Kao Soi: The Competetition Face Off

[eyecatcher]

Kao soi is to farangs what Som tam is to Thais It is in a word, soothing. In two words its comfort food. Tender chunks of chicken simmered in a curry sauce laced with coconut milk and served over thin egg noodles. It’s then garnished with crispy fried egg noodles, chopped pickled cabbage and red peppers…..Hungry already?????

Not my personal favourite by any stretch…..but I am bored so I thought we (me and a.n.other) would spend the last week just seeing how one dish can vary from place to place. (actually not all my reviews and photos….I did the cheaper ones, )

Perhaps the next time you go out and order Kao Soi you may want to review what you have eaten with similar criteria. I didn’t give it a “ring of fire” or “star” rating as that’s probably unfair, just an appraisal.

It would be interesting to build up a long list of approved kao soi joints or those to stay clear of........

For comparison kao soi gai (chicken) is the order

KAO SOI RAM DUAN

Colour: Light yellow colour as to standard recipe

Noodles: Deep yellow colour. Soft and slick texture. Easy to chew when eating.

Crispy Noodle: Non oily light yellow colour noodles contrasting nicely with a sprinkle of coriander.

Soup: Delicious; a combination with a spicy taste of ingredients and slight sweetness. A touch of coconut milk adds a true flavour to the dish

Meat: Use of the upper wing of the chicken gives a filling taste

Side Dish: Pickle cabbage, lemon, red onions, grilled chilli

Price: 35bt

Value: Good portion for the price. One dish fills your stomach.

Ambience Décor gives a sense of history added by the warm hospitality and smile from the owner

A Must Try: Kao soi nua (beef) beef is well marinated and slow cooked

Suggestions: Not to wear white shirt whilst eating.

Location; 352/22 Charoenrad Road; T.Watkade

Open hours: 8.30-16.30

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KAO SOI FUANG FA

Colour: Light orange colour contrasting to the green chopped onions

Noodles: Light yellow similar to egg noodles. Soft , flat, and small noodles are unique at this place.

Crispy Noodle: Non oily crispy light yellow noodles

Soup: The rich coconut milk gives a full bodied taste. All ingredients are homemade resulting in a unique soup that is not as thick as other places.

Meat: Thigh part of the chicken is sliced into easy to eat portions.

Side Dish: Pickle cabbages similar to kim chi, lemon, red onion, grilled chilli

Price: 35bt

Value: Large portion giving value for money

Ambience: A more relaxing atmosphere with a reasonable number of seating serving Islam meals.

A Must Try: Pa pak kao soi which is made from steamed rice and sliced into noodles. Served with kao soi soup or clear soup, this dish is a must.

Suggestions: Pickle cabbage similar to Kim-chi should be well mixed into the kao soi to give best taste.

Location: Soi 1 Charoenprathet Rd, adj Baan Hor Mosque

Open hours: 07.00-21.00

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KAO SOI NIMMAN

Colour: Appealing yellow colour(despite the stolen photo from their website!)

Noodles: Deep yellow coloured, sticky but soft noodles, very fresh.

Crispy Noodle: Non oily, deeply fried noodles, can also be ordered as an appetiser or snack

Soup: Rich ingredient recipe is the uniqueness of the dish together with the freshly made coconut milk which also offers a nice kick.

Meat: Well marinated large thigh of the chicken is used to give a rich taste.

Side Dish: Pickled cabbage, lemon, red onions, grilled chilli

Price; 50-109bt

Value: Good serving size for the money, one dish is filling.

Ambience: Looks more like a coffee shop rather than your typical kao soi restaurant. Décor is well designed for a relaxing dining experience with wi fi for customers.

A Must Try: Kao Soi Jumbo for 109bt where customers can choose upto 5 toppings such as fried pork, northern thai sausage, fried eggs, northern fried pork, squids or shrimps.

Suggestions: The chef is the owners aunt and her dedication in serving every meal will require a waiting period especially during lunchtime.

Location: Soi 7, Nimmenhaemin road

Open hours: 11.00-20.00

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KAO SOI SAMMUA JAI

Colour: Unique yellowish brown colour that differentiates to other places

Noodles: Light yellow noodles with moderate texture making it not too soft or too hard when chewing.

Crispy Noodle: Non oily deep yellow noodles, same same.

Soup: Full bodied soup is the result from freshly made coconut milk and quality ingredients.

Meat: Wing part of the chicken, unusually.

Side Dish: Pickle cabbage, lemon, red onion grilled chilli

Price: 30-40baht

Value: Large servings per bowl.

