Sansui Japanese Restaurant (ซันซุย)

The Japanese are serious about their sashimi, and Mr Sumo, Sansui's owner is no exception. He drives down to the seaside town of Rayong (a mere 8 hours drive!) 3 times a month to personally pick out the best fish for his restaurant. With the sashimi here so fresh, it's no wonder many people say Sansui is one of the best Japanese restaurants in Chaing Mai.

The fresh fish comes in generally on the 5th, 15th and 25th of the month. Sometimes this may vary depending on public holidays, etc. If you're also serious about your sashimi, the restaurant will take down your number and give you a call the day Mr Sumo comes back with the catch.

Not only is the fish fantastic, Mr Sumo is such a lovely host too. Each time I've been there, Mr Sumo will come by and have a chat, and offer advice on the finer points of eating sashimi. It turns out I've been doing it all wrong! If you want to know about how wasabi is grown and made, Mr Sumo is also the man to ask.

Other dishes ordered are also very good...

Grilled Squid - I think this must be one of the best grilled squid I've eaten. I've always expected this dish to be a little chewy, but Sansui's version is so tender (at least when I had this particular one, it was). Mr Sumo said that because the squid is so fresh. He also mentioned that fresh squids have lower cholesterol content than less fresh ones - just in case you're concerned about this! LOL

Tempura - Very nicely fried, perfectly crispy and they even gave each person their own bowl of dipping sauce!

Sansui has quite an extensive menu, including various sets, even special sets for children and ladies. Men can also order ladies' sets too (I've asked!).

Sansui Japanese Restaurant
Chiang Mai - San Kamphaeng Road
Opens daily for lunch and dinner
Tel: 053 116 131
(This branch is now closed)

Update: Now moved to:
Rim Tara Residence
265-265/1 Patan Road, Mueang District, Chiang Mai Province 50300
Tel: 0 5311 0430
Fax: 0 5311 0431
Website: www.rimtara.com
Map: http://rimtara.com/rimtara_residence/index.php?pages=contact_us

Mr Sumo's sushi chef

Old style Japanese Restaurant feel 

View San Sui Japanese Restaurant in a larger map

Piccola Roma Palace (Italian Restaurant)

Having been opened 22 years and still going strong is a testament to how wonderful Piccola Roma Palace is. I think the restaurant's popularity is due to the very skillful and lovely chef / owner Angelo who comes an greet diners, give recommendations and take orders personally. This combined with excellent food and excellent service, is a sure recipe for success!

The restaurant is lovely, and has a classy yet comfortable feel. The staff are very attentive - I could hardly touch the water bottle on my table - as soon as I reach for it, a waiter comes and takes it off me to refill my glass. This actually makes an amusing game between my friends and I - let's try to touch that water bottle before a waiter comes running...lol...and yes, I would give the service 5 stars.

And the food....I must say it's excellent - excellent in quality and very, very large portions. You might want to consider sharing. The three of us ordered 3 entrees, 2 mains (pasta) and a dessert to share - I felt it was just right, but I don't normally eat a huge amount.  Just let Angelo know (if you want to share) when you order and the waiters will bring everyone extra plates and cutleries.

...And importantly, the pasta here is homemade.

Some of the dishes we had:

Prawn Cocktails - Simply delicious, tasty, oh-so-fresh prawns with lovely creamy sauce just to get the appetite going.

Bruschetta with olive oil, tomato and basil leaf - lovely and refreshing,  but I thought the bread was slightly dry (?). The table next to us ordered Bruschetta with garlic - wow, it was so fragrant and smelt so delicious, I must try it next time! 

Penne Carbonara - I don't usually order carbonara, mainly because for some reason, I have always thought that it's a creamy dish, and I can't eat too much cream....but this one was fantastic. The menu lists the ingredients for the "sauce" as bacon, egg and parmesan cheese, which I guess would be the "original" recipe. I could really taste the parmesan! Check out the chef's recipe here.

The next pasta dish wasn't on the menu. Angelo made it for my friends before and he did it again for us. I think it was Spaghetti with garlic, olive oil, chilli and tomato and prawns - beautiful!

...And of course, we have to leave room for dessert. My friends tell me that the tiramisu here is great. Tonight though, we opted for Profiterole with whipped cream and chocolate sauce to share.  and yes, it was wonderfully decadent. I think it would have been great even just having the cream and chocolate sauce!

The price: It worked out to be about 600-800 baht/person - on the expensive side of the scale for Chaing Mai, but well worth it for the quality.


Piccola Roma Palace 
144 Charoenprathet Rd
(Opposite The Chedi Hotel)
A. Muang, Chiang Mai
Tel: 053 820 297-8
http://www.piccolaromapalace.com

View Piccolo Roma Palace in a larger map

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




View The Olive Tree in a larger map

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

View Nakara Jardin Patisserie & Bistro in a larger map

Mao Dok Mai / The Drunken Flower

Happy New Year! Wishing all of you dear readers a wonderful 2013 with lots of happiness, joy, and lots of great food! 

After the Christmas and New Year excess and parties, what's a more appropriate way to start the year by reviewing Mao Dok Mai aka The Drunken Flower - Nice and cosy pub / bar with a good selection of drinks and beer, groovy music and interesting and yummy snacks. 

I went on a Sunday night - by far not their busiest nights, with only a few patrons when I was there. A lovely black labrador came to greet me as I sat down to wait for my friend.

Looking through the drinks menu, I spied a drink called "The Drunken Tom-Yum"- Sangsom, lime, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, soda. I just had to try it! It turned out to be very pleasant, refreshing and easy to drink drink, tangy and slightly spicy, but not "strong" at all - which is fine with me.  95 baht.

