More like CHEW Mai, Amirite?

Jen and Otis at Vegan Heaven 

At this point we have left Chiang Mai kind of a long time ago, but before we leave it behind from a web journal perspective, lets return to talk about maybe it's best feature for us - the food.

How great we had it in Chiang Mai was really brought into perspective in other parts of Thailand, particularly Ao Nang and Bangkok. In these cities, reliable vegetarian food is further away, less frequent and more expensive - and often just not as good. You can request vegetarian dishes at any restaurant, but in my experience, you either didn't know if they removed ingredients like fish sauce or eggs or you could immediately tell because the cook did nothing to replace the flavors. In Ao Nang I even got the old "there's no meat in this fried rice, that's chicken!" routine.

We went to a lot of restaurants in Chiang Mai, and even had a little street food. Some were very good, some were less good, most were inexpensive and in walking distance. The sheer number of options meant that if the one you were at for lunch was too expensive or too bland or too far, there was another one closer and cheaper to try for dinner. Most of the time eating out was either equivalent to or less expensive than the price of cooking in our apartment. Most places served smoothies, fresh juices, coconut milk based shakes and fresh soups, all of which became exponentially more important at the end of our stay when Jen had her wisdom teeth out.

Here are the places we are, in no particular order, reviewed by different family members:

Perfect portions, freshly made (with some khanum krok Otis brought it)

This amazing soup....flavorful and filling. I would eat it every day if I could.

Post-tooth pull, I had Morning Glory's smooth soups and hibiscus iced tea most days for dinner

Morning Glory
OTIS: It was a favorite of my parents, and close by. Despite that, I didn't like it very much. I normally got the seaweed soup, and a mint shake (the shake was AWESOME though, and the seaweed soup was good if you liked everything in it.) Chris got a variety of things favoring Pad Thai, and a Thai Iced Tea. Jen got an even wider variety of stuff, fresh and flavorful, and there was nothing she didn't like.
JEN: Since this place was close by we did eat here a disproportionate amount -- their pumpkin and spinach soups were a lifesaver post-dental work and the small family who runs it were nice to encounter. Everything is made fresh to order -- and your order is often taken by the young girl of the family, Opal-- and portions are nicely sized and terrifically priced. My big regret is not signing up for one of their cooking classes.
OUR RATING: 6.9 (of 10)

Spring rolls, milk shakes and stir fry at Taste of Heaven

Coconut curry served in a coconut at Taste From Heaven

Taste From Heaven & Vegan Heaven
CHRIS: these two restaurants had the same management and largely the same menu. The menu was big and diverse and cheap, and was one of my favorite places to eat in Chiang Mai. Good for Thai, or veggie burgers or felafel. They had a lot of quotes from famous people who are (were) allegedly vegan decorating the walls.
JEN: Vegan Heaven is the sister restaurant of Taste of Heaven with a significantly similar menu served in surroundings with a newer sheen. We enjoyed our meal there but Taste of Heaven was closer so we ended up there more often.
OUR RATING: 7.1, Vegan Heaven 7.3 (Otis made us do our ratings separately, as he thought Vegan Heaven was better.

Anchan Vegetarian
CHRIS: Otis and I went to this one while Jen got her hair did. It was a little more expensive, but I thought my curry was surprisingly good. In a neighborhood well west of Old Town so outside our usual ambit.
OUR RATING: 7

Pink House Garden
JEN: A really cute spot, you are essentially eating in someone's yard that they've gussied up with some nice touches. The menu is pretty small and fully gluten free, but the green curry I ordered was one of the best I've had. We made the mistake of coming here for lunch and even under the shade it was quite warm. I'm thinking that this is a good place to go for dinner after the sun has set and the lights are twinkling. A place I'd hoped to get back to and didn't.
OUR RATING: 7.2

Seating area at Blue Diamond

Blue Diamond Cafe
JEN: A nice find at the north of the old city with lots of vegan options including more desserts and baked goods than I'd seen in months. We went on Christmas Eve morning and sat outside in the pleasant garden area, again, on the ground. They brought around sweets as treats for everyone which was a nice touch. We tried going back the next day, Christmas morning, but inexplicably they were closed (its a Buddhist country!). I'd hoped to get back there but my dental surgery precluded. Otis did not like and his low rating (3) brought down our average substantially.
OUR RATING: 6.4

Appetizer time at Faviola

Jen's pasta entree with side of mushroom risotto from Faviola's chef

Faviola
CHRIS: This is a fancy Italian restaurant in the Meridien Hotel that we went to for Christmas dinner. It was the sort of meal you'd have if you went to a fancy Italian restaurant in an American 5-Star hotel. The servers were very kind and the chef came out to talk to us and gave us a mushroom risotto he had made specially for the visiting vegans. I don't dig on mushrooms, but the dinner was tasty.
OUR RATING: 7.7

Amazing smoothie bowls...

