Chiang Mai flower festival

Fun and Beauty

Village festivals of Chiang Mai, Ban Patan (Pratan)

There is not a single month without a festival in the area of Chiang Mai. The major trend at the moment is that the smaller villages have their own festivals, with a walking street, lots of food, traditional dances and of course a live band and some fair amount of local whisky consumtion. From Ban Tawai, to Bo Sang and Muangkung to Ban Patan. It seems that every village in Chiang Mai is engaged in some kind of handicraft production and therefore promotes its own festival.

     

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Sa Mer Jai - Khao Soi - Part 3(3)

Just by the river Ping we enjoy a lunch at the famous Khao Soi (Khao Sawy) Sa Mer Jai. ( ร้านข้าวซอยเสมอใจ)

At lunch time the place fills up with Thai people, all proving that this place still provides great taste and value for the money. This restaurant is an institution when it comes to typical northern Thai style Khao Soi. There are quite a few restaurant down by the river in this area that seems appeling by the way.

In our case though we were more impressed by the fantastic northern Thai dish, Gaeng Hangley , than the Khao Soi noodle curry soup.

Gaeng Hangley is a sweet, sour and spicy pork curry, cooked for a few hours in a ginger-tamarind sauce. It’s not that easy to make a perfect blend of sweet sour and spicy but here in Sa Mer Jai- simply a perfect balance! Gaeng Hangley is also a popular choice at kantoke, northern Lanna Thai, dinners where its served with khao niow (sticky rice). Sa Mer Jais selection of colorful Thai desserts that mostly are based on coconut milk or egg were also impressing.

After lunch we relaxed at Wat Faham temple nearby, enjoying the silent flow of the muddy brown Ping river together, with a fresh brewed coffee from the local “buscafe”!

Kao Soi Sa Mer Jai

Telephone 05324 2928

Coordinates: 18°48'14"N   99°0'17"E

Adress:

391 M.2 Jalernraj.Rd

T.Fahar. A Muang

Chiang Mai

© Text, Per Sundberg

© Photo, Jan Friman

Join us for Khao Soi - Part 2(3)

Khao Soi Islam-  Khao Soi the Haw (Ho) Muslim way

If you are on the night bazaar street in Chiang Mai, you also happen to very close to a small side street which is home to the most typical lunch dish in the north. On Charoen Prathet soi 1, you will find the roots of Khao Soi.

Charoen Prathet ("improve the country"), soi 1 is a narrow street inhabited of Chinese Haw Muslims. Once you enter the soi you feel more like you are in Malaysia or Indonesia than Thailand. You can see a big mosque, Muslim tailors, Hassans mobile shop and yes indeed a few Khao Soi restaurants. On the Charoen Prathet street, Chinese Haw Muslim caravans ended their long journey from the south of China, and these Haw traders introduced the dish to the northern parts of Thailand, Shan - Burma, and northern Laos. 

Try Khao Soi Islam restaurant, they have been in business for around 50 years. The present owner khun Wanida Lertpunwilai said that her parents couldn’t come up with a catchy name, therefore they decided to name the restaurant after the main dish they served, that is Khao Soi the Haw Muslim version. 

Khao Soi Islam serves a Khao Soi close to Yunnan’s version, but slightly modified for the northern Thai market. The coconut milk is lighter then in the thai verison. The original yunanese style seems to have been served with a clear soup and rice noodles. Where and when the coconut milk came in to the picture is somewhat of a mystery? Some people say it can be traced to a Burmese noodle dish, someone says Shan origin and someone claim it might come from the royal cuisine of Bangkok. I try to ask in every restaurant where I eat Khao Soi and the owners all have different answers. In Khao Soi Islam the egg noodles are not strongly yellow colored and they are a bit slippery (the owner claims that the yellow color used can cause to cancer). Not everyone has this idea, someone say the yellow color comes from the healthy tumeric herb. Chicken or beef Khao Soi are the trademarks of the restaurant, but also a vegetarian version can be served. The small pickles are also sweeter then what you get in the normal Lanna Khao Soi and the chili paste is claimed to have a touch of Sichuan spiciness.

This restaurant is a personal favorite when it comes to Khao Soi in Chiang Mai. Why? Well, the dish really has a very unique character in this restaurant. Maybe its just imagination but Khao Soi Islam’s Khao Soi feels like a dish quite true to the origins when the dish was first introduced in Thailand.

- The Price?  Just, 30 baht!

The service is fast, and many of the other dishes on the menu are also worthwhile testing. For instance try their spicy beef curry or their crispy fish snacks.

Khao Soi Islam is one of these restaurants that doesn’t look inviting at all from the outside, but just see the crowd at lunch time and the continuous flow of people throughout the day and you will understand that there is something about this place. So don’t miss out. Later on, you can compare it to eating Khao Soi in some of the other famous northern thai restaurants and compare the difference between the styles of Khao Soi.

Text and Photo: ^PS

Join us for Khao Soi - Part 1(3)

Food of the Southern Silk Road - The history of khao soi
When you come to Chiang Mai. Forget all about chicken with cashew nuts, beef in oyster sauce and sweet and sour pork. Try Khao Soi instead, one of the dishes really associated with northern Thailand. But what is today a typical northern thai dish has ,according to some ,a shanburmese name and roots back to southern China (in chinese the dish is called something like "ming") and even the Turkish-Muslim cuisine. 

