G&M German Sausage

Legend has it that there is a wonderful German Pork Leg place in Doi Saket, Chiang Mai. It's also very hard to find, and I haven't been able to find directions anywhere. This even made us more determined to find this place! So, where is a better place to farewell our French friend from Chiang Mai than going to a German Restaurant?

Off we went - a motorcade of three cars following each other through Thai country villages, lush green rice fields and mountain backdrops. What a journey! After stopping a couple of times for directions, we finally came to a packed car park. Guess we've found the place!

Arriving at nearly noon, there doesn't see to be any tables left for us. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. 170 baht lunch buffet every Sundays would attract a lot of people. Most of the people I see are locals, and a few farangs (Westerners), no doubt local ones.

G&M German Sausage is a sprawling restaurant, and it was rather chaotic with so many patrons and not a lot of staff. It started as a small 3 table restaurant, and I guess as their reputation grew and more and more customers came, they added extra rooms as required. The ambience is more of a (very) local Thai style, also a little grubby and greasy. The rooms and curtains seemed to be quite old, and in need of a good refit. Not at all what I would imagine a German Restaurant would look like. In addition, I think a combination of a very busy period and not a lot of staff made us feel we had to fend for ourselves a bit. I must give the thumbs up to the staff though - they were lovely and did their best to help us.

We all had a pretty good time. After we got our food and settle in, we started to enjoy the various types of sausages made at the restaurant. (There is also a sausage factory on the premises.) My favourite is the spicy sausage, and this reminds me of Northern Thailand's Sai-Ua. G&M's spicy sausage is quite a lot milder than your typical Sai-Ua, but still very yummy.

After a bit of reminding, the staff eventually brought us what we came to the restaurant for - the pork legs. It turned out that these German pork legs were actually deep fried ham...well, that what it looked (and tasted) like to me anyway. Very interesting. Anyway, it was very tasty, especially the crispy outer parts, and even came with a Thai style chilli dip! ...Well, we ARE in Thailand and most of the customers are Thai...

The buffet spread itself wasn't bad - sausages, potato salad, Thai Vermicelli Salad, bread. We even had dessert! You can order Wall's Ice-cream from the staff. Try the lime ice-cream - very tangy and refreshing after the heavy meal.

The best part I guess was the price - only 170 bath per person. I think the experience would have been better if we came earlier - may be about 10am or 2-3pm, when there wouldn't be as many people. Would be quieter on the weekdays too.

G&M German Sausage Restaurant

269 M 4 Muangton, Doi Saket

Tel: 053 840531

Sunday Brunch Buffet - 170 baht/person

And the directions? It's quite complicated! It's off Borsang-Doi Saket Road. I suggest you call for directions! It's part of the adventure!

Khun Nai Teun Sai

"Khun Nai Teun Sai" literally means a lady who wakes up late. Actually, the restaurant is named after a flower that opens up in the evening, according to the lady owner. The restaurant used have Khun Nai Teun Sai flowers growing everywhere, and the opening of the flowers in the evening signals the opening of the restaurant. Recently, however, the restaurant started opening for lunch as well.

Khun Nai Teun Sai is set in a Thai house on Nimanhaemin Road. It's a cute and cheery restaurant, so comfortable we felt like we were lounging around at home. The walls are decorated with colourful paintings, and even the toilets are quite artistically designed. What a lovely place! ...and I was instantly glad I brought my two camera wielding friends from the Philippines - there were plenty of photo opportunities!

Of course, ambience is not the only factor in a good restaurant, and the food here is very good. We only ordered a few dishes from their huge menu, and all of them turned out to be very nice:

Fried Mushrooms Tossed with Sesame Seeds. The mushrooms were amazingly tasty. The first bite brought out contented "ummm" from all of us. The mushrooms were quite chewy, but not tough. Actually, when the owner's husband cum waiter brought out the dish, we thought it looked rather like meat, more specifically for me, deep-fried sun dried pork. This must the the vegetarian version, I think. 77 baht.

Mango Salad with Grilled Pork. Another delicious, but very spicy dish, even for me. This is of course, after I asked for "mai ped" - "not spicy". LOL...I guess it's "mai ped" for the chef, but still very "ped" for us! Still, I really enjoyed it, and one of my friends did too. He valiantly tried to eat as much as he could despite the sweat pouring out of his head, and having to gobble down a few glasses of cool water! The other friend wouldn't even touch it. In the end, it was left to me to gladly finish off. I must say though, that Westerners would most probably not appreciate this dish because dressing is made from shrimp paste (which has a rather strong aroma). 87 baht.