...and fresh and flavorful salads at Free Bird 

Free Bird Cafe
CHRIS: This modest cafe just north of old town donates its proceeds to Burmese refugees. I had my first smoothie bowl here and became a convert. Also, they had some dishes they described as particularly Burmese including a tea leaf salad. A little expensive for Chiang Mai, but props to the smoothie bowl!
JEN: I liked this place a lot, some of the flavors were unique to me and it was another place I didn't get to go back to because of dental work. I loved their very active support programs.
OUR RATING: 7.7

GIANT salads at Salad Concept for Christmas brunch

Salad Concept
CHRIS: This was American style mini-mall food. Expensive and nondescript, but large portions. I think Otis liked it more.
OTIS: Very good but don't get too enthusiastic about adding all of the salad ingredients because it will make a huge salad and some ingredients don't go together very well
OUR RATING: 6.5

Nunu Nini's Cafe
CHRIS: I often went here for breakfast when I was out of the flavor for Smith Residence's eggy pancakes. They served French press coffee, which was rare to come upon, and had a bunch of cakes that made for good breakfasts, including apple and coconut.
JEN: Nothing vegan, so I passed by day in and day out without stopping in.
OUR RATING: 5.5

Elephant Nature Park
JEN: As part of the volunteer and visitors programs, a huge vegan buffet is served three times per day. I thought it was delicious for mass produced food and was impressed with the noodles and curries, fruits, and drinks. I did have conversations with or overheard a few people grumbling a bit about no meat. Interesting. Chris and Otis didn't love but I would have happily eaten there all the time. No animal advocacy group or space should be serving meat, dairy or eggs in the interests of keeping their message aligned.
OUR RATING: 6.5

Aum's veg sushi was a hit with Otis, and Jen liked her glass noodles

Aum Vegetarian
CHRIS: This is the first restaurant we went to in Chiang Mai, and I had may first Papaya salad here. I thought the food was okay, about average for the city I think. This is the restaurant where Otis was locked in the bathroom with a rat, so take that for what it's worth. (ADVENTURE!)
OTIS: Their sushi was very good though their mint lassi was a little on the sweet side.
OUR RATING: 7.5

Macro plate with mung bean hummus and Otis's noodles at Amrita Garden

Amrita Garden
JEN: I liked this place a lot, a big variety of very healthy and tasty food and a very laid back vibe with outdoor, on the ground seating. We had mung bean "hummus" here and liked it. This is the place where you're going to hear the postmortem of that yoga or meditation class your fellow diners just attended. Otis and I enjoyed it more than Chris.
OUR RATING: 6 (Chris's dislike brought this number down quite a bit)

Chris's veggie burger from DADA

Typical CM meal -- noodle dish, curry dish and coconut milk smoothie

Dada Kafe
CHRIS: This restaurant was right next to Taste of Heaven and had a similar menu and wide range of options at similar prices. I became a regular here after Jen had her wisdom teeth out because I bought her many peanut butter smoothies, which were tasty and went down like a meal. You could get a version of it with a whole avocado blended in, and then you wouldn't have to eat for days!
JEN: One of my favorites, the food was always fresh and reasonably priced and the coconut milk smoothies were superb. Otis brought our rating down!
OUR RATING: 7.3

Cat House
OTIS: The name was amazing, but the food was even better! We only went there once, and I got the spaghetti with pesto and tofu. They were out of brownies, so I had ice cream for dessert. Chris had a burrito, and the same for dessert. Jen got the same thing, except with a vegan brownie.
OUR RATING: 7.6

Smith Residence
CHRIS: This was the longterm hotel we stayed in, and in its lobby it had a restaurant that I think was actually called two brothers. Otis and I had breakfast here most days, and read The Name of the Wind to each other over pancakes and smoothies. I found the pancake a bit eggy. Jen never ate here because it was not vegan friendly.
OUR RATING: 6.8

Bagel House Cafe & Bakery
CHRIS: Once I went here for breakfast, I wanted to come here every single day. Everything bagel toasted with cream cheese with coffee and orange juice. The bagel tasted freshly made and the coffee and orange juice made it perfect.
CHRIS'S RATING: 8

Good Morning Chiang Mai
CHRIS: Otis and I went here once, it was decent but there are so many options in Chiang Mai that we didn't mind keeping on.
OUR RATING: 6.6

Is that an adoring gaze or what?

YEAH!! Ice Love this sundae.

Ice Love You Ice Cream
OTIS: I loved it! It had chocolate lava cake which I always like and the ice cream is really good.
CHRIS: They had fancy ice cream dishes where the fanciness and novelty of the design sometimes outdid the reality of the execution and taste. It had a lot of vegan ice cream flavors which is a rare treat.
JEN: We had a great time here our first time and then the second time we stopped here it fell a bit flat due to our going off menu and a language barrier. Very welcome when one has just had teeth out.
OUR RATING: 8.3

Dragon & Phoenix
CHRIS: Prices were high and service slow but when the food arrived it was fresh and good.
OTIS: I didn't pay attention to the prices but I didn't think service was slow. My shake was good but their tofu preparation was unsuccessful although my main course was good.
JEN: I didn't like this place very much. Food was not memorable. They didn't seem that interested in having customers, never mind satisfied customers.
OUR RATING: 5.75


Sababa Israeli Restaurant
OTIS: Loved it. Their pizza was delicious and successful in the mission of not putting cheese on it.
CHRIS: I really liked their falafel pitas which came with a delicious hot sauce and pickles. The only downside is that their prices are a bit high for Chiang Mai but it was a nice break from Thai food.
JEN: I only had take out, I liked the hummus Chris and Otis brought home.
OUR RATING: 8.7 !!??

Street food!

Khanum krok stall at corner of food market
JEN: One of the few vegan street food options, these are little savory coconut custards served with scallions, corn or pumpkin. Fun to have them made in front of you and you can stroll on, eating your custardy goodness.
OTIS: These were good. 10 baht for six. 10 baht is about 30 cents.
OUR RATING: 7

Two jay cafeterias we don't remember the names of 
CHRIS: A little hit or miss because the food is pre-prepared andyou don't know exactly what you are getting but they are wildly inexpensive. Lunch for all three of us could be had for under $3.
OUR RATING: 4.9

A pizza restaurant we don't remember the name of
OTIS: The food was good, although Jen didn't like hers. I got garlic bread