Whats On Chiang Mai

After our last review of Miguel’s Nong Hoi, we thought we would stop by and try some fajitas. According to Wikipedia, a fajita “is a generic term used in Tex-Mex cuisine, referring to grilled meat served on a flour or corn tortilla. Fajitas today include chicken, pork, shrimp and all cuts of beef. In restaurants, the meat is often cooked with onions and bell peppers. Popular condiments are shredded lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, pico de gallo, cheese, and tomato.”

The most important part of a fajita is the tortilla. Unfortunately, the tortilla at Miguel’s is the worst tortilla we have ever eaten. Miguel’s tortillas were soggy, oily and brittle. These tortillas were so bad, they ruined the experience of eating Mexican food, and I could not finish the meal and left Miguels hungry vowing never to return.

After all, just a few blocks down the road you can eat delicious Thai food for 25 Baht a plate, cooked nearly to perfection with rice! Why pay 160 Baht for a soggy, oily, brittle tortilla???

In search of the perfect floor mat for your car?   We recommend you visit Amnuay Motor Air 2 and pick up some Back Liner Classic Series floor mats.   Back Liners are a bit expensive, but well worth it, in my opinion.   We paid 3500 Baht for a 7 piece set, originally quoted 3200 Baht if bought the color in their stock, versus a special order from Bangkok.   They are the best and most attractive floor mats we have ever seen.

The service at  Amnuay Motor Air 2 was great.    The service reminded me of “the good olde days” in Chiang Mai when people offered you tea, coffee and water in just about every shop.  Those days are long gone, but I did get cool water and great service.  The shop is very large, modern and clean. I might even pay some big bucks for an Apline or JVC DVD / WAV multi-function player for our car.

Amnuay Motor Air 2 is well situation and easy to find.

It can be quite difficult for foreigners visiting or living in Chiang Mai to find a good auto body shop.    That is why we can recommend Number One.  We had a very good experience with Louis (the owner) and his team at #1.

• Number One Auto Body Shop
• 227 Mu 4 New Chiang Mai - Sankampang Road
• T. Tasala, A. Muang. J. Chiang Mai
• Telephone:  053-245-688
• Mobile: 081-595-5588

Number One provided great service and their paint matched very well.   Highly recommended.

Also, I want to thank the folks at AXA Insurance in Chiang Mai for recommending #1.  I have had a very good experience with AXA in Chiang Mai (but luckily, no claims yet!) AXA Branch Manager Khun Anothai Buranathai is a great guy!

After reading a few reviews on Chiang Mai Epicurean I thought I would stop by Miguel’s in Nong Hoi and enjoy some Mexican food.  I ordered a standard Mexican combo and a local beer.  Almost all the customer were foreigners and their was a pool table with a few poorly behaving children going wild.  I felt a bit of sympathy with the Canadian owner, who had to politely explain to 4 rowdy children not to use the brand new pool table as a play pen.  I also thought it was strange that the parents seemed oblivious to their children destroying property.

Anyway, the owner was very kind and the atmosphere was modern and clean.   The food was good, albeit I thought it was overpriced for Chiang Mai.  I paid just about the same price for the combo as I would back home, so I thought the prices were too high for Chiang Mai, where labor and rent is very cheap.

But, like I mentioned, the food was good and the overall atmosphere friendly.  My GPS device was connecting and warming up out in my car when I decided to go outside and get it so I could share the location with you.  It was then I was reminded how difficult it can be to train Thai staff to work with foreigners, because I mentioned to the waitress, in nearly fluent Thai, that I would be right back.

Then, on the way out to get my GPS device, the waitress chased me like a common criminal who did not want to pay the bill.  I was a bit shocked by this, as I have been in Thailand, on-and-off, for more than 20 years, and this was the first time anyone had ever chased me!

This lack of manners by the staff soured by opinion of Miguel’s at the time, as I thought I had discovered a charming bit of Mexico in Nong Hoi.  On the other hand, I am sure this was an isolated incident and in no way should others be influenced by my somewhat unusual experience.  After all, “This IS Thailand!”

In a nut shell, the food is good at Miguel’s, albeit overpriced for Chiang Mai.

On the advise of our hotel in Chiang Mai, we drove to Mae Jo Golf Club outside of Chiang Mai.  Even with a working GPS system, it was not easy to find Mae Jo.  There were few signs along the way, but after stopping a number of times, positioning with our GPS and looking at maps, we got there!

Unfortunately, getting their was a huge disappointment.   There was no staff outside to greet us or provide any service what-so-ever.   It was around 4:30 PM on a Sunday and the course seemed empty, the pro shop was closed, and only one table of beer drinkers were in the club house.

I ordered a “Thai Ice Tea” but instead, got a glass of Lipton, which is not what I asked for.  The menu was not interesting, and there was no service.  The Mae Joe Golf Club was like a ghost town!

There were no signs, no maps, and after asking a number of people, I found the driving range.  It was a barren field with no targets, no flags, no greens, no traps, nothing.   There was no service.   It was very disappointing.  In a nutshell, I do not recommend Mae Joe Golf Club and will not return anytime soon.  There are much better clubs in Chiang Mai.

In fact, we highly recommend Stardome in Chiang Mai.  Excellent service.  Great atmosphere.  You will be greeted when you drive up.  Caddies are there from early morning until 10pm to take care of your clubs.  This list goes on and on.  Great food and menu.  Nice coffee shop with super iced lattes.   Lots of very nice staff.  Top quality driving range.   Also, second to Stardome, we recommend Lanna Golf.  More on these great clubs later.  Avoid Mae Jo Golf Club.