Northern Food—Does It Suck, Or Does It Rock?

[Thakkar]

I have a delicate pallet. This is a result of growing up eating, at first, mild Gujarati vegetarian food and then the famously simple Cantonese food—both of which are known for simplicity and delicate preparation to bring out the authentic natural flavors. As my mom says, "It's not brute cooking and flavoring; it's teasing out and enhancing the flavors already there."

Northern Thai food is distinctly different from Issan or Southern food. There aren't many dishes that I distinctly dislike, but very few that I like enough to seek out and eat regularly. One such dish is a snack with the exquisite name, "A stroll through the garden noodle" ( Kwai Teaw Lui Suan). It is strips of (or diced, but I prefer the strip cuts—less messy) cucumber, carrot, tofu and other raw veggies wrapped in lettuce (sometimes seaweed as well) and wide rice noodle, served with chili mint sauce topped with fresh mint leaves. Simple as it is, this is not a dish that's easy to get right, and few places I've eaten at do get it right. Naturally, the veggies need to be fresh as does the noodle, which spoils quickly. The beauty of the noodle is that it has no flavor of it's own. If it has flavor, it's been sitting too long! The mint sauce is only good if it has the right balance of mintiness, sweetness, chilliness and saltiness—it's important that the chilliness and sweetness don't overwhelm. One place where it's done well is Suan Hom Khao Ram (junction of Hwy 118 & 121—see Greenside's pinned map above. Opens at six pm). Another good place to get this—and at much less than half the price, but it isn't always fresh enough, and sells out quickly—is in the Sam Yek market at the mouth of the old Sansai Rd in San Sai Noi that forks away from Hwy 118.

A desert I tried today, called Khanom Mo Kaeng is another story. It's your standard Thai custard topped with, what smelled like, fried shallots (spoiler alert—it was!). Mrs. T wanted me to try it. I keep an open mind; I know that something that doesn't smell right, like the smelly fried tofu sold on HK street corners, can taste fine. So I tried it.

I was thought at an early age, by a sharp whack to the back of my head by my mom, never to spit out food, and I rarely do so. Even if it's something I don't like, I'll swallow it (unless it's spoilt) and just refrain from eating any more. But this I had to spit out. Mrs. T liked it, which I find a little disturbing.

So which Northern food do you like the best, or can't stand?

T

[kagan]

Rocks

[PoorSucker]

Rocks.

My favourite is Khao Soi.

I can get it in one restaurant here on Koh Samui.

[kagan]

Rocks

[ARISTIDE]

. It's your standard Thai custard topped with, what smelled like, fried shallots (spoiler alert—it was!)

How about other desserts.. sweet sticky rice topped with dried shrimp or sweet sticky rice with dried fish with garlic etc..?

BTW, Northern Food like Northern Thailand Sausage rocks!

Edited April 7, 2013 by ARISTIDE

[cloudhopper]

I like khao soi gai and sai oua.

Edited April 7, 2013 by cloudhopper

[daoyai]

Lanna style larb can be good, black sticky rice, n.p. noom, gang hang ley, ..... we came here for the temples not the food dammit.

[masuk]

I sometimes go to a northern Thai restaurant not far from Nakornping condo.

They have a nice range of Lanna food there, and I have to admit I did not even try the goodies offered (in season), viz: fried bee larvae, plus other tantalising insect goodies.

They have some delightful pork dishes, but no idea what the Thai names are. For some strange reason, they are often out of my favourite dessert, bananas and coconut milk. Arroymak!

My favourite remains stir fried chicken with cashew nuts.

[Joop50]

It can be good but is prepared unheathy at most locations I've eaten. My favorit is khao soi too.

Edited April 7, 2013 by Joop50

[PoorSucker]

Rocks.

My favourite is Khao Soi.

I can get it in one restaurant here on Koh Samui.

Had to go for a quick Khao soi, excellent.

[elektrified]

That's the one thing I enjoy when I travel in the South is good Thai food. I don't like Northern Thai food at all.

[Foxman888]

Khao Soi is my favourite Thai dish, can't get enough of it. So Rocks is my answer!

[tolsti]

Anyone doing a real Kao Soi in Patong please?..... stuck without transport and the taxis/tuk tuks here are outrageously expensive.

[Thakkar]

For my tastes, Northern food tends to go overboard on most things. Either there's too much garlic, or too much ginger or too much chili, or too much sugar, and almost, always just a little too much salt.

I do like Kao Soi, but only from a select few places. There was a woman at the basement of KSK, faux market area who made excellent Kao Soi, but she's not there anymore. During the vegetarian month you get these stalls that pop up all over the place. Most of them sell terrible oily crap, but I've had some excellent vegetarian Kao Soi at some of these places.

T

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I only really want to eat Northern food when I'm outside of the North.

Favorites.. the usual I guess.. Sai Ua, Kaeng Hanglay, the chili dips, Khao Soi.

I don't care for most of the soups and curries with some notable exceptions, like the Hed Thob mushroom curry when in season.

