Curried Away in Thailand
by Erin Miller
(Portland, Oregon, USA)
Mango Sticky Rice
For the most part, my recollection of previous vacation travels has been pretty average. I know I have seen plenty of fabulous places in my three decades, and have experienced more than a few adventures along the way. Being able to vividly remember them is another story. For many memories, I have to settle for slightly blurry flashbacks, of which I sometimes confuse facts and events (prompting my husband to remind me that certain "memories" in fact did not happen when, how, or where I recalled.) But, there are a few things that hold the power to etch serious memories into my traveler's mind. Of those things, authentic and/or exotic foods rank high on my "permanent recollections" list.
My rule had no exception as I made my first trip to Chang Mai. Sure, the lush beauty of northern Thailand stunned me. Flourishing jungles, and dozens of Buddhist Wats will live forever in my photos. Even the rush of traveling through town in local tuk-tuks (taxis) stayed in my mind, after I was back in the states again. But those experiences pale in comparison to my favorite, most vivid Thai memories - curries, and Thai desserts! These were not what I expected and hoped for, visiting from America. They were much, much better.
I may be in the minority of Americans to think this, but curries do not taste the same in Thailand as they do where I live, in Oregon. I was surprised upon eating my first curry dish in Chiang Mai, to find that the meal was spicier and much less sweet than our back-home "Americanized" Thai curries. After my husband and I experienced this several times in Chiang Mai, we began to adapt. The initial "where's the sugar?" exclamation, gave way to "this is better when not too sweet, but I think we should order dessert afterward!" So we did. Curries and desserts. A love affair was born.
If, and when you plan your trip to Chiang Mai, please find a small family-owned restaurant to try your first curries (in my experience, the warmheartedness of the wait staffers was always second to none). For a start, I suggest ordering the dish Khao Soi (curry noodles). This is one of several dishes that you will want to learn by name, to assure you don't pass up the chance to say you tried it. And a little advice: remember names of dishes consumed in Chiang Mai, then try to find the comparable back in your home-city. You may end up finding a new Friday-night favorite when you order Thai back home, or you may realize you will need to travel back to Thailand, to experience that dish the way it is intended to be made (thus inspiring you to travel more).
I think I also grew to love food in Chiang Mai, because I found that eating these dishes is not just about the food. Often where, and when my husband and I enjoyed our meals added even more to a great food experience. I think this added to the excitement of our meals, as we spent a few days taking walking tours of the city, letting ourselves fall into random and interesting looking eating establishments. For example, try some dessert while walking through the Night Bazaar in Chiang Mai. Scoot up to one of the busy mobile food vendors (busy can translate to "popular with the locals") and ask for Roti with bananas. Roti are thin pancakes (maybe a Thai equivalent of a crepe) which can be mixed with a sweet concoction or chocolate sauce. It is hard to beat night-shopping, when eating something delicious as this (and not easily found in America). If you settle in for a sit-down dessert during your Chiang Mai pedi-tours, another fun one to try is Kaao Niao Ma Muang - sliced mango with sticky rice and coconut milk.
By the time any visit to Thailand has been complete, I hope that all visitors will give the same seriousness to exploring the food and drink, as they do exploring the fantastic sights of Thailand. It is also worth mentioning that for the price of one fast-food meal in my country, that one can eat like a king in Chiang Mai. Not bad! I have found the local food to offer excellent value for its quality. Just another reason I'm planning to get back to Chiang Mai, not too far in the future.
