Head up Nimmanhaeminda Road from the Amari Rincome, heading
towards CMU and on your left, set back slightly and just before the traffic
lights half way up is the Eat Me! Bakery and Restaurant. There is parking
alongside, so you don’t have to leave the vehicle as a sacrificial offering
to the Nimmanhaemin songtaews!
This review is only on the restaurant, as they really are
two separate entities on the one block. Opened eight months ago by Madame
Nopawan, previously the Head of the French Dept at CMU, this was an exercise
to stop her getting bored after her retirement from active teaching and
administration. However, after meeting Madame N, you soon realize that there
is no way this active woman could get bored. She would find something. With a
30 year connection to CMU, the students found her as well, so you know from
the outset that this is not going to be an expensive place to eat.
With three glass sides to the dining area, the restaurant
is very ‘airy’ and with the bright plastic table covers, flowers around
the cashier’s desk and a white tiled floor, it really is cheerful. The
cutlery is of good standard and the plates are true glazed pottery, not the
omnipresent (and depressant) melamine so popular in budget eateries.
The menu is a four pager, in Thai and English, and
surprisingly no French! Quelle horreur, Madame N! It begins with six
appetizers between B. 30-50 and does have french-fries, as well as Japanese
style crispy fried shrimp and spring rolls. These are followed by nine Thai
style spicy salads (B. 40-50) covering squid, shrimp, pork, tuna and more.
Next up are the eleven soups, some Thai style and others
cream style. These range between B. 30 and B. 45 for the most expensive mixed
vegetable in red spicy sour soup. Salads follow (B. 25-45) and then seven
dedicated vegetarian items, all at B. 30 and covers soups, spring rolls and
fried items.
Steaks are next on the menu at B. 50, then pasta and
spaghetti B. 45/50 and then noodle dishes at B. 30-40. Still searching for
something more expensive than B. 50, the final page has “Favorites” served
with rice but these came in between B. 30 to B. 40, including sweet and sour
items, red and green curries and Korean fried pork.
The final item was drinks, where the most expensive item is
a pot of fruit tea at B. 50! However, there are no alcoholic beverages on
offer. Madame Nopawan just felt that the responsibility of selling alcohol to
university students was something she didn’t need. But if you want to BYO
bottles that’s fine by her and she does not even charge corkage!
So how did we find the food? We began with spring rolls,
which were different in that they are not ‘rolled’ but flat like a crispy
quiche - but they were nice. This was followed by the most popular campus
dwellers dish - a chicken with spicy sauce, which was also my Madame’s
favourite. We then had a tom kha gai and a tom yum goong, both of which were
excellent, and the tom kha gai was my pick for dish of the day.
These were followed by sweet and sour spare ribs (not on
the menu yet), but they were certainly made for nibbling, and some mixed
vegetables in oyster sauce, with broccoli, baby corn, two types of mushroom
and Chinese cabbage. This was prepared correctly, with the individual
vegetables all retaining their own flavours. We finished with coffees and
there are various types available. Burrp!
The Dining Out Team enjoyed the lunchtime experience with
Madame Nopawan. The food was excellent, the prices ridiculously cheap, and the
whole ambience of the restaurant is one that will make you return to
experience it again. I know that Miss Terry and Madame will be doing just
that. You will not be disappointed here, and your wallet won’t be savaged
either! Very highly recommended.
Eat Me! Bakery and Restaurant, 59 Nimmanhaeminda Road, Chiang Mai,
telephone 09 429 3737. The restaurant opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m.
