I'd like to see what other foreigners think about where to go in their provinces for both foreign and Isaan food. We hear about how good the Bangkok food is a lot .but Isaan has a lot of good Thai dishes along with foreign restaurants that serve western.

I live in Sisaket province and the ones I've gone to are Hong Kong Garden, The Crows Nest and Leos in Sisaket, all of which serve both types of food and many are real good. Leos has the best pizza and cheeseburgers, with Hong Kong a close second. Leos also has a good imported beer selection.

In Kantharalak we have Pizza4U, which is okay but not as good as Leos and Hong Kong.

I've had Isaan food for decades, both here and back in New Jersey and Texas. back home the restaurant owners were from here, a favorite in San Antonio being Thai Spice and Sushi, from Korat. Excellent food. I've had Isaan all over Isaan for the almost 8 years I've lived here, in many restaurants and shops. Isaan has it's own style and dishes, as most here are aware with a lot of excellent dishes like curry with either pork or chicken and eggplant. Pad Krapow of course, Tom Yum Koong, Larb gai and Moo, Grilled Tilapia eaten with lettuce, other greens and rice noodles and sauce, and many others.

My ex was a good cook, and now my girlfriend is also, and going there weekly is a treat, as she's a better cook than the local shops here and about as good as the restaurant in San Antonio. I've eaten in quite a few cities in Sisaket and Ubon Ratchathani, Bueng Kan, Roi Et, Khon Kaen, Nong Khai, and others,along with some on the way to Bangkok on and off 24. I'd like those here to not only tell of other places in my area, but their favorites in the rest of Isaan.

Tom yum kung is from Ayuthaya not Isaan. Nice though.

Larb is ok. Krapow is ok.

Udon has the best farang food. Thai food there is limited.

Hard to find a decent massaman curry or tom kha gai there.

Udon has 2 Khao Soi restaurants but no Hang Lay. Khon Kaen has Hang Lay in 2 restaurants.

Chiang Mai has the best restaurants for northern food.

Nong Khai has good pork and Vietnamese.

I think location is pretty irrelevant now of days, unless something just isn't available at a certain location. Reason would be ingredients are seasonal, and just enough for local use.

I've had excellent Khao Soi, BBQ ribs, Kebabs, Ceviche, Pizza, Mexican, Vietnamese, Laos, Greek in Isan (mostly Udon), and none made by foreigners. One exception was one Greek vendor, though another was Thai.

My sis has small stall at night market in Udon, and can make pretty much any Thai dish, and damn tasty, best Tom Yum. Good Hat Yai Chicken vendor at same area. Seriously, anything available from all regions.

Metro areas especially have most everything, due to supply & demand.

Same with every other region of the country. Almost all available everywhere. Harder to find an 'all beef' burger in Muslim dementated areas, as love to use a lot of 'filler'. Stick with BK Whopper in that case.

Certainly don't need to be near the Gulf or Sea for good seafood, as even those areas use a lot of frozen from the chains.

Most Brit, Italian & American offerings are prepared much better by Thais, than foreigners who think they can cook. Truly the worse ever, and please stick to just balancing the books. If I can do better, you're not a Chef, stick to serving beer.

1 minute ago, KhunLA said:

I think location is pretty irrelevant now of days, unless something just isn't available at a certain location. Reason would be ingredients are season, and just enough for local use.

I've had excellent Khao Soi, BBQ ribs, Kebabs, Ceviche, Pizza, Mexican, Vietnamese, Laos, Greek in Isan (mostly Udon), and none made by foreigners. One exception was one Greek vendor, though another was Thai.

My sis has small stall at night market in Udon, and can make pretty much any Thai dish, and damn tasty. Best Tom Yum. Good Hat Yai Chicken vendor at same area. Seriously, anything available from all regions.

Metro areas especially have most everything, due to supply & demand.

Same with every other region of the country. Almost all available everywhere. Harder to find an 'all beef' burger in Muslim dementated areas, as love to use a lot of 'filler'. Stick with BK Whopper in that case.

Certainly don't need to be near the Gulf or Sea for good seafood, as even those areas use a lot of frozen from the chains.

Most Brit, Italian & American offerings are prepared much better by Thais, than foreigners who think they can cook. Truly the worse ever, and please stick to just balancing the books. If I can do better, you're not a Chef, stick to serving beer.

The foreign foods I've mentioned are really good. I've had the best pizza, BBQ, burgers, and sea food you can find in the west, and they try here and some get it right. Usually they had restaurants back home and already knew what to use and how to use it.

I'm sure some foreigners listened to their wives and opened a restaurant here, making both foreign and Thai food, with the Thais taking over the cooking, but Thais cannot make great western food unless they are shown how, by a foreign chef.

