Khao Soi Chiang Mai/ข้าวซอยเชียงใหม่ (สุภาพเจ้าเก่า)

Good northern Thai-style food is hard enough to find in Bangkok. Yet a decent bowl of khao soi, the curry noodle soup that’s quite possibly the region’s most famous dish, is probably the most elusive thing of all.

There are a few places in town that serve passable versions of khao soi. But most of Bangkok’s bowls are creamy, bland approximations of the stuff up north. Those that do the best versions tend to have a direct link with Chiang Mai, which is the case with Khao Soi Chiang Mai. The original owner is a native of eponymous city, who, more than 40 years ago, started selling the mild Muslim-style khao soi associated with her hometown.

Chiang Mai’s Muslim-style khao soi is not as spicy, rich or fragrant as the coconut milk curry-based broth served at the city’s more famous Thai-Buddhist-run restaurants. Instead, the dish is comprised of two parts: a thick, rich, meat-based (beef or chicken) ‘stew’ and heated coconut cream that are combined to order. The result is a mix that, when done properly (such as that served at Chiang Mai’s Khao Soi Prince), is pleasantly mild, but not bland, with a consistency somewhere between watery and creamy, and with a subtle, almost indistinguishable flavour of dried spice.

Khao Soi Chiang Mai’s is the closest I’ve come to this version of the dish in Bangkok. Again, it’s worth reiterating that those expecting heaps of chili and spice will be disappointed; both the beef and chicken versions here are very mild, the former being slightly less so. Admittedly, a bit of seasoning is required, but once done, it’s on par with versions served up in Chiang Mai. Also as in Chiang Mai, the noodles here are smooth and dense, and here are made in-house. And the khao soi is served with sides of slices of lime, thinly-sliced shallots and good-quality pickled cabbage.

They also serve the other northern Thai noodle staple, khanom jeen nam ngiaw, thin rice noodles served with a pork- and tomato-based broth:

Unfortunately the version here is neither particularly rich (as it is in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai) nor tart (as it is up in Mae Hong Son).

And like the Muslim-style khao soi restaurants up in Chiang Mai, they also do a few Thai-Muslim staples, including khao mok kai:

chicken biryani, served here very Thai-style, ie the rice appears to be seasoned with little more than turmeric, and comes accompanied with a very sweet dipping sauce; chicken satay; and ‘Muslim’ salad: lettuce, eggs and tofu served with a sweet peanut-based dressing. All OK, but the main reason to come is that rarest of things in Bangkok, a real-deal khao soi.

Khao Soi Chiang Mai
283 Th Samsen, Bangkok
9am-4pm Sun-Fri

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137 Pillars House, Chiang Mai

137 Pillars House pictures (1 of 9)

My Thai Sojourn in December 2012 with Baby G began in Bangkok, the heart of Thailand. From there, we tracked the fragrance of the “Rose of the North,” landed ourselves in Chiang Mai, the fifth largest city of Thailand that bears great historical and cultural significance. And my quest during my stay in Chiang Mai was to explore and understand as much as I could its heritage, culture and history. For that, I chose to stay in 137 Pillars House, a luxury boutique hotel with a rich and unique historical past. A quick search on 137 Pillars House will tell you that it was originally a large teak wood house built in 1889 as part of the East Borneo Company headquarters, restored to recreate its former glory and to perpetuate its fabled history.

Besides its intricate past, 137 Pillars House totally captures my fascination with smaller, hence exclusive hotels that offer greater intimacy and privacy. In its 30 carefully designed suites that capture the old world charm and elegance of the Orient in their own distinctive ways, the guests get to re-live the elegance of the past in the comfort of the present. The beautiful airy garden, bamboo tree-lined pathways, decks, ponds, and century-old banyan trees further add to the exclusivity and upper-class vibes of this gorgeous and luxurious hideaway.

The Rajah Brooke Suite we stayed in was quite possibly one of the best suites I have experienced. It comes with a poster king size bed and provides all the basic amenities for a relaxing stay, with a touch of class. What captivated me was the extended vintage tiled veranda that gave me such expansive view of the swimming pool and the Grand Lawn. I could sit there for hours just soaking in the beauty of the vine-covered wall that lines the shimmering aquamarine pool, giving it a dramatic yet natural sheen of green.

My toddler son really enjoyed frolicking in the free-standing Victorian bath in the suite while I reveled in the clear blue sky and lush greenery in the outdoor garden shower. I also traded my planned adventure at the elephant safari and meeting with the long neck beauties in the Karen Village for more relaxing time at my suite, with a butler and a concierge ever ready at our service. Not to forget that the housekeeping team was tip-top. Our suite was cleaned at least twice a day. Impressive!

