Fiore Rosa - Homemade Italian in Doi Saket - Now closed

Dining at Fiore Rosa is like going to a friend's place for dinner...not just any friend though..a friend who can cook, and is passionate about cooking.

Roberto and his wife, Khun Dao makes a great team. As soon as we sat down, Roberto, the man behind the kitchen, started recommending and explaining recommended dishes straight away.

The first dish.. Beef Capaccio - I've had this before a couple of times at other Italian restaurants, but didn't actually know that Beef Capaccio is actually raw beef until Roberto told us, and the reality of its rawness dawned on me when the paper thin, super fresh, bright red beef slices came topped with cheese, rockets and I think, lemon juice (as opposed to lime). I never knowingly eat anything raw except for sashimi, so I told myself, I've eaten capaccio before..just eat it! ..And I was glad I did, because it was lovely! The cheese on the beef was very creamy and smooth, and the lemon added a slight hint of tanginess.  170 baht.

Mediterranean Salad - This was also beautiful in terms of looks and taste! Comprised of lovely salad greens, anchovies pieces which added a nice accent to the salad, fetta cheese (mmmm!) and olives. The dressing was lovely and light. 130 baht.

Fish Fillet in olive oil, vinegrette, lemon and almonds served on a bed of spinach. This was SO good.. very, very special. Never had anything like it before. Gorgeous and smooth with a lovely rounded fragance of what I think is almond and lemon wedge that has been placed in the pan with the fish.

Roberto explained that we should never squeeze lemon juice on the fish, rather, the lemon should be placed in the pan. Squeezing lemon juice on the fish will "kill" it. Wow.

Very good value at 160 baht.

Unfortunately, that's all us 2 ladies could fit in that night, well we did have some very nice house red wine as well. I guess we'll just have to come back. Would definitely want to have the fish fillet again, but also want to try other dishes to....choices, choices!

The other great thing about Fiore Rosa is the ambience... very casual and relaxed. You have a choice of dining outside or in an air-conditioned room indoors.

Getting there involves driving down a windy road passing through rice fields, which feels almost like an adventure!

Fiore Rosa
Opens: Mon-Sat 5:30pm-9:00pm
(It's a shame they don't open Sundays otherwise I would go quite often!)
Tel: 053 039 221; 085 032 5865

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Casa Diverso (Mediterranean and Thai Food)

I was kindly invited by Khun Oh, the ex-manager of Oyori The Grill to come and try out his recently opened Mediterranean and Thai restaurant in Chiang Mai's Old City. Khun Oh and his partner, Chef Lek have a lot of experience in the hospitality industry, having worked in Pattaya, Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Their  dream is to open their own restaurant one day, and Casa Diverso is that dream coming true!

The Casa Diverso is in a lovely spot, just around the corner from The Rim Hotel. There's a large outdoor dining area in the garden, and also a rather stylishly decorated indoors area, giving the restaurant a classy, but still relaxed and warm feel.

I was quite surprised by the menu offering both a large selection of European food and Thai food as I was expecting only European food. My friends and I all opted for European food, but I would think the Thai food would be good as well. I hope I'll have the opportunity to go back soon to try the Thai food and other items on the menu!

Some very nice bread with herbed and garlic butter was served.

A green salad was ordered as an entree....and it was... green!...comprised of various types of nice and crispy lettuce with balsamic dressing.

Bruschetta Mozzarella Cheese was highly recommended by Khun Oh. It was lovely with chunky pieces of tomato, mozzarella cheese, and pesto sauce. The bruschetta was quite large and a little hard to eat gracefully without using the knife and fork. 120 baht. 

For my main course, I chose the Grilled Pork Tenderloin (very, very juicy and tender!), which was topped with a blueberry gravy sauce. The gravy was cooked a couple of days in the traditional way, and the blueberry gave the sauce a slightly sweet tang. The potato wedges were great too! 320 baht.

I didn't try this one, but my friend reported that the slow cooked salmon was very good, served with horseradish sauce, as well as pesto sauce on the side. 340 baht.

I just had a little taste of the Spaghetti Alle Vongole - a very simple pasta with clams, oil, garlic and parsley. It was lovely and fragrant, and quite spicy! Very good as well. I wouldn't mind going back to have this all to myself next time!

For dessert, we shared a rather large Creme Brulee (120 baht) which was spectacularly "torched" in front of us by Khun Oh. It was nice, creamy and smooth, but unfortunately, quite sweet. I mentioned this to Khun Oh, and he was really happy to receive the feedback. He seems very dedicated to providing good service and making customers happy. :-)

We all had a very enjoyable time, and we all thought the food at Casa Diverso was great, and the prices very reasonable. Definitely a place we can go back to, and I'm happy we have another quality addition to the Chiang Mai eating scene!

