I tried Khao Soi at multiple food joints in Chiang Mai..
Khao Soi is a food dish popular in Northern Thailand. For my Indian readers, it is a close cousin of the Maharashtrian missal..!
Missal has poha, usal and tarri. Then topped with farsan, onion, tomato, coriander, and lemon.
Khao Soi is made from noodle, curry, crispy fried noodles, raw onions, coriander, pickled cabbage, and chilly as you please.
Missal has rassa and tarri. The tarri can be very spicy and oily. How you dilute the Tarri decides how spicy the missal will be. The same logic is used in Khao Soi as well. They mix clear soup to make it less spicy.
Khao soi’s curry is traditionally made in mud vessels over a flame on wooden and coal stove.
I tried Khao Soi for the first time at this new joint by a local woman who had just started the restuarant. She explained how she was striving to keep the traditional way of cooking Khao Soi alive. Her setup can be seen in the picture above. The aroma of Khao Soi will invite you inside the restaurant whenever you are casually passing the restaurant.
Next, I tried Khao Soi at Khao Soi Khun Yai. It translates to Grandma’s Khao Soi in Thai. The place is a small establishment with a few tables. But often will have long queues. You will see two ladies cooking and serving and indeed they looked like Grand Mas. Their setup is a mix between gas stove and traditional wooden stove.
While I waited for my food to arrive, I found a spot at a table that was being shared by multiple people. Here is where I had interactions with a 8 year old Thai girl. I noticed she had a book in front of her but she was busy scrolling on the phone. I asked her if I could take a look at the book? She asked me do you like kid’s books? I said, I like all books in general. As I started flipping the pages, I noticed that the comic was in Thai. But the pictures were talking to me. I noticed a boy wanted to eat chicken burger but even before he could eat it, the burger was eaten by his sibling or friend.Then flipping pages further I saw words like robot and AI in the page. The little girl checking on me asked if I was understanding. I told her yes, the boy wants to eat chicken burger and then he tries to make a burger. To which she replied yes, he makes the burger using AI and robot. I was surprised at the approach this comic had taken to show advanced technologies being used to make something as natural as food. The father of the girl told me the company that publishes the novel translates Korean novels to Thai. Earlier they used to have topics like trees and nature, but now the books are more focused on futuristic technologies. The girl and I chatted further and with a lot of enthusiasm she was telling me how elephants come to visit her grandfather everyday as they know him. I was amused at her innocence. They left as they were done with food while I still waited my turn. The father told me Khun Yai spot was so famous for Khao Soi that at times they had to wait for 1.5 hours for their food to arrive.
I immersed myself into the book I was reading while new people joined the table. This time there were two solo travelers. One Indian origin lawyer from Australia, other a Filipino but currently living and working in California. We chatted about our travel experiences. They both expressed how they too wanted jobs that let them travel at stretch. That was a moment where I realized, we might not always appreciate the point in life where we are at the moment, but once you were making plans to do what you are doing today, and today as you are living it, it is very important to pause and appreciate your journey.
As I waited for Khao Soi, I had lotus juice that I sipped on as I continued conversations. Soon, the most awaited Khao Soi arrived and it was totally worth the wait. The chicken was cooked perfectly. The curry was super tasty. This place definitely tops my list of Khao Soi’s in Chiang Mai.
After a few weeks I tried Khao Soi at Huen Phen. This is another restuarant that is highly rated. Their menu is very small but still has more options than Khao Soi Khun Yai. The moment you enter Huen Phen, you will be greeted with mouth watering aroma. Finding a seat at this establishment is not a problem. The food too arrives soon after placing the order. Khao Soi was tasty, it was more on a creamier side.
Khao Soi Maesai is another famous restaurant in Chiang Mai for Khao Soi.It is located in a quiet residential establishment. They have a lot of options in Khao Soi. I tried to chicken version again.
The beef version of Khao Soi is more famous, but having tried chicken and not so common Tofu version of Khao Soi. My favorite was the Khao Soi Khun Yai, followed by the new restaurant, C Zaab in Old Town Chiang Mai.
Though I loved Khao Soi, I have also met a lot of people who are not fans of Khao Soi as they find it too oily for their palette.
