If you want a good pizza or a really good pasta al forno, I have not found better than Pisa Pizza in Wen Lin Jie. Opposite Chapter One and close to the better known Teresa's Pizza.

And as I mention Chapter One, I have to say it has really gone down hill in the last 6 months or so. The service is terribly slow, and on more than one occasion, recently they have failed to get the order right. And when it eventually arrives, it is no better than alright.

As a resident in Kunming, it is nice to be able to relax back into the familiar territory of western cuisine once in a while, but it would also be good to hear of good places for local food, since that's what is eaten most often (since it is a lot cheaper than eating western stuff)

Have you ever been to Free Life Restaurant & Bar which located on wen Lin Street. Besides the yummy home made dishes, there is a full manu in English, surprise! ha! Especially in Kunming. It makes a lot easier for all of forreigners.

Sauteed Rice Cake With Chicken,Pickled Vegetable Tossed Shredded Pork, Lemon Grass With Pineapple .... What do you think these, guys?

chapter 1 gone down hill in the past 6 months? its been terrible for a long time. the one and only time I ate there, a year and a half ago was a god awful experience. the service was atrocious, the food was not fit for livestock. we spent 2 hours there. it took more than an hour to get our food after the "chef" continually forgot how to make french fries (burned several batches) and had to start all over again. the sandwiches we ordered were not the ones we received. what we got was terrible.

had the same underwhelming experience at Chapter 1. Once we were waiting an hour for the food and the waitress informed us that the cook was out buying the vegetables .The only thing decent there was the Indian so no reason go there now since that has moved down the street.

Speaking of Indian, the first time I went to Cacaja rt after it opened it was great. Since then I have been back 3 times and the portions seem to shrink with each visit. Shrinking portions and inconsistent dishes seem to be a common problem with restaurants in China. You order sth once and it's great, the second time it's horrible or it may very well have morphed into a completely different dish.

I could bore you to tears with my bad restaurant stories. One thing that I advise you is go to Chengdu if you want to experience real gongbao jiding. I can't even eat it here in KM after experiencing the real thing, usually it's even lacking 1 or 2 key ingredients such as huajiao or a little sugar.

Are the changes mentioned above just a cycle of events - just like the cycle of life?
Last week I visited Chapter One for lunch . . . the kitchen was closed. I walked over to the Prague Cafe . . . it took 55 minutes (no kidding) to deliver a simple salad -- my partner's lunch was long finished by this time. Yesterday evening I went to the French Cafe and ordered the Salad Exotique, which is described as a chicken salad but, because of the dim lighting, I'd eaten half of it before I realized that there wasn't any chicken (to be honest there were a few minute shavings of chicken, enough to fill a teaspoon) and all the assistant manager (I assume) could say was, "Sorry, we'll remember next time." I wanted to reply, "Sorry, maybe I'll pay next time!" Thank goodness, there are signs of new restaurants opening soon.

I would suggest that the obvious success of the CaCaJa Indian restaurant (Wenhua Xiang) is its management by a very experienced Indian manager who is also a professional chef, and who treats his staff well. Of course, nothing is ever perfect there, especially in the eyes of non-Indians.
Amasta

In order to not cause a confusing situation, may I be the first to suggest that this forum be closed, and future comments and reviews be transferred to the new Listings/Food & Drink section. Just a suggestion.

Silver Spoon is the BEST western restaurant by far in Kunming. Everytime I have been there, the food and service were excellent. In comparison to other restaurants of similar style it is a bit pricey but well worth it.

Silver Spoon Cafe: The Mile High Crumb Apple Pie is the BEST apple pie I have ever had, not just in China but in my life. The soups, salads and sandwiches are all great. We have't had a bad experience yet.

wow - is the silver spoon paying gokunming users?

i think Bernie's got a point about this thread - the listings system seems to have expanded loads recently - you can now post reviews of places there