the food of chiang mai, thailand

i've decided to dedicate a whole post to photos and stories of the food that i encountered in chiang mai, thailand. as anyone who knows me or has traveled with me knows very well: i enjoy a good meal. my uncle once commented that i have "a healthy appetite" after i stayed with their family for a week, so you get the idea: i'm a fan of food. and chiang mai has been a culinary highlight of my travels!

i was mesmerized by the choice of ingredients...


... that she pounded together inside the big tree trunk for a spicy salad. everything is spicy hot.


corn and red beans in your yogurt?


most apartments around the city lack kitchens, so people either create makeshift stoves on their balconies, or eat from the plentiful street carts. the food is cheap, tasty, unidentifiable (mostly), and always available!




frog's legs ready for frying....


mango sticky rice - YUM!


smoothie me!


night markets occur most nights all over the city and of course offer lots of variety of food too! how many ways can one attempt to spell "sausage"?


she yelled at me for taking her picture... continuously... until i bought some of her tiny fried eggs.


i'll try anything wrapped up in such a leaf!


i spent one long, food-full day at a lovely cooking class!




the specialty of the day was learning to make curry paste. no matter how much you think you can take, always add WAY LESS chili than they suggest! also, remember to wash your hands several times after chopping chilis. i forgot once and i couldnt feel my nose for 30 minutes after i accidentally touched it. painful!!




we sat in little classrooms for lessons before attempting to create the tasty dishes.


best dish of the day!


the dessert was good too, though!



KFC appeals to the thai clientele by adding a nice layer of green worms to their sundaes...?


liquor counts as food, right? cheers!