Thai Food is Number 1
I’ve always loved Asian food, and Thai (even from Canada) was always a preferred choice (along with Japanese sushi, and Vietnamese cuisine).
Thai food is full of fresh ingredients, is prepared with a vast knowledge of a variety of spices, lots of tender meat, and accompanied by great pastes, sauces and toppings. I have travelled to over 60 countries, and I would have to say that Thailand tops the food choice and deliciousness tests.💖
I honestly did not have a bad meal in northern Thailand. I kept saying “this is the best meal”, then I’d eat something else and repeat what I’d just said.
However, if I had to pick one dish it would be the Pad Lo Mai (Glass noodles with Bamboo) that my sister-in-law made. It was incredible! If you live in northern Thailand, you are probably already familiar with her brand of spices ‘Piyaphat’.
The night food market outside the north gate of the old city in Chiang Mai did not disappoint either, and I’d have to give full points for the mussel omelet on a bed of bean sprouts (which I had two evenings in a row because it was so good).
The Sunday night market in the old city was spectacular, not only for the variety of foods on offer, but also for the incredible array of everything you could think of to buy. I had grilled corn-on-the-cob, the best curry chicken bao I’ve ever tasted, and a pandan[1] coconut pancake.
1928 is a small restaurant just inside the moat on Sri Poom Road. I had their black sesame in ginger tea and their delicious fried bread for breakfast a couple of days. It was marvelous.
If you love fruit as much as I do, Thailand will be heaven for you. There is coconut 🥥(in all its amazing forms), mango🥭, longan, watermelon🍉, guava, grapes🍇, passionfruit, bananas🍌, and a multitude of other fruit just waiting to pleasure your tastebuds!
Here are some of the photos of food from this trip! Regarding my photos: please excuse the half-eaten dishes or empty plates, I often was too excited to eat and would forget to take a photo first.😋
L-R: Piyaphat spice; half-eaten mussel omelet from the Chiang Mai nightly food market; more stalls at the food market; Deb R enjoying some fried bread and ginger tea; the cook at 1928 frying bread; Tom Yum bowl (after I finished); half-eaten squash custard - yum (from the Chiang Kham market); spicy papaya/apple salad; mixing bowl of the delicious Pad Lo Mai after being served and half-eaten; spice blends and red stick tea from a rest-stop in northeastern Thailand; sweet mango sticky rice; roasted Nori seaweed potato chips
The food is more than a feast for your eyes! The cooking aromas and the complexity of flavours will keep you coming back for more!
I must give a big thank you to Piyaphat for introducing me to so many Thai dishes. She kept me constantly full of delicious food! 🥰
[1] I wish I had taken a photo of the pandan pancake - for westerners who may never have heard of ‘pandan’, I recommend this post on The Spruce Eats - https://www.thespruceeats.com/cooking-with-pandan-3217067
P.S. I will write a separate post about Vietnam’s food (and coffee) - so stay tuned!
