Chiang Mai Feb'07

This is a somewhat backdated post but I felt it was quite necessary to talk about this really fabulous burger joint I happened to eat at while in Chiang Mai.

I was in Chiang Mai for a couple of days earlier this February with CK and his parents and it was a really nice, laid back trip. I enjoyed myself immensely. Other than the nice weather (22 deg in the day, 15-17 deg at night), a very memorable Elephant trek cum day trip and the beautiful handicraft available at the famous Night Bazaar, there were some pretty good stuff I ate too.

Yummy Mike's Hamburger

Most notably, was Mike's Hamburger, a stand that is located on the corner of Chaiyapoom Road and Chang Moi Road along the east side of the moat. We ordered a bacon cheeseburger and it was really what a hamburger should look like: Massive chow that is sinful down to every bite. Every burger comes with one gigantic onion ring, another item they claim to be famous for. It was really good, in fact one of the best burgers I've ever tasted. There are pork burgers to be found too.

A very famous restaurant in Chiang Mai which most, if not all, locals here are familiar with is Huen Phen. A northern thai restaurant, this place is famous for the local noodle dish of Khao Soi. Basically curry noodles with half the noodles in gravy, topped with the fried version of the same noodles. The Khao Soi here has a fragrant curry taste that needed no additional flavouring (a bad habit of mine is to always add-on to flavouring) so that speaks volumes.

Spot the 'fish curry'...it's on the LHS plate with the pandan leaf hidden behind the Khao Soi

One thing I must mention is that the Northen Thai taste was nothing like the sweet, sour, spicy taste we expect of Thai food. To be honest, it always veered on strong, pungent and at times just plain weird. Just to give you an example, we ordered a dish of 'fish curry' from Huen Phen but instead of fish arriving steaming hot in a bowl of gravy, the fish was actually pan fried and covered in a dry curry paste!! But if there was one thing I like about Northen Thai food, it is the fact that sticky rice is the rice of choice. I agree sticky rice went better with local dishes as it brought out the flavour well. Nice to eat on its own too.



Well back to something more familiar to us, I sampled a very delicious Orh Luak and Carrot Cake at one of the day markets. The Orh Luak was nicer than the carrot cake and to my surprise, many people in Chiang Mai spoke Teochew!

As for the market, Chiang Mai indeed has some very fascinating markets that could easily rival Fremantle market or Queen Victoria Market. So if you are looking for a 2-3 day trip with a laid back itinerary, do visit Chiang Mai. I like the overall vibe. It's really very very relaxing.