Come and join me, I'm walking through the back streets of Chiang Mai, Thailand to explore some new culinary adventures...
Fragrant savory and sweet smells have awakened my taste buds for some good street eats in Thailand. You cannot walk 10 feet in one direction without stumbling upon some new and exotic street food. Street vendors are selling their yummy delights on every street corner. Quick, fast, cheap and fresh; these eats are the some of the finest options in the region. Your dining options might not be glamorous and the restaurant on wheels does not stay in one place for very long. However, when you see a long line of locals queuing up for a particular street food cart, you know the food has to be very good.
Just a word of caution, street food is street food and there is no FDA evaluating their health codes or OSHA making sure that they wash their pans thoroughly so you take this step at your own risk. You must use your own judgement or go with a local to let you know the recommended and safe places to explore. In addition, I live in Hong Kong so maybe my resistance might be a little stronger than yours. I enjoyed several yummy treats throughout my visit and am feeling fine.
Here are some delicious snacks and street foods from Chiang Mai Thailand...
1) Dried Bananas
2) Banana Roti are Indian style pastries that are cooked of a flat hot plate. The name means bread but the finished dish resembles a pancake rather than a pastry. The roti are made by spreading a fine, stretchy dough on a hot plate and then adding sweet fillings like bananas and condensed milk and then folding the dough over them.
3) Spring Rolls
4) Palm Sugar and Peanut Parcels: These steamed, or in this case grilled snacks, are made from wrapping peanut paste in a flour and sugar paste and spooning the filling into the banana leaves. I saw some vendors steaming them and this one grilling them, both very nice.
5) Fried Fish with Chillies, Limes and herbs. Yum!
6) Dried Fruits
7) Som Tam (Papaya Salad) and other delicacies.
8) Thai ice frozen desserts have many different toppings such as ice, sweet beans, jelly ice cubes sugar, sweet coconut milk, and many other items to numerous to count.
There were many more different kinds of snacks and street food treats to try but now I am off to do a bit of spice shopping, got to run my ride (Tuk Tuk) is here...
promenadeplantings says
Oh I adore street food. When it is good it is the BEST. all the smells, flavours, textures. all the potential treats. Thanks, it makes me want to get on a plane 🙂
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thanks for stopping by my website so I could find yours. Thailand is an explosion of yummy smells and flavors. Time to pack those bags. Take Care, BAM
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
I so enjoyed this post! I've been to Thailand once but couldn't really enjoy the street food as I was in the resort (for a friend's wedding). Love all these photos!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Dear Namiko-san, I guess you will just have to go back again....arigato gozarimashita for your lovely comment.
Yi @ Yi Resevation says
what a great blog! I am fascinated by all these different Asian cuisines you are sharing here! Coincidentally I am having a huge crush on Thai dishes at the moment!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thanks for stopping by Yi so I could find your cooking website. I love Chinese food so I know I will be visiting yours frequently. Take Care, BAM
Christy says
Indeed, Thailand is full of foodie treats bursting with flavors and spices and never fails to attract locals and tourists alike!:) What a find and I am sure you've enjoyed yourself very much there;)
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thanks for stopping by Christy. I really did not want to leave Thailand and all the great food. Even though I live in Hong Kong getting all the fresh ingredients like they have in Thailand is more difficult here. However, this is only a small obstacle and I look forward to making some more Thai dishes soon. Take Care, BAM
Kathleen Richardson says
That's just making me crave... all of them!
Healthy World Cuisine says
The best part was eating the Thai frozen desserts while riding the Tuk Tuk. One hand on the stability bar and one hand on my dessert....just for good measure.
Mary says
The foods you've selected to feature all look delicious. We loved the food in Thailand and would return in a New York minute. Happy eating :-). Have a great day. Blessings...Mary
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thanks Mary. I also think Thai food is one of the new and upcoming culinary giants of the world. Thai restaurants have opened up in many cities around the world such as Los Angeles, London, Sydney and Tokyo. However, only traditional food with very fresh ingredients grown in Thailand can be eaten in Thailand. (Do you understand what I mean by this?) It seems like even some of the best restaurants when they move abroad to start a restaurant try to cater to the local people they are serving and then some of the traditional taste of the dishes are lost. So I guess it is time to come and visit Thailand again soon and experience the traditional real dishes. Take Care
Zoe @ Pantry and Fridge says
I love your adventures! 🙂 I have friend that have visited Thailand but they, admittedly, weren't very brave and stuck to as main stream foods as possible. I would definitely have to try many things!
Thanks for sharing 😀 Love it.
Cute ride, by the way. 🙂
Healthy World Cuisine says
You like my ride??? Only in Thailand where the taxi and tuk tuk drivers are kind and gentle can you take this mode of transport. (I think your friends were smart especially if they do not travel often to stay with foods they trust. It can be an awfully long and miserable vacation if you get sick. I think my immune system is pretty seasoned as I live here in Hong Kong where there food and regulatory system is maybe not as strict as it is, in other parts of the world that everyone else is used to)
Sawsan@ Chef in disguise says
Thank you for a mouth watering tour..
My dad always used to say you have not visited a country until you go down its markets and explored the street food and farmers markets in it
Healthy World Cuisine says
Your dad is correct. You get to experience food, culture and their languages all in one visit. Thai people are beautiful, warm and caring people and no matter where I visited in the city everyone was thoughtful and kind.
gardenfreshtomatoes says
As much as I've enjoyed your cooking school exploits, I think this is my favorite post from your trip...you just captured the 'flavor' of the city in this series of photos.
Thanks so much for taking all of us along!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thanks Marie, maybe I'll send this post to Thailand's tourism team to help them boost their travel market after the latest flooding. Most of Thailand is still recovering but Chiang Mai was not hit so much so things for them are back to normal. Take Care
katyarich says
I'd love to go to Thailand,.....beautiful photos and yummy snacks, thanks to share it......
Healthy World Cuisine says
Hola Katy! Thanks for the compliment. Take Care
thecompletecookbook says
This reminds me of the streets in port Louis Mauritius - we loved eating lunch from the vendors - I do miss it terrible - especially roti and dhalpouri.
🙂 Mandy
Healthy World Cuisine says
I am glad I could bring back some fond memories for you. I loved the banana roti as well. Very tasty and very simple. Well, at least the lady making them made it look very simple but I am sure she had been doing that for a few years for several hours every night honing her skills...Take care
Kay aka Babygirl says
Some street vendors in NYC are absolutely amazing and have such wonderful food. You definitely captured street vending with these amazing photos. Great post
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thanks Kay! I know, I see there are many foodie specials on TV that cover the top 10 NYC food street stalls and they rock!! NYC is a melting pot of flavors and also a great place to experience some authentic cuisines. Take Care
Just A Smidgen says
Oh, I am so envious of you.. what I wouldn't give to have strolled along beside you tasting everything you've photographed! And to top it off with a ride in a Tuk Tuk?? priceless! What was your favorite??
Healthy World Cuisine says
What was my favorite street dish? Now that is a very difficult question as everything was so tasty. However, I think some of my favorites were the hot banana Roti and palm sugar and peanut parcels just because I was having a sweet tooth day. However, everything was fantastic it just depends on your cravings for the day. Take Care
Jill | Dulce Dough says
Oh my--those spring rolls really caught my eye! Yum! It sure looks like there are lots of delicious options to choose from.
Healthy World Cuisine says
I started my culinary adventure with spring rolls as I felt that anything that is cooked in that high temperature has to be free of any issues. However, I could not stop there as there were too many yummy things to try.