Ambience: With a lot of customers, the restaurant feels lively. There are also food kiosks selling other foods such as northern Thai sausage, som tam, pork satay and other fried dishes

A Must Try: Kao soi cee krong moo(spare pork ribs) and kanom cheen nam Gniew (white noodle, pork and liver)

Suggestions: Choice of food in the afternoons will be limited.

Location: 391 Charoenrad road, Tanon Fah Haam

Open hours: 08.00-17.00

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KAO SOI MAE SAI

Colour: Lovely orange colour, well presented with coriander leaf, crispy noodle and a big chicken leg

Noodle; Bahmee luang yellow noodle, soft and tasty.

Crispy Noodle: Non oily, fresh and a good portion.

Soup: The traditional kao soi colour in my opinion, light texture and the spices hit you after 2 minutes.

Meat: A good sized chicken leg, very tender, very filling.

Side Dish: Pickle cabbage, red onions and 3 whole grilled chillies.

Price: 35bt

Value: This place just has to be better than I give it credit, with the amount of customer turnover. One portion certainly enough.

Ambience: Very lively, most tables occupied for the full 3hr lunch period 11-2, many customers take away and stand around waiting. Don’t let this detract, people watching is also fascinating, but for a relaxing meal forget it..

A Must Try: Kanom cheen nam gniew, a plate of white noodles with Laab style pork and liver only 20bt a plateful.

Suggestions: Get there earlier rather than later, the demand for kao soi is such that you could easily be disappointed with them having sold out.

Location: Ratchaphuek road; off Huay Kaew road (opposite shell station)

Open hours 08.00: 15.00

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GRAND LANNA

Colour:Yellowish orange colour contrasting beautifully with the white coconut milk and crispy noodles.

Noodle: Yellow colour and very soft.

Crispy Noodle: Non oily, yellowish to brown colour noodles served with fresh coconut milk

Soup: A true blend in taste. The rich ingredients gives a full body texture together with a slight spicy taste. The coconut milk gives it a unique flavour.

Meat: Fresh chicken is cooked and sliced into small portions enough for each serving.

Side Dish: Pickle cabbage and red onion are diced into squares, juicy lemon, fresh grilled chilli and decorated with carved carrots.

Price: 240bt +7%vat +10% service charge.

Value: Good portion when compared to the higher price. Quality and taste exceptional.

Ambience: For an exceptional service and food experience, the Grand Lanna is a must. Service is of the highest standard while dining in a Thai wooden house, even the forks and spoons are luxurious. There is both air con or open air seating. Overall ambience relaxed and spacious.

A Must Try: Kao soi Nua (beef) is diced into portion sizes

Suggestions: For those that do not eat spicy food, be careful with the grilled chilli as it is extremely HOT

Location: In the Mandarin Oriental Hotel; 51/4 sankampaeng road, moo1 tanon Tasala.

Open hours: 11.30-14.30 and 18.30-22.30

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NUMBER 9 RESTAURANT

Colour: A soft orange colour, but difficult to see under the noodles and chicken

Noodles; Yellow egg noodles, soft and tasty.

Crispy Noodle: Light and crispy, generally eat them first

Soup A very strong coconut milk flavour that tones down the colour to a soft orange colour. Not spicy at all, tourist strength, but chilli powder always available.

Meat: Sliced chicken breast, many pieces, taste fabulous, no messing with bones and grissle

Side Dish: No side dish, tourist style.

Price: 60bt priced at tourist rates

Value: Has to be my favourite kao soi of all, its not a snack it’s a challenge. It is just piled up with goodies, so presentation a bit of an issue.

Ambience: Roadside, can be noisy and dusty, nice mix of tourists and Thais generally, Run by the whole family but “mum” is the cook, a great place to watch the world go by.

A Must Try: Pak bah mee luang gai. Mixed vegetables, yellow noodles and chicken supplied with chopsticks. Not seen any other restaurant sell this.

Suggestions: Don’t be afraid to speak up, if you are waiting to give your order, the family often very busy and can all be in the kitchen preparing.

Location: T. Moonmuang, Soi 9 corner

Open hours 08.00-21.00

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NAM MAE PING

Colour: A surprising light brown colour (huh?); no hint of yellow or orange

Noodles: Flat yellow egg noodles, texture good.

Crispy Noodle: Dark yellow/orange deep fried, tasted burned or just old

Soup Quite a thick soup tasting more like Massaman curry than kao soi, colour quite brown and lacking in chilli paste.

Meat: Well cooked chicken thigh, good quantity of meat, very tender.