Casa Diverso
184/1 Rachamankha Rd
Phrasing, Chiang Mai.
(Old City)
Opens daily: 11am-11pm
Tel: 084 174 0699




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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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Shang Garden @ Shangri-La Hotel (Now China Kitchen)

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope everyone has the most wonderful and happiest year ever, and of course, filled with delicious food!

Today, we will visit Shangri-La Hotel's new Chinese Restaurant - Shang Garden, a much welcomed addition-at least to me, and I'm sure to many Chiang Mai residents!... and it's not just any Chinese restaurant... it's a restaurant that offers dimsum... and the food is great!

Shang Garden's Hong Kong chef, Jackie Chan, came from Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok....So things are already looking pretty good! After my first dinner at Shang Garden on 30th Dec 2013, I was very impressed with the food, and the price seemed pretty reasonable for the quality, but the service that night though, was very lacking and slow. It could be that they were quite short staffed, but we decided we could put up with the slow and not so great service (as the food was so good) and go back to have a dimsum lunch before my brother and his family go back to Australia in the afternoon. Fortunately, the service this time was much better, but the tea refilling rate was still pretty slow so we had to rely on a bit of self-service there. (It's not a big deal, but you'd expect the service to be perfect in a 5 star hotel, and especially if you'll be paying 10% service charge on top of the food prices.)

OK...on with the food review!

Deep Fried Mashed Taro with Shrimp and Chicken. This is my brother's favourite dimsum dish. It's very nicely done at Shang Garden, very nice "pastry", firm yet crumbly, with mild filling with subtle flavours. It was served kind of luke warm though... would have been better if it came out hotter. 140 baht.

Xiao Long Pao - steamed pork dumplings (with soup inside). Very nice skin and lovely soft pork filling. Be careful eating these though, as the skin is quite delicate. If you accidentally poke a hole in the "skin", some of the soup might leak out! 70 baht.

Baked BBQ Pork Pastries - (front dish in the photo below) - These were great! Buttery melt in your mouth pastry with sweetish BBQ pork filling. 60 baht.

Steamed Crispy Rice Rolls with Shrimp - (back of photo)  This is a really special and surprising dish. Highly recommended if you come to Shang Garden. Looks kind of ordinary, but as I bite into the soft looking "fresh spring roll", there is a surprising crunch!  There's a crispy spring roll inside the rice paper wrapping. Served with hoisin sauce. 90 baht.

Crispy Noodles with Seafood - This is also a pretty special dish. Lovely crispy noodles (which is also pretty nice eaten by itself) with stir-fried seafood and vegies with lots of gravy/thick soup which you put on the crispy noodles. The noodles stayed kind of crispy and a little chewy in the gravy - very nice. 460 baht.

My 6 year old nephew and 3 year old niece (who are rather fussy eaters) loved the Steamed BBQ Pork buns so much  2 extra servings were ordered to take on the plane. I thought the buns were rather nice too - the "skin" very soft and smooth. 60 baht.

The total bill for 5 very full adults and 2 kids came to about 2700 baht (including tax and service charge).

Shang Garden
Shangri-La Hotel

Opens:
Lunch: 11:30am-2:30pm
Dinner: 6pm-10pm

Tel: 053 253 888

Website: http://www.shangri-la.com/chiangmai/shangrila/dining/restaurants/shang-garden/



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Steak of the Day

Wonderful food at reasonable prices by an ex-Four Seasons chef in a relaxed informal setting. 5 star food at 3 star prices!

Thanks to a recommendation by a friend, I've been to Steak of the Day 3 times since it was opened several months ago, and it seems they're just going from strength to strength. They just seem to be getting better and busier each time I go, and there are new dishes to try each time.

I think their success is mainly due to the great, quality food at reasonable prices, and the location. There is a lack of quality Western restaurants in the area (other than in resorts and hotels). There are a lot of expats living around here, as well as lots of resorts, so Steak of the Day is in a pretty ideal spot.

Ok, on with the food...

New Zealand Tenderloin - It was great! -  Nice and juicy, very well seasoned and presented. Served with lovely silky smooth mashed potatoes (very nice!). 439 baht.

Salmon Steak - . I stole a little bit from grandma, who said it was "Aroi MAK" - "VERY nice", and I agreed. It certainly looked great too.  259 baht

Pork Loin and Mashed Potatoes - this is from Steak of the Day's standard lunch time menu, which also has other items eg. chicken, sausages, etc on it. Very nice and tasty pork and gravy, and the same mashed potatoes and side salad. Fantastic value at 89 baht!