[Thakkar]

Another tasty Northern dish: Dtam Khanoon (made with young jackfruit) with sticky rice. It tastes good pretty much everywhere I've tried it.

T

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Another tasty Northern dish: Dtam Khanoon (made with young jackfruit) with sticky rice. It tastes good pretty much everywhere I've tried it.

Yes.. though it's not something I specifically seek out or get cravings for.

[LucidLucifer]

My favourite northern dishes are gaeng hunglay, nam prik noom and nam prik ong. My missus isn't from the north but makes probably the best versions of the two nam priks I have ever eaten. Surprisingly though, she isn't keen on the hunglay at all, so I end up cooking it myself if I want some; it's very hard to find around this way....

[Joop50]

For my tastes, Northern food tends to go overboard on most things. Either there's too much garlic, or too much ginger or too much chili, or too much sugar, and almost, always just a little too much salt.

You forget the msg, and if one mentioned "no msg" it taste like they double the salt, the wrong and overheated oil and the predominant taste of other northern herbs.

Sounds snobbish but I have to because I don't feel well after eating unhealthy food.

Edited April 7, 2013 by Joop50

[cmsally]

Jackfruit salad (dtam manoon), nam phrik kha, dtam makheu, gaeng khilek, nam phrik nam pak, banana flower curry soup, dtam makweng (small bitter eggplant thingys), = some of my favourites.

[Thakkar]

For my tastes, Northern food tends to go overboard on most things. Either there's too much garlic, or too much ginger or too much chili, or too much sugar, and almost, always just a little too much salt.

You forget the msg, and if one mentioned "no msg" it taste like they double the salt, the wrong and overheated oil and the predominant taste of other northern herbs.
Sounds snobbish but I have to because I don't feel well after eating unhealthy food.

MSG: The way Mrs. T cooks, I'm grateful for it.

Good cooks don't need it, and, if they have the slightest pride in themselves, don't use it.

However I don't understand the bad rap MSG gets. It's useful for bad cooks and I suspect has saved many a marriage. Nothing I've read so far convinces me that it is bad for health unless consumed in seriously excessive quantities.

I agree about the oil. I really wish cooks here would be more judicious in its use. To some extent it can be avoided if you go to better restaurants. If a place does reuse oil, or use cheap oil, it's not hard to tell and you avoid going back there.


T Edited April 7, 2013 by Thakkar

[trainman34014]

Rocks....but depends who's cooking it. My Wife is a born and bred Lanna girl and cooks all Northern food very well. Unusually for Thailand we are all electric, and after a while to get used to it my Mrs now reckons she cooks better with it than ever because she has much more control and can be knocking up different dishes on three or four hobs. However; some of her relatives are not so good in the kitchen and it just doesn't taste the same.

My Favourite's are the same two nam prik's as LL, I could eat them every day.

[anonymouse]

Another tasty Northern dish: Dtam Khanoon (made with young jackfruit) with sticky rice. It tastes good pretty much everywhere I've tried it.

Yes.. though it's not something I specifically seek out or get cravings for.

Funny enough it is one that I seek out now and again, my wife tries to make her homemade version but it is never as good as the ladies in the market. I'm also another one that votes for Khao soi. I see and smell a lot of the traditional Northern food my mother in law eats and it when tasted has normally been as foul as it looks.

[cmsally]

omelette with Pak La (Cha om) with Nam Phrik Gapi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_pennata

Edited April 7, 2013 by cmsally

[Almera]

Northern Food—Does It Suck, Or Does It Rock?

Miguel's

Mike's Burgers

The Duke's.

Yup. It rocks.

[jaideeguy]

Generally, I don't care much for northern cuisine except for a few items.....nam prick nom, khao soi and a few others, but will not eat all the exotic 'innards' of animals especially the raw blood in laab....no way!!

I do appreciate the cuisine from the southern provinces, Issan, and further south

[tornado24]

Northern "lanna" food sucks!!! Khao soi is ok but northern cuisine is much more than that.

Pork brain in banana leaf, pork fat stew with a strange egg, lots of strange and untasty vegetables... Etc...

[Almera]

Northern "lanna" food sucks!!! Khao soi is ok but northern cuisine is much more than that.

Pork brain in banana leaf, pork fat stew with a strange egg, lots of strange and untasty vegetables... Etc...

You wrong! you wrong!

I eat 3 meals a day for 25b each and they are glorious! Glorious!

[eek]

Khao Soi Khao Soi Khao Soi..repeatedly because it deserves accolation!
And..for the record, i can eat it whilst wearing white, with chopstics and not one JOT spills or spatters upon me. Thats deftness!
NInjatastic khao soi eater!

[Thakkar]

omelette with Pak La (Cha om) with Nam Phrik Gapi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_pennata

Mrs. T and our daughters love this, dammit! It stinks up the whole place. Even worse, it's so easy to prepare there's a low barrier to deciding whether to make it. I curse the guy that invented this dish.

T