The burger places I mentioned use OZ beef, which is some of the best, and the cheese was both imported. The buns were hand made and are pretty good for being in Thailand.

I've had foreign food made by Thais and it didn't come close to how it should be. They need that foreigner there. I've had Vietnamese both in Vietnam and the US, and they were the same, because the Vietnam in the states had Vietnamese chefs.

I haven't had Mexican here, but have been told by a few that have had real Mexican, which I did back in San Antonio, that it was not good.

BBQ of course is best in Texas, and a couple friends here said the BBQ here wasn't that good either. They had Texas BBQ like I have and knew.

Leos pizza is good, but it can't compare to NYC or New Jersey pizza, along with the pizza I eat in San Antonio, who's owners came from New Jersey. It's not bad, but not close. I'm told there are a few places in Bangkok that have good pizza, and the chefs are from the US, so they import ingredients and know how, along with using the right ovens.

Thais can cook decent foreign food, as I've seen, but it still doesn't compare to a foreigner doing it. As far as the Thai food, that's what I was also asking about, because Isaan has it's own variety of dishes, along with having dishes from all over Thailand. Specific places is what I'm asking about, from those who have tried food both from here and back home. I've tried Thai food from all over Isaan, and much of it tastes much the same, with some exceptions in certain dishes. The best seafood surely does come fresh, and close to the sea. Frozen changes the food's taste. I ate in many seafood restaurants in Texas, New Jersey, Florida and Louisiana, at the shores, and they were always better than the inland ones far from the sea. Close, but not as good.

5 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

I haven't had Mexican here, but have been told by a few that have had real Mexican, which I did back in San Antonio, that it was not good.

Most Mexican, I would consider just a version of Tex Mex, and far from Mexican food. Which I've had plenty of, in Mexico, as a favorite play ground of mine, days past.

Here's good Mexican, and doesn't resemble much served in USA or TH. Except the one Thai vendor in Udon, did an excellent ceviche, and a weekly stop for me as long as he was open there.

7 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Most Mexican, I would consider just a version of Tex Mex, and far from Mexican food. Which I've had plenty of, in Mexico, as a favorite play ground of mine, days past.

Here's good Mexican, and doesn't resemble much served in USA or TH. Except the one Thai vendor in Udon, did an excellent ceviche, and a weekly stop for me as long as he was open there.

San Antonio had quite a few actual Mexican food restaurants, along with the many Tex-Mex places.

2 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

San Antonio had quite a few actual Mexican food restaurants, along with the many Tex-Mex places.

Makes sense, as San Diego had good Mexican. Mexicans cooking for Mexicans, and doesn't get any better. About the only border place I've been along the Mexican border. Usually deep in Mexico when there. Non touristy, or before ruined by tourist.

Was on Cozumel when there was only 1 bar catering to tourist, no cruise ship piers. Don't recognizes the place now. Very sad, and same with most Caribbean islands I dived and played at.

7 hours ago, Harrisfan said:

Tom yum kung is from Ayuthaya not Isaan. Nice though.

Larb is ok. Krapow is ok.

Udon has the best farang food. Thai food there is limited.

Hard to find a decent massaman curry or tom kha gai there.

Udon has 2 Khao Soi restaurants but no Hang Lay. Khon Kaen has Hang Lay in 2 restaurants.

Chiang Mai has the best restaurants for northern food.

Nong Khai has good pork and Vietnamese.

Thai food in Udon is limited? 😂😂😂😂

Any place outside the over touristy and overcharging areas like Phuket, Pattaya or mainly Hua Hin will always have the genuine Thai hospitality, quality, decency and mainly decent rates.

Not to mention that those Isaan ladies are real hotties. Not at all to be trusted in flaunting cash around them, but they are real hotties 😜

1 hour ago, youreavinalaff said:

Thai food in Udon is limited? 😂😂😂😂

Yes very limited. No Hang Lay. Massaman is rare. Tom Kha Gai is rare.

You don't know much about Udon. Its mostly Isaan food.

Nong Khai

0 Hang Lay

1 Massaman

1 Tom Ka Gai

Hard to find my favs in Isaan in any city.

Khon Kaen has 2 hang lay. Hard to find Massaman.

Isaan folks dont like these dishes much which is why they are rare.

7 hours ago, Harrisfan said:

Yes very limited. No Hang Lay. Massaman is rare. Tom Kha Gai is rare.

You don't know much about Udon. Its mostly Isaan food.

I know a lot about Udon, thanks.

I know for a fact that Thai food is not limited there.

7 hours ago, Harrisfan said:

Nong Khai

0 Hang Lay

1 Massaman

1 Tom Ka Gai

Hard to find my favs in Isaan in any city.