We also had Stuffed Chicken Wing - deep fried & and huge!

Khun Nai Teun Sai also serves coffee, fruit shakes, and some cakes.

So, I'd say Khun Nai Teun Sai is a lovely little restaurant - very relaxing and comfortable, and has great food. Definitely worth a try. I'll certainly go back and try some of their other dishes.

Khun Nai Teun Sai

3 Soi 11 Nimmanhaemin Rd

Chiang Mai

Tel: 053 222208, 084 046 0712

Pasta Cafe

There are endless numbers of restaurants on Nimanhaemin Rd and the lanes that run off it to choose from. Pasta Cafe is another popular restaurant. Great atmosphere, great pasta and salad dishes, reasonable prices. To top it off, the owner and chef, a local girl trained at Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok, so expect the standards to be up to scratch.

The restaurant itself is set in a large house with an extensive lawn. As well as air-conditioned indoor dining, there is also a nice outdoor (covered) dining area. It was a Friday night, and as we're in the middle of the wet season, we chose to sit indoors. Just as well we made a booking, because Pasta Cafe was packed that night.

And the food? As expected, everything was of high quality.

I had Spaghetti Puttanesca, which contained a sauce made from tomatoes, anchovy, black olives, and a bit of chilli, giving the pasta a bit of a bite. It was lovely.


Squid Ink Fettuchini with Cream Sauce. This actually didn't look too appetising to me, but it also contained prawns, spinach and shrimp roe. It turned out to be fantastic, according to our fellow dining companion. I must try it next time!

Linguini Pink Sauce with Smoked Salmon, Cream and Tomatoes. I didn't try this one either, but I was told it was very nice. Being Asian, I'm always weary of cream sauces. They are always great in the beginning, but I usually end up feeling sick if I have too much cream! This one apparently was not as creamy as it looked, and went down really well.

The vegetarian amongst us ordered the Vegie Lasagne - lots of stewed vegies, and lots of cheese!

We also ordered a Ceasar Salad to share. This is one of the dishes the waiter recommended to us. It was nice and fresh, and the sauce very creamy. It was very nice, but I didn't think it was THAT fantastic.


We enjoyed the Rocket Salad a lot more though. Fresh, light and tangy (from the Balsamic Vinegar Dressing) with the earthy, rich, peppery taste of the rockets. Yum!

The total bill turned out to be 1110 baht for 5 people. Really good value! Pasta Cafe turned out to be not a bad place for good pasta at reasonable prices!

Pasta Cafe

21 Soi 5 Nimanhaeminda Rd

Suthep, Muang, Chiang Mai

Tel: 053 357 310

11am-2:30pm; 5:30pm-10pm

Closed Monday

Lum Lum Korean Restaurant (Re-review!)

Since my last review of Lum Lum, the Korean Restaurant has undergone a transformation. They've now expanded and taken up two shophouses, and undergone a refit. The old favourites are still there, and Korean BBQ is now available with BBQ equipment straight from Korea!

We've been back to Lum Lum several times, and found out that there is actually an art in cooking Korean BBQ! The first time, we were famished, and turned the BBQ heat on high. This resulted in burnt and dry meat. It still tasted good, but with proper instructions from K. Jieb, the owner of the restaurant, we had another go. Medium heat is what's required, and patience! Starving diners need not worry, the BBQ set comes with a set of yummy side dishes, rice, and and a very lovely salad!

We had Pork Shoulder Meat Marinated in Soy Sauce set, and it was very nice indeed. The set was 220 baht the first go, and 180 baht to for refills. You get refills of the meat, and side dishes. Alternatively, you can go for their all you can eat buffet - only 229 baht/person and you have 1 hr 30 min to eat!

Lum Lum is again, highly recommended. Most of the time, lunch and dinner, the place is packed, and I see lots of Korean patrons - a good sign, I think! ...and this also means it's a good idea to book before you come.

The only downside is that it can take a while for the food to come out of the kitchen, especially when they are very busy, so you'll have to be patient. This doesn't apply to BBQ sets of course. These come out pretty quickly.

Lum Lum

206/5 M6, T Faham, A Muang, Chiang Mai

(Meechok Plaza, near Rimping Supermarket)

Tel: 053 853 481

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