Lanna aromas and a sticky rice culture
In Chiang Mai, start northern food with a bowl of khao soi. You get soft noodles, crispy noodles and a rich curry broth together. For the next meal, have herb-scented sai ua and nam prik ong, a tomato dip, with sticky rice. It is a northern table quite different from a noodle dish.
Choosing a meal in Chiang Mai
If you want a light lunch, choose khao soi. On a day of sharing several dishes, order sai ua, nam prik ong, sticky rice and vegetables together for a northern Thai meal.
In the north, sticky rice is eaten with several side dishes, vegetables and nam prik. The khantoke meal, with food laid out on a small tray table, also shows this food culture. Khantoke is not the name of one dish but of the table and style of dining in which several dishes are served.
Khao soi, sai ua and nam prik ong are eaten not only in Chiang Mai but in other parts of the north too.
Pick a dish you would like to try. We explain what it tastes like and what to eat it with.
The rich curry broth and the texture of two kinds of noodles are its character. The noodles on top are crunchy at first and slowly soften as they touch the broth. Taste the broth before and after adding the accompaniments, and you can enjoy different flavours in one bowl.
Khao Soi: taste and how to eat it →
The richness of pork is joined by the aroma of herbs and chilli seasoning. Its character is an aroma different from the sausages you know. The heat varies with the recipe, so if it is your first time, you can start with a small piece.
Sai Ua: taste and how to eat it →
The tang of tomato and the savoury depth of pork are joined by chilli seasoning. When the soft sauce goes with crunchy vegetables, different textures blend. The heat differs from maker to maker.
Nam Phrik Ong: taste and how to eat it →A fruit's famous growing area may not be where you buy it today. Check the season and taste, then pick the fruit you want to eat.
The flesh is sweet, and the aroma differs with variety. There is a black stone inside the white flesh, so you take out the stone as you eat.
Longan: season, taste and how to eat it →
The white flesh is sweet, and depending on the variety you can also feel some sourness. You peel the rind and take out the stone in the middle.
Lychee: season, taste and how to eat it →
Ripe mango has a soft, sweet taste. Some green mango varieties are eaten for a texture different from ripe mango, so you need not assume that every green one is unripe just by its colour.
Mango: season, taste and how to eat it →
You enjoy the sweetness and acidity of citrus together. The taste differs with variety and ripeness, and the flesh can have seeds.
Thai Mandarin Orange: season, taste and how to eat it →Khao soi, sai ua and nam prik ong are eaten not only in Chiang Mai but in other parts of the north too.
If you want a light lunch, choose khao soi. On a day of sharing several dishes, order sai ua, nam prik ong, sticky rice and vegetables together for a northern Thai meal.
If you want to read more about these dishes and regions, these sources are a good place to start. Ingredients and cooking methods can differ from one eatery to another.
