Myself and Himself took the vapours at Chiang Mai recently, the denouement to the Grand Trek to Sukhothai (Loy Kratong) and Doi Inthanon (enlightenment).
We ended up being feted by a couple of Board members in the guise of 'Bob' (well known for being the lone defender of the Zionist Conspiracy on Baht Stop) and 'Richard' (who's lived in Chiang Mai for only a few months but Knows All ... or at least has credible theories of 'All').
Extraordinarily pleasant companions both, but for the purpose of this post I shall keep it at the level of 'Informational' ... our conversations being so dark and disturbing with Chiang Mai insider politics, and depressing in my newly found knowledge that one of these gentleman had apparently come down with a touch of the Hypochondria: i.e. he took one look at me as I entered the portals of his luxury condo in a distinctly upper crust part of town and immediately decided he had contracted the dread H1N1 Flu. My face seems to do that to folks.

But I digress: 'The Three Small Gems':

(#1) When you are in Chiang Mai, please do yourself a great big favour and take dinner at a lovely little restaurant named 'Sabai Dee'. Now there is probably 3 million restaurants in Thailand (and San Fran and Vancouver) with that name, but this particular one was quite a treat.
First of all, the food was reasonably priced and so good to the taste that it disturbs me to think I'll have to travel all the way north to Lanna country just to try it again. And that goes generally for all the food on the table: my friends not being lovers of spicy food some of the dishes were not of my choosing, but it did not matter ... Sabai Dee did them all well. Luckily we had one Thai man there who stuffed all the chillies he could into his own choices and pronounced the place "good taste".
But the ambiance and decor of the place is inspired. A big fish pond (with fish to see, not eat) reside under the bar area, and the theme travels upwards to the bar itself where small fish float happily along underneath one's beer mug. Sounds hokey, but it works.
Terrific romantic lighting, lovely antiques placed in unusual spots, old teak folding doors, a hong nam which is, er, 'unique', and takes some getting used to.
The charm of just sitting in Sabai Dee for an hour or so is well worth the trouble of finding the place. (Please PM 'Bob' on this Board for directions. We drove there and I haven't a clue as to where we were. Perhaps Bob has a biz card and can relay the address).


(#2) Shoved off for drinks at the 'Soho Bar' and stayed there for an hour or so ... the mood interrupted only by my guy having to leave with a burst stomach ulcer from the previously mentioned pile-on of chillies at Sabai Dee. Or perhaps it was Bob coughing his H1N1 tainted viruses all over us on a regular basis.

But what a cute little bar this is. Quite small, very effusive and friendly staff, and a continual flow of Very Cute Guys (all customers, not host boys) lounging around on bar chairs at the front, and big comfy sofas and low intimate chairs and little coffee tables at the back.
If you want to be alone for a dark quiet drink, or if you want to meet Chiang Mai Thai guys not wearing tank tops or who's boxer underwear is not easily grabbable, then you could do much worse than Soho Bar. Once again ... not a clue where it is, but I'm sure everyone who lives in Chiang Mai, or travels there frequently, knows it.


(#3) This next place has no name that I'm aware of, but it's on the Taepae Gate side of the ring road which traverses along the outside of Chiang Mai's beautiful moat. It's located most romantically right next to a big Petronus Gas Station . . . so the best way to find it is to look for the huge Petronas sign.

If the sublime breakfast/lunch Thai dish of 'Khao Mun Gai' (phonetic spelling) is your (almost) daily pleasure ~ which it is mine ~ then hunt this place down and luxuriate in the simplest, most-delicious-when-done-right plate of boiled chicken on top of steamed rice with a sublime sauce and a bowel of fragrant chicken broth ... all for 30 baht.

Amongst my numerous ongoing gastronomic quests is the one to find (and devour) the Best Khao Mun Gai in Thailand. I once thought I'd found it in a little hole in the wall underneath the On Nut Skytrain Station in Bangkok, and in fact Hua Hin has two places which almost match that . . . but the Buddha's finger has touched this joint in Chiang Mai: beautifully tender (and fat!) slivers of juicy white chicken meat placed neatly along a plate of piping hot rice (a rarity!), the boiling technique of the chicken is very important for it to come out like this. The broth is strong ... unlike some Khao Mun Gai shops where it's mostly hot water with little pieces of chicken floating around. But this dish needs the sauce: it's always different shades of brown, but the best places make their own, and it's always just a little bit different. The Chiang Mai connection variation is as good as it gets (my Thai guy says it is and I concurred as we sat nodding in approval at each other) and it took him to drag me away from ordering an entire second plate. That's never happened before.

Do yourself a huge favour while in Thailand: say "mai ouw" to the cornflakes, the fried eggs, the lousy bacon, the cold pancakes, the atrocious toast ... and get thee to a local Khao Mun Gai stall for breakfast. They're all over the place . . . you'll know them by the four or five chicken cadavers hanging under glass and some old lady furiously chopping away at the white meat.
You'll never go back to the god awful 'American Breakfast', or the even worse 'English' variation.

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