Vegan Guide To Chiang Mai
We left Chiang Mai slightly larger than when we arrived. Combining our newfound love of moped travel with the multitude of restaurant options did not necessarily result in an overly healthy stay, but it made us bloody happy. There are several vegan guides to Chiang Mai available online, which we were able to use to help us sniff out the good stuff. We're particularly grateful to our wonderful friends Caryl and Paul at Vegan Food Quest for theirs and to Mostly Amelie for hers.Here are the places we particularly loved.Blue Diamond Breakfast ClubWhy not start here. At cinnamon roll heaven. Whaddya want? Juice? Cake? Traditional Thai food? A nice salad? You can pretty much get whatever you want here. Everything is deliciously freshly prepared and the servings are generous. The self-serve bakery area is bursting with buns, slices and pastries. The fridge a cold cabinet of every type of dessert you never knew you wanted to try. You can also buy a pretty impressive range of health foods and other non-edible bits and bobs too. This place does, unfortunately also sell meat so don't accidentally go ordering a ham omelette or whatever.
Cat HouseWe stumbled upon this gem of a restaurant one rainy evening towards the end of our stay and have SO many nice things to say about it. Although we didn't speak to the owner, we did have a lovely chat with her partner, a friendly and interesting guy who was doing great job of looking after everyone. He explained to us that the owner was working hard to work out how to veganize various dishes and as a result there were several things to choose from on an otherwise non-vegan menu. The falafel plate was particularly good and the sweet potato fries were exactly as you hoped they'd be. As the rain thrashed down outside, filling our bike helmets with water (schoolboy error) we enjoyed the cosiness of the place and felt a little sad that we didn't have time to come back.
Ole Gourmet MexicanHands down, the best burrito we have ever tried. Did I actually just say that? Yes I did. So absolutely full of flavour that it's a mystery to us why they feel the need to serve meaty ones as well. Only go for the large one if you are mad hungry, because they are huage. There's only one specifically vegan option on the menu, but the staff are happy to veganize other options and can replace meat with mushrooms. The really great thing is that unlike some other places, they knock the price down a bit if you take stuff out. The restaurant itself is set down a little shopping alley and has a really shoreditch (trendy-wendy east London) feel to it with bare brick walls and tables spilling outside onto the street. I miss this place :'(
By Hand PizzaWe weren't really sure whether to include this one, because basically we didn't really like it as the toppings were really bland. Cheese seemed to be replaced with nuts, which when unseasoned don't really do much for a pizza. It was a little like eating really good pizza bread with just crunchiness on top. It was hard to pick out any real flavour as nothing seemed to be seasoned. However, there were several options on the menu and maybe we just chose a dud. As I say, the base was tasty and this place is doing a good thing by offering so many vegan options. Must try harder next time.
Da's Home BakeryIncase you're wondering, yes, that photo below is of a a silky-smooth chocolate pud and if Tom's hand looks a bit smug in the pic, it's because it was. That pud was GREAT. Not only is this place a nice spot to sit outside and have a cuppa and a cake, it's also an excellent place to pick up snacks and supplies for days out or long train journeys (or to eat in your room, as we did). The signage inside is a little confusing, but we were assured that everything in the window was vegan, although only some things had vegan labels. It's not the cheapest place in the world but definitely worth a visit or 4.
Aroy DeeJust around the corner from Da's is Aroy Dee, which served us a real life version of a delicious-looking photo we had seen hashtagged with #veganchaingmai on instagram. A tofu and cashew veg stir fry at a rock-bottom price. There is literally no reason to not go here and order this simple and satisfying dish!
Saturday Night MarketThe final place we wanted to mention was the Saturday night market. If you're planning to check it out, then it's best to get there early, like we did. Within a pretty short amount of time, the place was absolutely heaving. Before it all got a bit too rammed for us, we managed to try a couple of tasty dishes. The first was a Thai rice flour muffin. They look a little bit like bath bombs and to be honest, the taste wasn't far off what you might expect one to taste like. A kind of soft, foamy and slightly sweet snack with a flowery taste. It wasn't unpleasant. It was definitely fun to try but there was definitely an element of "we've bought these, so we'd better eat them now. You go first".The other thing we tried was far more delicious. A very large soft spring roll, crammed full of veggies. Keep an eye out for the stall.
Would love to know your favourite places for when we inevitably head back to Chiang Mai!
Ole Gourmet MexicanHands down, the best burrito we have ever tried. Did I actually just say that? Yes I did. So absolutely full of flavour that it's a mystery to us why they feel the need to serve meaty ones as well. Only go for the large one if you are mad hungry, because they are huage. There's only one specifically vegan option on the menu, but the staff are happy to veganize other options and can replace meat with mushrooms. The really great thing is that unlike some other places, they knock the price down a bit if you take stuff out. The restaurant itself is set down a little shopping alley and has a really shoreditch (trendy-wendy east London) feel to it with bare brick walls and tables spilling outside onto the street. I miss this place :'(By Hand PizzaWe weren't really sure whether to include this one, because basically we didn't really like it as the toppings were really bland. Cheese seemed to be replaced with nuts, which when unseasoned don't really do much for a pizza. It was a little like eating really good pizza bread with just crunchiness on top. It was hard to pick out any real flavour as nothing seemed to be seasoned. However, there were several options on the menu and maybe we just chose a dud. As I say, the base was tasty and this place is doing a good thing by offering so many vegan options. Must try harder next time.Da's Home BakeryIncase you're wondering, yes, that photo below is of a a silky-smooth chocolate pud and if Tom's hand looks a bit smug in the pic, it's because it was. That pud was GREAT. Not only is this place a nice spot to sit outside and have a cuppa and a cake, it's also an excellent place to pick up snacks and supplies for days out or long train journeys (or to eat in your room, as we did). The signage inside is a little confusing, but we were assured that everything in the window was vegan, although only some things had vegan labels. It's not the cheapest place in the world but definitely worth a visit or 4.Aroy DeeJust around the corner from Da's is Aroy Dee, which served us a real life version of a delicious-looking photo we had seen hashtagged with #veganchaingmai on instagram. A tofu and cashew veg stir fry at a rock-bottom price. There is literally no reason to not go here and order this simple and satisfying dish! Saturday Night MarketThe final place we wanted to mention was the Saturday night market. If you're planning to check it out, then it's best to get there early, like we did. Within a pretty short amount of time, the place was absolutely heaving. Before it all got a bit too rammed for us, we managed to try a couple of tasty dishes. The first was a Thai rice flour muffin. They look a little bit like bath bombs and to be honest, the taste wasn't far off what you might expect one to taste like. A kind of soft, foamy and slightly sweet snack with a flowery taste. It wasn't unpleasant. It was definitely fun to try but there was definitely an element of "we've bought these, so we'd better eat them now. You go first".The other thing we tried was far more delicious. A very large soft spring roll, crammed full of veggies. Keep an eye out for the stall.Would love to know your favourite places for when we inevitably head back to Chiang Mai!