Khon Kaen has 2 hang lay. Hard to find Massaman.

Isaan folks dont like these dishes much which is why they are rare.

That's what you've found. You obviously haven't been everywhere in the provinces you mention.

8 hours ago, Harrisfan said:

Yes very limited. No Hang Lay. Massaman is rare. Tom Kha Gai is rare.

You don't know much about Udon. Its mostly Isaan food.

No Thai food is rare in Isaan. There are thousands of restaurants all over Isaan that most Thais will never see, let alone know the menus. Add to that the thousands of shops that have their own menus also. You'll have to speak to more locals who have been around Isaan all their lives and have friends and family all over, to know what's out there. That and spend a lot of time actually going to the outlying towns and villages, another thing most Thais will never see.

8 hours ago, Harrisfan said:

Nong Khai

0 Hang Lay

1 Massaman

1 Tom Ka Gai

Hard to find my favs in Isaan in any city.

Khon Kaen has 2 hang lay. Hard to find Massaman.

Isaan folks dont like these dishes much which is why they are rare.

While massaman is generally a southern Thai dish, it's found all over Thailand. My girlfriend has had it in Sisaket................Availability in Isan: While not traditionally from the Northeast, massaman is commonly served in restaurants across major Isaan cities (like Udon Thani or Khon Kaen) due to its widespread popularity, as noted in "Top Ten Isan Dishes" by Nakara Villas & Glamping Udon Thani....................My girlfriend has made Tom Kha Gai ( chicken galangal) quite a few times, learning it from her mom, who's from Sisaket province.

1 hour ago, youreavinalaff said:

That's what you've found. You obviously haven't been everywhere in the provinces you mention.

List 10 restaurants in any Isaan city with Massaman on the menu then.

1 hour ago, fredwiggy said:

No Thai food is rare in Isaan. There are thousands of restaurants all over Isaan that most Thais will never see, let alone know the menus. Add to that the thousands of shops that have their own menus also. You'll have to speak to more locals who have been around Isaan all their lives and have friends and family all over, to know what's out there. That and spend a lot of time actually going to the outlying towns and villages, another thing most Thais will never see.

Huh?

1 hour ago, fredwiggy said:

While massaman is generally a southern Thai dish, it's found all over Thailand. My girlfriend has had it in Sisaket................Availability in Isan: While not traditionally from the Northeast, massaman is commonly served in restaurants across major Isaan cities (like Udon Thani or Khon Kaen) due to its widespread popularity, as noted in "Top Ten Isan Dishes" by Nakara Villas & Glamping Udon Thani....................My girlfriend has made Tom Kha Gai ( chicken galangal) quite a few times, learning it from her mom, who's from Sisaket province.

Its rare in Isaan. Udon has 2 restaurants I found. In Aus 90% of Thai restaurants have it.

Isaan folks dont like curries much. They eat stir fries a lot.

Curries are much easier to find in CM and Bangkok.

1 minute ago, Harrisfan said:

Its rare in Isaan. Udon has 2 reataurants I found. In Aus 90% of Thai restaurants have it.

No, your knowledge of Isaan is limited. You, nor anyone else, including Thais themselves, has been to the countless restaurants and shops that are in just Isaan alone. Visiting a few cities and going to a few restaurants is only a fraction of what's out there. I'll listen to locals, including my girlfriend, who's lived in Isaan over 40 years with her family, what's out there, as she has relatives in a few provinces. What you found is you going around one city. In Thailand, not all restaurants are on google.

2 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Isaan folks dont like curries much. They eat stir fries a lot.

Curries are much easier to find in CM and Bangkok.

Curries are very popular in Isaan. Again, you have to know some Thais to understand what's out there, along with interacting with them and eating in their homes. My girlfriend has been making curries all her life, taught to her by her mom and aunt. They have traditional coconut milk curries, along with those cooked with Pla Ra.

I found this, which has many good dishes from Isaan, all of which I've tried at least once. My girlfriend has made these, and eats Nam Prik almost daily. https://live-less-ordinary.com/top-10-isan-food-northeastern-thailand/

1 minute ago, Harrisfan said:

Its rare in Isaan. Udon has 2 reataurants I found. In Aus 90% of Thai restaurants have it.

You really are clueless. Udon is Isaan so you will find the restaurants are predominately for the people of the area. Thus you wont see as much of the curries of the south or the soups and dips of the north. You will find sticky rice, somtam, pla ra, and kai mot daeng type dishes.

Most of the Thai restaurants in Australia, Europe, and America are serving Central Thai cuisine so they will have the broader menu. You wont find many Isaan restaurants in the west, but when you do they tend to be better and more authentic than the true Thai ones. In reality a lot of the Thai restaurants in the west serve a very "watered down" version of Thai food in order to accommodate the western palate.