Steak of the Day has other things on the menu as well eg. various salads, hamburgers, pasta, etc. The Caesar Salad is fantastic (highly recommended!), as is the cheese tortilla. 

Even though they can get really busy, I found the service still very warm and friendly. 

Steak of the Day
Mae Rim Plaza, Mae Rim
11am-8pm
Closed on Sundays
Tel: 081-256-7292
https://www.facebook.com/steak.steakoftheday


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I am Gourmet

Merry Christmas, everyone! Sorry I'm a couple of days late! 

Today's post is about an unexpected Christmas dinner I had. My family don't really celebrate Christmas, but we thought we would pay a second visit to a restaurant recommended by a friend. 

I will have relatives coming to Chiang Mai soon (tomorrow!), and I'm always scratching my head as to where to take visitors. You'd think I'll have a list of restaurants ready in hand, and I do, (and will share with you soon), but it's always nice to put in a mix of new restaurants. 

... So here we were, back at I am Gourmet, to try out other dishes on their menu to see if it makes the cut (to bring visitors). 

I am Gourmet has a selection of good American food, as well as good Thai food...and it's not easy to find a restaurant with good Thai food, and Western food all in one place! 

So, there we were for our Christmas dinner! 

The special of the day was the Turkey Dinner Set. My first ever Turkey Dinner, and I had it in, of all places, Chiang Mai! There were several pieces of roast turkey (very nicely done, I must say), mashed potatoes (very good!), stuffing (I haven't had these for years! ... and it was great!), bean salad, and what I thought was beetroot (LOL), which turned out to be cranberry jelly (I guess), and a plate of salad. The whole thing was great, but my favourite on the plate was the stuffing! 250 baht for the set - very, very good value! 

The next thing we wanted to try from the previous visit were the BBQ Pork Ribs, which were nice and tender, and falling off the bones. The sauce was very tasty as well. You have a choice of chips or salad on the side.  Only 100 baht!

As my 6 year old nephew and 3 year old niece from Australia will be visiting, we were on a look out for something that they'll eat. I am Gourmet has a good selection of Thai dishes at very reasonable prices. Last time we tried the Pad Thai, which was pretty decent. This time, we had the spring rolls, which were very nicely done - nice and crispy, probably too peppery for the kids, but fine for us.

The most astounding thing for me here is the very reasonable prices, particularly of the American dishes eg. Pork or Chicken Burger cost 50 baht plain and 70 baht with cheese, onions and bacon; a reasonably generous serving of green tossed salad cost 35 baht! And as mentioned before,  the BBQ ribs were 100 baht.

The restaurant itself is simple and unpretentious, and it's totally unexpected to have a Western restaurant in a setting more like that of a large Thai noodle's shop. So don't expect anything fancy here! The service is warm and friendly, and the American owner very approachable. 

I am Gourmet

Chiang Mai-Doi Saket Rd (118)

If you come from the city towards Doi Saket,  once you pass the pedestrian bridge at Bohin, slow down and stay in the left lane. I am Gourmet is on the left just before the next U-Turn. 

GPS: 18.851894,99.093761 

(Keep in mind the restaurant wasn't there when Google came around a few years ago!) 

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Matsu Japanese Restaurant

How fortunate us Chiang Mai-ers are to have a plethora of Japanese Restaurants to choose from. It's amazing how many good Japanese restaurants there are here. The other day, I visited the new Central Festival Mall, and wow, there must be about 25 Japanese restaurants there... Thai people must really like Japanese food!

And here I am to introduce another Japanese restaurant to you, thanks to the recommendation of a couple of my friends. This one is a little hole in the wall place in the Old City. The shop looks a little ordinary, and the service so-so,  but their salmon sashimi is great! Served at just the right temperature, very buttery and smooth, melt in your mouth deliciousness! 160 baht.

Ten Zaru (Chilled Buckwheat Noodle with Tempura and Dip). Very nice and refreshing. The tempuras were quite nicely made and the prawns tasty. Very nice dish as well, and pretty good value! 95 baht.

Well, that's all I tried, and I was quite impressed with the quality of the food, and the price! The restaurant was packed when we arrived, and there were quite a few Japanese patrons too, which is always a good sign.

So, I'll definitely want to go back to try other dishes, which also look pretty good. The offering is pretty standard Chiang Mai Japanese restaurant menu, but the salmon sashimi is one of the nicest ones I've had here in Chiang Mai.

Matsu Japanese Restaurant
74/2 Singhrat Rd
Muang, Chiang Mai
(In the Old City)
Tel: 081 472 0171
Opens: 11am-2pm & 5pm-10pm
Closed on Mondays



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