word for dishes with intense spicy and sour flavour - just what I needed! This particular one was a "gow laow" - ie no noodles, but has heaps of bean sprouts, various types of fish balls, and of course the crispy wonton skins which were nice and crunchy, providing a nice contrast to the spicy soup. If you prefer something a little less intense, you can also order "Tom yum manao" - tom yum with lime juice. It's still pretty "sap", but is quite a bit gentler on the tongue.

OK. You might say, so it's a nice tom yum, which you can get pretty much all over Chiang Mai (or Thailand for that matter). What is different about Kuay Tiew Pla Doctor? The fishballs here, as claimed on their menu board, are free of fishy smell, MSG, borax, preservatives and mercury. Honestly, before coming here, I didn't even think about possible health hazards of eating fishballs before, but having "bad" chemical free versions is definitely not a bad thing, particularly if they taste great as well.

...And it's not just the "good" fishballs that set this eatery apart either. You may recall from my previous posts about Yen ta fo that the red / pink colour of the dish comes from fermented tofu. It's interesting to find  out that the red colour of yen ta fo here comes from making a sauce from rozelle water, tomato & red chillis - how ingenious! What about the taste? I would say that yen ta fo here is very nice (and very "sap" as well!) - comparable to the other good yen ta fos around.

Continuing on with the health theme, various refreshing herbal drinks are also served here, as well as Cha Yen (cold Thai tea),... and for dessert,  fried ice-cream! Yes,  I did have a fried ice-cream in honour of fond childhood memories of eating these in Chinese restaurants in Sydney when I was young. OK, it wasn't exactly the best ice cream in the world, but it was still fun especially since it's topped with chocolate sauce, sweet condensed milk, corn flakes, sprinkles... 39 baht.

The restaurant

The restaurant itself has quite a nice open air set up, surrounded by lovely shady trees. Very clean and pleasant place to sit around, have lunch, and chat.

The staff / service

Very friendly staff. The dishes don't really come as quickly as you would expect from the usual noodle shop though, so be prepared to wait a little.


Kuay Tiew Pla Doctor
Just past Meechok Plaza / Ruamchok Market on Mae Jo Road
GPS Coordinates: 18.830000° N 99.012167° E
Closed on Sundays
Tel: 081 6719155, 081 9603827

Jagajee Tapas Bar

A great dining experience for me is not just enjoying delicious food, it's also the company and great ambience. So it was, a girls' night out at a funky little Tapas Bar on Nimmanhaemin Road, Jagajee….and we all had a great time! 

The Food

"Jagajee" actually means tickling. A board in the bar says, "We are a simple, but true eatery, trying to tickle your taste buds with tapas from fresh seasonal and locally grown products with minimal seasoning to taste the nature of our tapas."

That's actually a pretty good summary of the food - simple, unpretentious, and yummy! Eating at Jagajee is like eating a home cooked meal rather than having something at a fancy restaurant.  There are quite a large variety of small dishes to choose from at the bar, and the friendly waiter (perhaps I should say the tapas bartender?) enthusiastically recommends the Cashew Nut Sweet Pepper Puree  which, as I read here is also the owner chef's favourite. Can't go wrong! ...and yes, it makes a lovely spread on bread - creamy, nutty and slightly sweet. It also goes rather well with the Balkan sausage (at least I think that's what we had!). 

My favourite for the night though, is the eggplants -  a simple dish with rich smoky aroma. Very nice! The german cabbage salad is nice and refreshing - slightly sour, and makes a nice contrast to the other dishes. 

We also ordered some "high end fries" from Barfry next door. These are simply french fries served with various interesting dips. 70 baht each. 

You can see the Jagajee's monthly menu here. Dishes are only 50 baht each - very good value! 

The Bar

Eventhough the food is simple, Jagajee is quite a funky place! The eatery is set up like a bar with only about 15 or so seats and there are no tables as such. It was a bit hard for us 4 chinwagging girls to talk together, but we managed. : D  I think it would be ideal for groups of 2-3 people. 

The bar set up is quite interesting, and it's also nice to be able to chat with other patrons, and also with the wait-staff as they work. 

The Service

The service is fine. Very nice and friendly staff. 


Jagajee is definitely a place I'd recommend you check out. I'll certainly go back to try other dishes!  

Jagajee Tapas Restaurant / Bar
1/1 Nimmanhaemin Road Soi 15
(Jagajee is actually located on the main road, near the corner of Soi 15)
Diagonally opposite Kasikorn Bank
Tel: 081-033 1080

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)