Just to not feel guilty of not seeing enough of Chiang Mai, we made it a point to take a leisure walk to the riverside of Mae Ping (Ping River) to check out the dizzying array of riverside cafés, eateries and art galleries. Sipping tea and sampling scrumptious petits fours at one of the riverside cafés looking at the boats slowly cruised down the river aptly defined our relaxing and charming afternoon.

Though we didn’t do much of what tourists would usually do during their visits to Chiang Mai, 137 Pillars House compensated us with adventures of another kind. We enjoyed the tranquility of walking along the quiet tree-lined roads near the hotel, exploring the Wat Gate neighborhood, and surprised by the sight of a grand Muslim school, stumbled upon a busy Muslim market bustled with the typical activities of local Muslim community hawking fresh fruits and other local fares. Our little adventures were made very pleasant and comfortable by the cool weather of Chiang Mai. On top of that, the night before we checked out, we ran into Giada, the celeb TV Chef at the nearby night market. We were also very lucky to have the opportunity to watch MUET – a dance performance by the 18 Monkeys Dance Theatre and choreographer Jitti Chompee held at our hotel. Baby G was so entranced by the performance that he sat quietly throughout the entire performance, which was really rare!

If you are considering visiting Chiang Mai and experiencing 137 Pillars House for yourself, its Indulgent All-inclusive Package (valid till 31 October 2013) can be a very attractive offer. And if you happen to be in Chiang Mai from February to 31 March 2013, you also have the delight to feast your palette on the exquisite 9-course Degustation Dinner created by the hotel’s Executive Chef Jaiphak at its newly opened fine-dining restaurant, Palette, while appreciating the Nouveau Asian Art exhibits tastefully displayed at the restaurant. I was lucky to have sampled Chef Jaiphak’s food during my stay there—the rich and creamy tasting foie gras and perfectly seasoned tuna tartare still lingered in my mouth…

Even though I did not get to see all of Chiang Mai like a tourist should, experiencing Chiang Mai through 137 Pillars House has given me a chance to interpret Chiang Mai from a more personal, intimate, hence creative perspective. From the veranda of my suite, I saw tranquility and peace, the elixir for mind, body and soul. Isn’t that what we look for in our vacations? Well, I found mine at 137 Pillars House, Chiang Mai.

137 PILLARS HOUSE, CHIANG MAI

2 Soi 1, Nawatgate Road,
Tambon Watgate,
Muang Changmai,
50000 Thailand
Tel: +66 53 247 788
Fax: +66 53 247 780
Email: stay@137pillarshouse.com
Website: www.137pillarshouse.com

PALETTE

Tel: +66 53 247 788
Fax: +66 53 247 780
Email: fbm@137pillarshouse.com

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From Pratu Chiang Mai to Portland

This previously-mentioned photo panorama taken in Chiang Mai (click here for a larger version):

has now been installed here:

inside Portland, Oregon restaurant, Pok Pok Noi. Has anybody in Portland been by to see it yet?

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Pratu Chiang Mai

It may look like a scan of a strip of film, but the above image is actually composite image stitched together from 22 separate exposures taken at Chiang Mai’s Pratu Chiang Mai night market (click here for a bigger version).

It’s not perfect - if you look closely, there are some perspective issues that I’m not clever enough to resolve with Photoshop, not to mention 3/4 of a bicycle and some mysterious twins. But if all goes well, the panorama will be used to decorate one very long and presently blank wall at the new Portland, Oregon restaurant, Pok Pok Noi.

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MasterChefs Chiang Mai

I recently spent a few days up in Chiang Mai eating and cooking with some pretty knowledgeable and and talented folks. There was Andy Ricker, chef/owner of Pok Pok, in Portland Oregon; JJ Goode, a writer based in New York City, with whom Andy and I will be embarking on an exciting and soon-to-be-announced project; and Sunny:

Sunny, a longtime friend of Andy’s, is a native of Chiang Mai who grew up in a household that was always cooking, both professionally and domestically. Like many Thai cooks, he cooks without referring to recipes, and appears to have an encyclopedic knowledge of northern Thai cooking. I suspect that much of what is served at Pok Pok has most likely, directly or indirectly, been influenced by Sunny, and understandably so: while in Chiang Mai, I got to sample several examples of his handiwork, including a very refined salad of green mangoes, a northern-style stir-fry of longbeans and eggplant, and a yummy kaeng som, all of which were delicious.

