Khao Soi

Almost every restaurant we walked by in Chiang Mai had gorgeous, colourful menus outside to look through, so it was easy to decide where we wanted to eat, and what we wanted to order.

But, I'll make it even easier - if you ever decide to visit order the khao soi!

Northern Thai food is different than the Thai food you typically get in North America.  The cuisine is strongly influenced by Burma/Myanmar, and Laos, and the most popular dish is khao soi, which can be found on pretty much every menu.

We actually first tried khao soi in Las Vegas at Lotus of Siam, which was the only Thai restaurant we had ever seen it at.  We fell in love with it, and decided to visit Chiang Mai because of this amazing dish.

The broth is a combination of a Thai red curry with an Indian curry, and then it has noodles, meat (usually chicken, but you can also get beef or pork), and crispy egg noodles on top.  It is served with a plate of pickled veggies, shallot, chilies, and lime, and all of these things need to be added for the full taste experience.  It is the epitome of flavour, and we could not stop eating it.

After eating khao soi at numerous restaurants, we have to say our favourites were from Khao Soi Khun Yai:

And Khao Soi Mae Sai:

Both are little outdoor restaurants that have been there forever, and are frequented mostly by locals.  And at $1.75 a bowl, you might just need to go back for seconds.

I miss khao soi already, but you better believe we'll be working to perfect this dish at home.

How is your week going?

Have you ever traveled somewhere specifically for the food?

If you had to pick one place to travel to, just based on the cuisine, where would you go?