I initially read about this place in a Guardian article where it mentioned the "cosy garden setting" where the chef "grills boneless strips to crispy-outer and tender-inner perfection". Recently I was recommended it again by David from David's Kitchen who said it's one of his favourite restaurants in the city.
Apparently it's often known as "the Crispy Chicken place", due to their most famous dish, Chicken Cherng Doi (ไก่ย่างเชิงดอย). He also recommends the Fried Som Tom (ส้มตำทอด), Pork Steak Jowl (สเต็กหมู จิ้มแจ่ว) and Som Tom Corn (ส้มตำข้าวโพด).
Just like at Som Tam Udon, you are given a paper menu written in Thai which you have to write on to make your order. Luckily they have an English version and a helpful menu with photos.
I ordered the crispy chicken, sticky rice and fried som tom (papaya salad). The chicken comes with a delicious thick sticky chilli sauce. The chicken, sticky rice and sauce all go really well together and are really tasty but not mind-blowing.
The fried papaya salad is really weird. It's interesting and I'm glad I had it but I wasn't much of a fan. I think it would be better as a shared dish, which is really how restaurants like this should be enjoyed. Otherwise it's too greasy for one person to eat.
The normal papaya salad is fine but it's very small and I think they made it non-spicy for me so next time I'll ask for more.
It's a great little place and it's worth a visit just for the chicken!
After repeated visits, my current order when I'm hungry is: 1 crispy chicken (85B), 2 papaya salads (35B each, 2 or 3 chillies per salad, no dried shrimp), 1 or 2 sticky rice (10B each) and maybe finish with coconut ice cream (25B, save a bit of sticky rice to go with it).
