Chiang Mai has a wide range of menus across the city, from Italian to Japanese, Thai to American. For anyone living here or even just visiting, the options are endless. If you can’t decide what menu to try tonight, why not try one of these new restaurants?

For those of us who get caught up in the inner-city lifestyle, it is hard sometimes to escape the concrete walls and venture into the nature which surrounds Chiang Mai. Here are three places that help you formulate that perfect excuse to escape town, be it to enjoy the views of the mountains with a fresh coffee in hand, or to do a bit of unique shopping at an organic garden market.

Ice cream shops, yoghurt parlours and iced goodies are all the rage these days.

If you weren’t on Nimmanhaemin on October the 9th, then you missed our spectacular Wine Crawl, where 160 of you came along for an evening of wines, games, and good fun. Here are three new venues which hosted the crawl this year and which you really must check out.

Whether it is a luxurious spa, a calorie-ridden cake or a sweet setting to while away the afternoon while stuffing yourself, these three treats are just for you.

With the number of tourists out-doing itself every year, the population on a steady incline, and major development projects dominating the landscape, Chiang Mai definitely has its fair share of modern growing pains. To help us take a step back and get a feel for simpler days, we put together a list of some of our favourite timeless Chiang Mai classics.

The growth of the city’s coffee culture has been quite spectacular with coffee shops, from the trendy to the homey, opening up all over the city. Here are some of our faves this month.

Time for a change of scenery? Run out of jokes to tell your local bartender? Here’s some new friendly spots around town that are as welcoming as they come, and the perfect drinking holes to hang out with old pals and make some new ones.

Be Green, Be Local, Be Organic, Be Italics…

In a land where it’s easy to grow pretty much anything under the sun, Chiang Mai offers a plethora of meat-free dining options. Going the extra mile and finding vegan cuisine can be a little trickier however, so we hit the pavement to bring you a list of seven mouth-watering, vegan-friendly diners and cafes around town.

From northern curries perfected over time, Italian cuisine to satisfy any critic, to expert steaks and connoisseur coffee, these new spots around town are doing what they do and doing it well.

Rainfall and sunshine grow a lot of things that do a body good, and Chiang Mai is home to many people that know how to grow them just right. Brought to you by love, care and diligence, are these seven toxic-free organic markets that offer you all of the good stuff, with none of the bad.

Take an extended lunch break or enjoy an even longer dinner at one of these three new establishments offering quirky but top quality food. With motorcycle themes and Asian takes on burgers, there seems no end to the amazing minds of some of Chiang Mai’s newest restaurant owners.

Chiang Mai’s plethora of coffee shops is almost impossible to exhaust, and even harder to choose a favourite from. Explore the forever growing coffee scene by popping into one, or all, of these local caffeine connoisseurs for a delicious cup of joe paired with homemade baked goods and an atmosphere that will keep you coming back.

Manfred Ilg, General Manager of the SilverNeedle Collection’s award-winning 137 Pillars House in Chiang Mai has this week announced the appointment of Thiti Thammanatr as Executive Chef, overseeing all culinary operations at the hotel including its award-winning signature Palette Restaurant.

Sink your teeth into some exciting new menus our city’s chefs are producing inspired by world cuisines ranging from Spanish tapas, Japanese curries to all American burgers.

Looking for somewhere new to grab a bite to eat or sit and enjoy a previously unseen angle of your favourite city? Then check out these three new business offering delicious food, exciting new drinks and a new place to see Chiang Mai buzz and thrive.

A chicken’s foot in my soup. A CHICKEN’S FOOT IN MY SOUP! Floating around like a wizened old witch’s claw in amongst the vegetables and lump of congealed blood. I don’t mind the blood, or most of the vegetables, but how can there be any possible benefit, conceivable excuse or imaginable additional taste sensation attached to the culinary abomination that is a severed chicken’s foot? Feet should never be floating in anything, unless they are attached to something that is splashing around in a swimming pool or bobbing about in a Jacuzzi. This is not to in any way deny that Thai food is some of the most delicious on the planet. But, a chicken’s foot…in my soup?

Whacky gambit? Innovative trendsetter? Gimmicky theme? Creative ideas? Brand new styles? Whatever they are, these places are like no other in Chiang Mai, and all deserve your special attention.

Patcharapong “Pete” Tantanasin, 28, owner of Chiang Mai Rice Life, returned home to his family restaurant business after his studies in graphic design in Australia and soon left the air-conditioned comforts for the paddy fields, where he learnt how to become a farmer.

Thailand is synonymous with rice. We eat rice daily (well, until 7-Elevens popped up everywhere) and many of our customs and traditions have come from rice cycles and activities. We even have a national holiday in homage of rice – the Royal Ploughing Day. So this month we thought we would bring you three restaurants where rice isn’t just served as a staple afterthought, but where the white grains of joy are the actual star of the show!

I’ve done something terrible. Possibly unforgivable. Something I want my family and loved ones to know I regret deeply. It’s not the first time I have done this, but, if I can be forgiven – perhaps allowed a second chance and with the help of Jesus – I will never do it again. There will be some of you who can relate to this, and, if you cannot, then please let my story be a warning, an exemplar and a deterrent. I went to McDonald’s. I done a McDonald’s. I paid a visit to, I called on, I whored myself to a McDonald’s. I chased the dragon through the Golden Arches.

Misty, moody, and densely populated, Hong Kong is an island metropolis packed with a tessellation of gargantuan high-rise buildings and streets that offer a never-ending variety of sights and smells. A mere three hours’ flight from Chiang Mai (and it being school break and all) why not grab your family and swap the hot, sweaty Thai summer for something a little bit cooler and a lot more unknown? So when Hong Kong’s first low cost airline, Hong Kong Express invited Citylife for a fam trip, we thought it would be rude to say no.

Chiang Mai, unlike Bangkok or Pattaya, is thankfully not known as a city of vice. However, the less angelic amongst you can still indulge in some good old fashioned cardinal sins whether you are feeling just a bit gluttonous or downright naughty, here is a quick guide to satisfy that little devil on your shoulder.

The rumour of monks serving free lattes on silver platters was so quintessentially Chiang Mai I hardly dared get my hopes up. But having rushed off to Sankampaeng to check it out, I can now speak from experience that yes, in between temple duties, studying Pali and Sanskrit, spiritually guiding the flock and staying true to Buddhist precepts, the monks at this temple also double up as baristas.

Burger joints are opening up city-wide and is all the rage these days. You can have a posh beetroot bunned foie-gras burger at a white table-clothed restaurant or hang out by the side of the road at 2am and chow down on some greasy fries and a dodgy bun.

Wongnai.com, Thailand’s largest online food site lists nearly 8,000 restaurants in Chiang Mai. Here are just three new eating venues we have discovered this month.

Check out these indulgent afternoon teas, perfect for those lazy and relaxing rainy days.

My Jewish ancestors searched 40 days and 40 nights centuries ago and today I found myself on a similar hunt. This time not in search of the land of milk and honey but instead in search of matzo.

If you need a break from the heavy holiday feasting, why not jump on Chiang Mai’s recent salad train with one of these delicious and nutritious eateries (or just say you’re going to a salad restaurant but secretly order a steak, up to you).

If one thing can be said for sure of modern Chiang Mai, it’s that we can’t seem to get enough cafes. Check out these three new spots, where you can get your caffeine fix as well as a spot of food and spend the day soaking up the atmosphere.