Side Dish: Pickled cabbage and red onion only.(They have bottled lemon juice on the table)

Price: 35bt

Value: Where else can you sit in a mid range riverside restaurant, and feel you are being treated to the best Northern Thai foods for 35bt. Recommended.

Ambience: Relatively new restaurant, very clean, spacious and relaxing, good background music and water features. Staff not intrusive or hanging on your shoulder.

A Must Try: Freshly made pork filled wontons, deep fried 49bt for a dozen or so

Suggestions: If you like spicy perhaps request as I have a feeling they tone down the spices if they know the dish is for farang.

Location: Chaingmai/Lamphun Road, T Watgate, Nawarat bridge.

Open hours: 10.00-21.00

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JAMES KAO SOI

Colour: Disappointing orange colour with marbled coconut milk floating (like oil on water)

Noodle: yellow egg noodles, pretty standard and managed to get this right.

Crispy Noodle: non oily, crispy but small sprinkling only.

Soup: Very thin, the marbled coconut milk on the oily globuled surface unappealing but surprisingly tasty but not spicy.

Meat: A meaty chicken leg, size ok but very pink near the bone., slightly concerned.on undercooking.

Side Dish: Pickle cabbage and red onion, slice lemon; thrown together in a dish.

Price: 30 baht

Value: Many other places streets ahead in quality, taste; but in isolation fair price.

Ambience: Very quiet, peaceful, never seen it busy sitting but many takeaways. New business and still re modelling. Thai owners.

A Must Try: Khuaytio Tom Yam (Thai palette recommended)

Suggestions: It’s a new business, they are preparing other foods for an extensive menu. Give it 6 months to perfect what they sell.

Location: Soi 17 Nimmenhaemin, opposite republic bar, and sushi restauarant.

Open hours: 09.00-20.00

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[beb]

Nice run down. I'll definitely try to run some of these down. Thanks.

[Genericnic]

+1

David

[KRS1]

Khao Soi Mae Sai should best be experienced with the beef Khao Soi, so tender it will melt in your mouth.

[Semper]

Khao Soi Mae Sai should best be experienced with the beef Khao Soi, so tender it will melt in your mouth.

Sounds perfect for us old expats with bad/nonexistent teeth.

[barefoot1988]

im surprised i dont see khao soi mae manee, its abit run down though. khao soi maesai is great as well but the niman one pales in comparison imo. the broth from maenee is really thick and savory, i once eat 3 bowls over there and stained my white polo tees pretty badly. thats the only thing i hate about khaosoi

[TommoPhysicist]

I thought it was Mae Nam Ping

They also do a very good Geng Hang Ley (Traditional Lanna pork curry) for 45bht

[arunsakda]

I really like the Khao Soi at Silomjoy restaurant actually. I'm sure someone will chime in to tell me it's crap. Not trad but I like not having to deal with a rubbery chicken leg complete with yellow skin and gristle. Big fan of Kao Soi Hmu as well.

[alaninlamphun]

Khao soy lamduan for me the best ive had but i dont look further,i do agree with others that it would be nice not to deal with bones!

[KRS1]

I really like the Khao Soi at Silomjoy restaurant actually. I'm sure someone will chime in to tell me it's crap. Not trad but I like not having to deal with a rubbery chicken leg complete with yellow skin and gristle. Big fan of Kao Soi Hmu as well.

but i like chicken skin and gristle

[Mickeem]

1.) Khao Soi No Name next to **&%$# market, sorry it's a secret.. and staying that way. 35B for a huge bowl. In 12 yrs only seen one other foreigner there.

2.) Doi Pui Hmong village - A Muslim family run this resturant on the left hand side as you walk up the shop lined street from the car park, they have been there for years, now extended and refurbished - very small chicken leg but lovely thick curry broth made with fresh spices, with HOME MADE pickled veg (Pak Dong) with mild chilli and shallots, this makes a big difference as most Khao Soi places just get their pickled veg from the nearest market.. Nice mountain view at the rear of the resturant. 40B does beef also 50B? If you would like to recreate the dish at home they sell Khao Soi and packets of fresh spices to take home.

mmm

[bkkjames]

If in Bkk and of need of a fix, on Wednesdays only during lunch there is a little restaurant on the quiet soi (daytime) of Patpong. On your left about 100 meters down from Silom. Very busy with local Bangkok office workers on their lunch breaks and farangs like smokes who are having a snack before going to bed.

[smokie36]

If in Bkk and of need of a fix, on Wednesdays only during lunch there is a little restaurant on the quiet soi (daytime) of Patpong. On your left about 100 meters down from Silom. Very busy with local Bangkok office workers on their lunch breaks and farangs like smokes who are having a snack before going to bed.