The history of this popular lunch dish actually gives testify about the entire region's ethnic diversity. It tells about exciting cultural meetings, where the trade between different areas created a whole new food culture in the region. Khao Soi appears to have been introduced to Thailand by chinese haw muslims from Yunnan. The haw, in their turn, are originally a turkish people from Central Asia, that in the 13th century worked for the great Khublai Khan to guard the Yunnan region, while he was planning his invasion of the Pagan Empire in Burma.

In return for their effort, they were offered to take chinese wifes and several generations later, they have adopted a more chinese appearance. 

Haw people became over time the southern Silk Road merchants. Trade between Yunnan, Thailand, Burma and Laos relied on on them, and while they were trading they spread their food culture as well, and when it met tai/shan culture. The splendid taste of modern khao soi was the result. One addition from tai culture is said to be the coconut milk. Khao soi later spread throughout Chiang Mai, since this was the city where the trade caravans finished. Later on when more and more haw chinese came to work on the railway between Chiang Mai and Bangkok, the haw kitchen gained even more influence (see Early travelers of Chiang Mai).

Khao Soi is in many ways the ultimate composition of food. It consists of coconut milk, fresh egg noodles, and on top, crispy yellow egg noodles, a kind of chilli sauce, lime, and then topping with pickles, shallots and dried chilli if you so desire. In most cases it is based on chicken. It can also be made as a vegetarian dish if you wish. 

The fun is to see when foreigners are served a bowl of khao soi the first time. Chopsticks and a spoon are provided!

- Eating soup with chopsticks - the puzzled tourist exclaims!? 

So then, Khao Soi isn´t really a soup, or to put it more correct; it is more than just soup!

Khao Soi is a  curry noodle soup. The dish is best described that way. Not as simple as soup and more than noodles - the ultimate blend of curry, soup and noodles. I mean why have only soup when you can have curry and why eat only curry when you can add noodles. Just Brilliant! A well-cooked Khao Soi really satisfies the needs of your taste buds, strong, mild, slightly sweet, sour ,and slight touch of bitternes, which comes from the pickled vegetables.

Please join us for Khao Soi at The Northern Rose. We will be presenting some of Chiang Mais Khao Soi restaurants in our upcoming posts.

You can also find other storys related to khao soi on the TNR Reference Archives [@Twine_official]

^PS

The Northern Rose Developers Blog

Introducing The Authors Uncut on The Northern Rose Developers Blog

Be Cool in Thailand, Go North!

After the merit making for 10.000 Buddhist monks, the street of Nimmanhemin in Chiang Mai has been hosting two larger events.  The first one was NAP (Nimman Street Art and Promenade จัดงานที่นิมมานเหมิ) which took place between 5-9^th December on soi 1- the soi of design and contemporary art. Just as the name say, this was an opportunity for designers and artists to show their work. Closing the street for traffic turned soi 1 in to a "pedestrian paradise". 

Then to be in phase with the climate conference in Copenhagen, Think Green (10-13^th December) –  an initiative to promote the future of environmental friendly Lanna architecture, took place opposite Amari hotel. It seems that by focusing on the traditional Lanna type of house much can be won in terms of green housing. The event also put some focus on rediscovering bamboo- the plant of life.

However, Nimmanhemin is primarily a place to go people watching. December is the time when Thai people go north, it seems hugely important for some Bangkokians to show up at trendy places and coffeeshops (such as Wavee coffee) in winter clothes at this time of the year.

Text: ^PS & Photo: ^JF

Guide to Nimmanhemin - Street of Fashion and Trends Northern Thailand

6.09, Magical Lanna mornings - When 10.000 monks appeared in Chiang Mai

Saturday 28th November, at 6.09 in the morning, busload after busload with saffron colored monks are entering Nimmanhemin Rd in Chiang Mai.
 
According to the organisers 10.000 monks from different parts of Thailand, Burma and Laos are participating in this form of meritmaking, or Thambon. This is the term for merit making and function like a kind of religious bridge between the layman and the monks, who are the reservoirs of merit that the laymen morally can benefit from. Except from the benefit of meritmaking itself, money and food donations are also given for various benefitting purposes.

I have always been impressed by the large number of monks walking through Mae Hong Son or Luang Prabang in Laos at dawn.
This, event was however of an entirely different magnitude. The sidewalk full of people waiting to pay respect to the monks, many of them dressed in white holding the buddhist symbol of a lotus between their hands. The monks in their turn are taking pictures themselves and the event. They seem to be enjoying themselves while preparing their walk through Nimmanhemin.
 
This amazing event is a kick off for a lot of happenings that will take place in Nimmanhemin area and other areas in December.
December is the month when Nimmanhemin really comes alive with jazz afternoons and “walking streets”. There is also the Royal flower show in Ratchapreuk Gardens starting on the 1:st of December running all through the 10:th of December.

Thenorthernrose.asia will of course make an effort to envision these illustrious events. We warmly welcome you to join us in some of the most colorful events in Chiang mai.

Text and Photo: ^PS