What to order is the next big question. Luckily, they had some recommendations which included:

Mao Dok Mai - smoked pork loin with wasabi, shoyu sauce, carrots and celery. 85 baht. Sounds fantastic, doesn't it? The dish turned out to be quite a bit bit smaller than expected, and not exactly what I imagined. It was quite interesting though, but the wasabi smeared around the pork cubes was quite overpowering. The whole thing was a bit like chewy salmon sashimi with lots of wasabi.

Beef Burger With Drunken Sauce. 85 baht. Also quite small. I suppose smaller dishes meant we could try more things! The curious thing about this burger was that there was no bread. The waitress explained..."Yes, it's a breadless burger!" LOL.

This little burger patty was topped with "drunken sauce" which turned out to be a tomato salsa with thai flavorings (lime, etc). This "burger" was actually very nice - very tender and moist patty - very well cooked, and tasted great too. Served with a very nice and fresh side salad.

Still felt quite hungry, we asked for a recommendation from the waitress - something that patrons like to order. She said unhesitatingly, "Grilled Beef with Drunken Sauce", 95 baht. She also told us that this was going to be a more substantial portion.

This was our favourite dish for the night. Sliced grilled beef, very nicely flavoured, topped with the same tomato salsa drunken sauce. This time we could taste a lot more of the tanginess of the sauce, or rather, dressing. It would be a really nice snack to have with beer.

Other regular Thai dishes are also available, as are Mexican dishes. Vegetarian (as in tofu) versions of some dishes are available too. I haven't tried their Mexican food, but if you have, please tell us what you think in the comment section below. :-)

For music lovers, there is live music at The Drunken Flower on Wed-Sat nights from 9pm. Other nights - music is played from their vinyl collection.

Mao Dok Mai / The Drunken Flower
28/3 Soi 17 Nimmanhaemin Rd
T. Suthep, A. Muang, Chiang Mai
Tel: 053 894210, 081 716 6036
Opens: 5pm till midnight



View Mao Dok Mai / The Drunken Flower in a larger map

Paper Spoon (Coffee Shop)

Lovely, peaceful, comfortable cafe in a funky little artistic community, Paper Spoon is a small cafe in a little "compound" with lovely art & craft shops. The ambience of Paper Spoon is the main drawcard of the cafe -  a wonderful place to chill out in the garden, enjoying cool drinks or coffee....and decent home made scones, served with strawberry or passionfruit jam. I couldn't see much else in terms of food available though, but it would be very easy to while away an afternoon here with a good book.

The cafe also doubles as a little gift shop, with some beautiful products to tempt us! There are 3 other shops on on the premises that sell lovely art and craft products as well.

Paper Spoon
Located between Wat Umong and Wat Rumpoeng
Opens: 11am-6pm daily (closed on Wednesdays)
Tel: 089 112 9108
GPS Co-ordinates: 18.780767° N 98.952747° E




View Paper Spoon in a larger map

I Din Klin Krog (ไอดินกลิ่นครก) - Som tum shop

Som Tum (aka papaya salad) is one of those street food dishes you can find pretty much anywhere in Thailand. Green papaya, long snake beans, fish sauce, palm sugar, lime juice, fresh chillis, garlic, dried shrimp (and other ingredients) are pounded together to produce some of the most amazing flavours.

I Din Klin Krog (which I think translates to something like "vapour from the earth, aroma from the mortar") is a nice restaurant specialising in som tum. You can choose from 19 different varieties such as fried somtum (deep fried papaya somtum) and apple som tum. They also serve various other Thai dishes as well. Som tums are served in "krogs" ie mortars, and these are consistently good.  Don't forget to ask for "mai ped" (not spicy) if you can't handle chillis! Last time I forgot to do this, my som tum was very nice and (very) spicy, and together with a spicy soup and larb (see below), my tongue was on fire and I couldn't taste much of the other dishes! 45-65 baht depending on the variety.

What do we eat som tums with?

Generally, som tums are eaten with grilled chicken or pork, fried chicken, and of course, sticky rice. Sticky rice is particularly good when rolled into a ball and dip in the flavourful som tum "sauce". Mmmm.  It's also good to have the sticky rice (plain) when you want to tone down the burning on your tongue! hehe

Here we are: Fried Chicken Wings. These are yummy appetizers that went down way to quickly! Very morish. The serving is way too small, but I guess we can't complain too much as it's only 49 baht.

Tom Sap ("Spicy soup") - Very "Sap" - ie very spicy and sour at the same time - yum! This is a really lovely soup full of herbs like kaffir lime leaves, shallots, lemongrass, sweet basil, etc. Kind of like Tom Yum soup with a lot more complexity of flavour - tangy, firey and earthy at the same time. The pork is slightly chewey, which gives a nice contrast to the herbs in the soup. 69 baht.

Fried Chicken Larb - You can read all about larb here on shesimmers.com. What makes larb larb is the nutty aroma of the toasted rice powder. The fried chicken here is more like soft chicken nuggets, but they do soak up the lovely seasoning / dressing (fish sauce, lime juice & dried red chilli) of the larb (which is also quite spicy!). Delicious! 59 baht.

I Din Klin Krog does have some non spicy dishes as well. The deep fried larb is also quite nice. These are balls of larb - nice and crunchy on the outside, lovely and soft on the inside. As for the taste, I can't really say much as my taste buds were numb from all the chillis from the other dishes! 59 baht.

 

All in all a nice restaurant. Good food. Good service. Nice ambience.

I Din Klin Krog
Behind Big C Extra (Super Highway) near Wawee Coffee
(Chiang Mai Business Park)
Opens daily: 10am-10pm
GPS: 18.798256,99.023754


View I Din Klin Krog in a larger map