Off topic. Anyway that is past my bedtime.

[jackr]

1.) Khao Soi No Name next to **&%$# market, sorry it's a secret.. and staying that way. 35B for a huge bowl. In 12 yrs only seen one other foreigner there.

Different venue but same here, though in 8 years I've never seen another in it bar visitors.

Nice list though, op.

[rakchaingmai]

I love the khao soi at lampang lud rot behind the old siam t.v really nice and meaty soup and has it's own distinct flavour which i can't seem to find anywhere else.

[terminatorchiangmai]

1 Foodcourt Pantip plaza , the best thick gravy Khao Soi i have eaten so far.

2 Doi Pui Hmong village

[rakchaingmai]

+1 for doi pui hmong village i really like it there also .

[eyecatcher]

+1 for doi pui hmong village i really like it there also .

Where is this exactly.....not as far as it sounds I hope?

[TommoPhysicist]

+1 for doi pui hmong village i really like it there also .

Where is this exactly.....not as far as it sounds I hope?

Twice as far up the mountain as Wat Doi Suthep, past Puping palace.

At the fork, down the left road with the arch over it.

About 50m into the village shops on the left.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/myplaces?hl=en&ll=18.816343,98.88287&spn=0.002468,0.004823&ctz=-420&t=h&z=18

Not all that special and 50bht a bowl.

Nam Mae Ping (between Dukes and the big bridge) is far better and 35bht a bowl.

[eyecatcher]

+1 for doi pui hmong village i really like it there also .

Where is this exactly.....not as far as it sounds I hope?

Twice as far up the mountain as Wat Doi Suthep, past Puping palace.

At the fork, down the left road with the arch over it.

About 50m into the village shops on the left.

https://maps.google....z=-420&t=h&z=18

Not all that special and 50bht a bowl.

Nam Mae Ping (between Dukes and the big bridge) is far better and 35bht a bowl.

Thanks for that.....

and thanks for suggesting I go back to Mae Nam Ping (as per their menu), I dont want to review it twice.

Ive been quiet on here for 2 days,, didnt realise I could run as fast as i could to the bog, the ring of fire feels more like the ring of plastic.....need to review my last place.....was I suspicious of anything.......Kao Soi James...enough said chaps

[KRS1]

+1 for doi pui hmong village i really like it there also .

Where is this exactly.....not as far as it sounds I hope?

Twice as far up the mountain as Wat Doi Suthep, past Puping palace.

At the fork, down the left road with the arch over it.

About 50m into the village shops on the left.

https://maps.google....z=-420&t=h&z=18

Not all that special and 50bht a bowl.

Nam Mae Ping (between Dukes and the big bridge) is far better and 35bht a bowl.

Ive been to Mae Nam Ping , but i really do believe that the khao soi here is more geared to farang taste. Bland and boring.

[T_Dog]

Kao Soi is indeed something that makes Chiang Mai the place that it is. Have eaten at a few of those places but the best I have found (since the old Chinese guy near Bann Pong Yang Nai closed down) is up in Mae Taeng at the Kao Fae Cafe. (kmz file attached.) This place is one of those trendy cafes that is popular with the tourist crowd from Bangkok so it is sometimes over run in the high season, but well worth it. Difficult to find, it is merely a few parking spots in front of gate on the side of the road, and there is parking inside the gate.

Color: Appealing light brown yellow.

Noodles: Tasty and perfectly cooked.

Crispy Noodle: Crispy, yellow, delicious on their own, and served warm. Topped with a bit of parsley.

Soup: Very rich, stocky and full with a bit of attitude. You won't leave a drop.

Meat: A whole leg cooked so that it falls apart as it should. (I always take off the meat and set the bone aside before imbibing.)

Side Dish: Pickled cabbage, lemon, red onions. Red chillies on request.

Price; 45 baht

Value: Perfect.

Ambience: Trendy open timbered shop with heavy timber tables and adjacent coffee shop.

Suggestions: Sometimes they offer a Kao Soi pasta dish with shrimp.

Location: 300 meters past the turn off to Pai on HWY 107 in Mae Taeng, just past a gravel and rock yard.

Open hours: 11.00-15:00 so lunch only.

Kao Fae.kmz

[Semper]

Sounds like the posters does'nt have a wife who could make this simple dish at home.

[KRS1]

or like going outside to get away from the wife

[Semper]

or like going outside to get away from the wife

Good point.

[skills32]

There is a restaurant in the Lanna Golf Club complex (it faces Mae Rim rd) that also does a good Kao Soi. A delicious soup with all the trimmings.

Order mai phet if you don't like chillies.