Chiangmai 2011 Part 2 - Focus on Eating

Date of Travel: 15-18 Jan 2011

Crabmeat popiah - one of the highlights of our street food experience

Like any other city in Thailand, you are never short of places to eat in Chiangmai. Every street corner will have a stall/restaurant of some kind. You will be spoilt for choices here, especially for international cuisine due to the high number of expats in the area. In fact, Chiangmai is better than Bangkok for example, due to the smaller city area and concentration of these restaurants in the city. Street food is street food. Just pick out whatever you think looks interesting and try it.

From my journey in Chiangmai, 3 places really stood out

1. Chez Marco
15/7 Loi Kroh Road
Tel: 053 207 032

This is my MUST-TRY restaurant in Chiangmai. They serve Mediterranean food, but with a French-bistro ambience. Prices are generally under THB300 for a main course, and reservation is a must! There are a few places all around the world where I would fly back to, just for the food. This is one of them.

Relaxed atmosphere of Chez Marco

Salmon Cream appetizer - absolutely decadent

Authentic French Coq Au Vin - strong wine taste not for everyone's palette

Oh-So-Tender-Duck steak with Melt-In-Your-Mouth potatoes

2. Cafe de Siam
85 Loi Kroh Road
Tel: 053 207 258

This place looks like your average Western + Thai diner, complete with newspapers and magazines and free Wi-Fi. But what really made it stand out, was this seemingly innocent Carbonara pasta. It is done exactly the way they do it in Australia, using egg yolk. Something I miss terribly and can't come across too often in Malaysia. Their sandwiches and drinks are great too.

10/10 for this Carbonara Pasta

3. The Whole Earth
88 Sridonchai Road
Tel: 053 282 463

The Whole Earth restaurant serves Indian + Thai with the option of Vegetarian too. There are mixed reviews on the taste of the food here, some love it, some don't. But whether the food is great or not, the ambience gets 10/10 for me only at night. Don't bother coming here in the afternoon, it would just be like any other restaurant. Be prepared to remove your shoes to get in. Prices are comparable to Chez Marco's, approximately THB300 per main dish.

The Whole Earth Restaurant in a nice garden setting

My all time favourite Thai dish - Hor Mok Thalay. I love it here, 10/10

Tom Kha Gai - the creamy version of Tom Yum soup. Here, you can choose your degree of spiciness, 1-5.

Also check out:
Chiangmai 2011 Part 1 - Focus on Pampering 
Chiangmai 2011 Part 3 - Focus on Playing