Isaan has a distinct cuisine they are rightfully proud of. But I for one prefer the Central Thai take on Isaan food, the real version with the heavy use of chilies and pla rah is just too pungent for me.

1 minute ago, marin said:

You really are clueless. Udon is Isaan so you will find the restaurants are predominately for the people of the area. Thus you wont see as much of the curries of the south or the soups and dips of the north. You will find sticky rice, somtam, pla ra, and kai mot daeng type dishes.

Most of the Thai restaurants in Australia, Europe, and America are serving Central Thai cuisine so they will have the broader menu. You wont find many Isaan restaurants in the west, but when you do they tend to be better and more authentic than the true Thai ones. In reality a lot of the Thai restaurants in the west serve a very "watered down" version of Thai food in order to accommodate the western palate.

Isaan has a distinct cuisine they are rightfully proud of. But I for one prefer the Central Thai take on Isaan food, the real version with the heavy use of chilies and pla rah is just too pungent for me.

San Antonio, Texas has at least 10 Thai restaurants, all owned by people originally from Thailand and their husbands. The ones I frequented most were from Isaan, and their food was spot on as good or better then what I've had here, including the Massaman and curries. True, many of the western Thai restaurants, including some in San Antonio, did have a menu that included dishes from all over Thailand, as did those I went to in New Jersey and New York. They did make them extra hot if you asked, but for the most part, the spicy ones even I could handle, as I don't like but 2 chilis in my food at the most. My girlfriend makes dishes with up to 10, for her and her sons, but makes mine first using 2.

17 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

No, your knowledge of Isaan is limited. You, nor anyone else, including Thais themselves, has been to the countless restaurants and shops that are in just Isaan alone. Visiting a few cities and going to a few restaurants is only a fraction of what's out there. I'll listen to locals, including my girlfriend, who's lived in Isaan over 40 years with her family, what's out there, as she has relatives in a few provinces. What you found is you going around one city. In Thailand, not all restaurants are on google.

My knowledge is much higher than yours. I spent months looking for good curries they are rare. You just post nonsense.

17 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Curries are very popular in Isaan. Again, you have to know some Thais to understand what's out there, along with interacting with them and eating in their homes. My girlfriend has been making curries all her life, taught to her by her mom and aunt. They have traditional coconut milk curries, along with those cooked with Pla Ra.

Very unpopular why its hard to find them. You are quoting one family lol

The vast majority of restaurants dont have massaman on the menu.

You really are bad with statistics.

13 minutes ago, marin said:

You really are clueless. Udon is Isaan so you will find the restaurants are predominately for the people of the area. Thus you wont see as much of the curries of the south or the soups and dips of the north. You will find sticky rice, somtam, pla ra, and kai mot daeng type dishes.

Most of the Thai restaurants in Australia, Europe, and America are serving Central Thai cuisine so they will have the broader menu. You wont find many Isaan restaurants in the west, but when you do they tend to be better and more authentic than the true Thai ones. In reality a lot of the Thai restaurants in the west serve a very "watered down" version of Thai food in order to accommodate the western palate.

Isaan has a distinct cuisine they are rightfully proud of. But I for one prefer the Central Thai take on Isaan food, the real version with the heavy use of chilies and pla rah is just too pungent for me.

I already said Isaan food is more popular there hence massaman is rare.

Try reading instead of being a moron.

1 minute ago, Harrisfan said:

Very unpopular why its hard to find them.

No, if you ask Thais, they will tell you where to go to eat any Thai food you want. Curries are very popular in Isaan, according to Isaan Thais. Remember what I just said. My girlfriend has made curries all her life, taught to her by relatives and friends. A couple of restaurants in San Antonio have curries, and they're originally from Isaan.

8 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

San Antonio, Texas has at least 10 Thai restaurants, all owned by people originally from Thailand and their husbands. The ones I frequented most were from Isaan, and their food was spot on as good or better then what I've had here, including the Massaman and curries. True, many of the western Thai restaurants, including some in San Antonio, did have a menu that included dishes from all over Thailand, as did those I went to in New Jersey and New York. They did make them extra hot if you asked, but for the most part, the spicy ones even I could handle, as I don't like but 2 chilis in my food at the most. My girlfriend makes dishes with up to 10, for her and her sons, but makes mine first using 2.

Westerners love massaman. Its not popular with many Thais. I shouldnt have to repeat myself 10 times.

1 minute ago, Harrisfan said:

You wont find many Isaan restaurants in the west, but when you do they tend to be better and more authentic than the true Thai ones.

Not really. Much the same. Isaan food is ok. Nothing special to me. Tastes the same in most restaurants.