Breakfasts in Chiang Mai

At Akyra Manor our breakfast was included each day of our stay, at their lovely restaurant, Italics. 

They have a large breakfast menu, and each person can choose two dishes from it (they are smaller sized portions), in addition to choosing items from the buffet (juices, cereals, pastries, cheese, meats, etc.).

And if that's not enough, the servers also bring out a tiered tray each morning with fresh fruit, baking, and a hot dish.  Between the tiered serving tray, the buffet, and the menu items, we had more than enough to eat.

We had breakfast at Italics a lot, but also wanted to head out to try a few other places.

One restaurant we really enjoyed, and visited twice, was Manifreshto.  Their fresh smoothies and juices were excellent.

Another day we went to the beautiful outdoor eating area at Rustic and Blue.  Christopher had a smoothie bowl, and I barely made a dent in the massive plate of chicken and waffles.

One afternoon we were wandering and came across Fuu, not far from our hotel.  I had been wanting to try soufflé pancakes for a while, so we made sure to stop in for breakfast.

They tasted just as delicious as I expected them to, and we went back one more time before our trip was over.

The breakfast options in Chiang Mai are endless.  Khao soi is also a popular breakfast item!  I usually lean toward savory breakfasts, but the waffle from Italics, and those soufflé pancakes swayed me to the sweet side, at least for a few days.

Do you prefer a sweet or savory breakfast?

The Coffee in Chiang Mai

We learned very quickly that presentation is everything in Chiang Mai, and time and care was put into each beverage, and each meal that we had.

We watched as workers spent ten minutes masterfully preparing our kombucha at a breakfast restaurant, adding all sorts of ingredients, straining things, shaking things ...

And then there is the coffee culture; Chiang Mai is bursting with the most adorable, unique, and creative coffee shops.  They are absolutely everywhere, and we only hit a few of them.  There are some where you enjoy your coffee in a tree house, or at a table in a stream, or in tents around a campground-like setting.  Those we'll have to visit next time.

We did get to Chom, where it's like having coffee in a fairy garden.

And Ristr8o, where they take coffee more seriously than anywhere we've ever been.  They have placed and also came in 1st place in many world championships for latte art.

And now I see why ...

We stopped in a few times to try all sorts of delicious coffees.

And they are not the only place that takes coffee seriously - every coffee shop seemed to put extraordinary time and effort into each cup.  We also noticed that all the coffee shops served their coffee on a platter, saucer, or coaster, they always gave us water on the side, and sometimes a little cookie as well, and they almost always brought the cream/milk out steamed and frothed. 

Into the Woods:

The Barisotel:

Random coffee shop in the mall:

Sip and Repeat (Tea Tales):

We only ordered a cup of tea, and a cup of black coffee, but they also gave us welcome drinks (iced tea), and a slice of cake.  No matter where we went, the service was just unreal.

Fuu:

Manifreshto:

Rustic and Blue:

And Outside In:

There were also a couple more, but my phone crashed on our last flight home, and I lost everything on there, including some of our better photos from our trip, and loads of other pics 😩😭

We didn't see a single coffee pot during our entire stay.  Beans were always ground fresh for each cup of coffee, and brewed to order, using a variety of different methods, depending on where we went.

Of all the cities we have visited, we've never seen a coffee culture like there is in Chiang Mai.  There are so many cool coffee shops we still want to visit one day.  That being said, the locals love their Starbucks!  One guy told us it's just because of the brand name.

Getting back to the good service ... even the spa (which I visited six times - so cheap!!!) brought me a tray of goodies at the end of each treatment.  Tea, ice cream, watermelon and cookies:

So sweet.

What is the coffee scene like in your city?

What is your favourite coffee shop?