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Manila Bulletin devider Lifestyle devider Food devider On a food trip to Chiang Mai

On a food trip to Chiang Mai

At the street food market, it is close to impossible to find food that isn't good.

Published Feb 22, 2024 05:35 am
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CHIANG MAI DELIGHTS From left: Hummus, Khao Soi, and lamb over colored Basmati rice

My Valle Verde badminton group is always on the lookout for inexpensive trips to Asia. Early last year, we booked a trip to Chang Mai and Bangkok for the last week of January 2024. We were a group of 34 people all out on a food trip.

We arrived at Bangkok airport early in the morning for a connecting flight to Chiang Mai. There was no time to go out and eat so off we went to the fast food area of the airport. There were a lot of stalls of various cuisines, but I zeroed in on a crispy fried chicken with chicken-flavored rice and sautéed bean sprouts. The quarter chicken, extremely crispy, was delicious enough on its own, but it went with three sauces to choose from. I tried them all and the best was the brown coriander sauce with patis and chili. A little dab on the rice and crispy chicken was all it took to make the chicken go from delicious to divine.

I went around telling everyone of this new discovery. And this was just our first Thai meal—at the airport at that. I promised myself to visit this place on the way back. After an hour, we landed in Chiang Mai ready for our next food adventure. Chiang Mai is full of tourists. Shopping is plentiful, food is great, and many say that making marijuana legal has boosted the economy. There are dispensaries inevery corner. I guess those who take simply have a food trip. The most popular dish in Chiang Mai is called khao soi, a coconut curry chicken noodle soup. Mildly spicy, it is a play of flavors as well as textures. Sarap!

That evening, we went to Kao Soy Nimman, a Michelin star restaurant that specializes in khao soi. The khao soi was great—unfortunately it was the only delicious item on the menu. At night, we would just go to the street food market and see what dish called us. Trying to eat healthy, I’d always get a green papaya salad. To make this tastier, they would pound a talangka with the sauce. Mildly spicy, it has always been one of my go-to Thai dishes. I ordered a crispy fried barramundi with wansoy sauce, crispy fried chicken wings, kang-kong, and boiled and tender pata.

At the street food market, it is close to impossible to find food that isn’t good. After three days of eating Thai, I suggested a break and we opted for Middle Eastern food. I passed this shawarma place called Istanbul, whose lamb and beef combination was so authentic. Next day, we all had lunch there. I ordered lamb chops with colored basmati rice and a hummus for appetizer. All very good. Istanbul is just along
the main road.

Chiang Mai is not as progressive as Bangkok but it’s worth visiting. We had our fill of temples. Some even took cooking lessons. It was nice to see the differences in culture and cuisine. I got tired of khao soi though, so this early, we are looking at Hanoi for our next food trip!

Are you interested to join our Korea food tour, from March 2 to 7, or our Japan food tour from March 25 to 30? Text Melody at +63 917 62 42 819 or email [email protected]. Happy eating!

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Manila Bulletin Lifestyle Sandy Daza
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