But the most delicious and interesting dish - at least for me - was Sunny’s northern-style pork laap:

I suspect that I risk overplaying northern-style laap on this blog, but I really do find it one of the most satisfying of Thai dishes. And despite its deceptively simple appearance, it’s also one of the more nuanced and complicated Thai dishes I’ve encountered. And observing firsthand the fluency and confidence with which Sunny prepared it reminded me that, despite more than a decade in this country, I still know very little about Thai food.

A good laap starts with a good spice mixture, which Sunny’s sister makes (in fact, it’s the very one used at Pok Pok). But this time Sunny decided to made it himself, from scratch. Starting with a specific mixture of dried spices that included makhwaen, peppercorns and deeplee, he dry-fried them until fragrant, then, with JJ’s help, pounded them paste along with galangal, dried chilies, shallots and garlic:

After this was finished, shallots and garlic were fried until crispy, and pork offal (specifically skin, heart and lower intestine) was boiled along with some lemongrass, shrimp paste and turmeric, until tender:

The next step involved mincing raw pork, blood and fresh herbs with a machete-like knife (illustrated at the top of this post). This was done for a long time - at least 20 minutes - despite the fact that we were already starting with ground pork. Obviously we needed a big strong man to do this, and since I was busy taking pics, we settled for Andy. Andy’s both a talented cook and a modest guy, which is why I find it a bit strange that he insists on wearing his James Beard medal whenever he cooks:

After being fried in oil until fragrant:

the curry paste mixture was then blended with a bit of the broth left over from boiling the offal, seasoned with salt and stirred into the raw meat along with the sliced offal and the deep-fried crispy shallots and garlic. At this point - at least if you’re making a real northern-style raw meat laap - the dish is done:

I ate some (actually, quite a bit) of the raw laap, and it was delicious, with a smooth texture (undoubtedly the result of all that chopping) and a rich flavour. Sunny then took the remaining meat, and working it in a saucepan with a bit more broth and some oil, made the more approachable laap suk or laap khua, ‘cooked laap’:

We then took both laaps, a cooler of sticky rice, a bucket of greens and some grilled chicken to some of the most appreciative diners I’ve ever encountered:

Eating at, photographing and writing about restaurants and stalls in Thailand has given me something of a warped perception of the country’s food - one that in some ways contrasts with the food that Thai people cook and eat at home. It’s always an eye-opening and rewarding opportunity to be able to eat the food of and learn from talented home cooks, and I wish I could do it more often.

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Worth eating in Chiang Rai

Initially, I wasn’t too impressed by the restaurant spread in the northern city of Chiang Rai. But after several visits and an equal amount of days spent there, I eventually dug up a handful of good places to eat. So in addition to previously-mentioned restaurants Paa Suk and Lung Eed Locol Food, and the excellent coffee and Swedish pastries at BaanChvitMai, if you find yourself hungry and in Chiang Rai, I encourage you to consider the following:

Nam Ngiaw Pa Nuan:

which, in addition to a rich and delicious version of the eponymous northern Thai noodle dish, do an excellent som tam ponlamai (som tam made with mixed fruit) and a few tasty-looking Vietnamese dishes.

Nam Ngiaw Pa Nuan
Th Sanpanard, Chiang Rai
9am-5pm

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Pa Yai,

a Muslim restaurant outside of the city centre, does what were possibly the tastiest roti I’ve encountered in a very long time: puffy, light and crispy, with virtually no oily sogginess. Pa Yai also does a deliciously rich and fragrant beef curry and a slightly watery kaeng karee kai, Muslim-style chicken curry. Definitely worth the trip.

Roti Pa Yai
Th Aladin, Chiang Rai
053 718 446
6-10am & 3-10pm

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Phu-Lae:

is a longstanding restaurant that serves local-style food to Thai tourists. Not everything is great, and in general the restaurant serves a rather gentrified version of northern Thai food, but I like their kaeng hang lay (illustrated above), which is served with a generous amount of ginger and pickled garlic - both spicy, acidic foils to an otherwise rich and oily dish.

Phu-Lae
673/1 Th Thanalai, Chiang Rai
Lunch & dinner

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And finally, I really enjoyed Chiang Rai’s evening market:

which had some really tasty-looking northern-style eats. Unfortunately it was to-go only and I had neither plates nor silverware…

Cnr Th Uttarakit & Th Suk Sathit
5-9pm

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