Savoury Foods that are actually made out of icecream? Awesome! That is how we reacted when we saw the sign for an icecream concept restaurant called icedea – Ice(cream I)dea at The Ring, Nimmanhaemin Soi 17, Chiang Mai, Thailand. There was no doubt about it, we were going to experience what this icecream themed restaurant had on offer.

icedea is situated on the ground floor of The Ring complex, next to a Yoga centre. I could imagine people going to a two hour yoga class and then stopping in to the restaurant for an icecream sundae afterwards. Looking at the signs outside, we were getting excited by the possibility of sampling one of everything. It all looked so artistic!

Venturing inside the restaurant was a treat for our eyes. It was very funky and clean lined. Almost french looking. The below is a photo of what it looks like inside the restaurant. The photo doesn't really do it justice. There was a lot to look at, toys for children to play with, and things to buy…

And now to the menu. The menu was just awesome! How could sweet food be made to look like savoury food? I still don't understand! It is just mind blowingly awesome!

We looked over the menu on the board and chose two “meals” – Tonkatsu box set and a Teriyaki set. How exciting! After choosing our meals, we had to choose our icecream flavours. This was hard. There was so many flavours to choose from.

Asahi Beer, Red Bull, Earl Grey, Green Tea, Tobacco (yes tobacco!), Cheddar Cheese, Tofu… the list goes on. We tried a few of these different flavours including the cigarette flavoured icecream. Cough Cough. It really tasted like cigarettes. In fact, all the icecream we tasted actually tasted like the real thing!

We patiently sat in the restaurant area watching the girls work behind the scenes. We were unsure how our icecreams meals were going to taste. How they were made even. We received free drinking water while we waited and were able to enjoy the free wifi on offer. Got to love a cafe that offers free wifi and water.

Out came our meals. The Tonkustu box set came out first. At first glance, it really did look like a Japanese deep fried chicken box set. At second glance, it still did, and the third and fourth look!

Red Bean Icecream was shaped into a savoury chicken shape, covered in bread crumbs and then deep fried quickly so to not melt the icecream in the middle.

It came in a bento box with crushed wafers, cream, mixed nuts and a mini fruit salad. The dipping sauce was actually chocolate sauce! Delcious!

Andrew ordered the Tokoyaki Icecream Bowl. He had to choose three different icecream flavours, but now he can't remember what he ordered except for strawberry.

The icecream was at the bottom of the bowl, and on top was the “takoyaki balls”. These were bits of banana deep fried and topped with crushed wafers, cream, chocolate sauce and a little fresh fruit on the side.

This meal was tasty although didn't have the same visual effect as the Tonkutsu Box Set.

We really enjoyed eating at the Icedea Icecream Restaurant in Chiang Mai. We have since heard that there is a restaurant in Bangkok also. If you are ever in Bangkok or Chiang Mai, we highly recommend a visit.

iceDea Restaurant:

Chiang Mai: The Ring, Nimmanhaemin Soi 17, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Bangkok: 75/1 Sukhumvit 81 Road, North Parakanong, Wattana, Bangkok 10260 Thailand

website: icedea.net