The 5 Best Khao Soi in Santitham, Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is famous for its unique food, rarely found outside of the North of Thailand and the most famous dish is probably Khao Soi. If you’ve ever tried Khao Soi, you’ll understand why this dish is so famous. If you haven’t tried Khao Soi, you need to read this list for the best Khao Soi in Santitham, Chiang Mai.
Along with Thailand’s cool cafe culture where you can find the best cafes for good coffee, Santitham is also home to the best food. Santitham is just north of the old city and is a smaller, lesser known area of Chiang Mai. This neighbourhood of Chiang Mai has everything you want and in my opinion, they are like Khao Soi specialists. Santitham is full of street food stalls selling multiple Lanna meals and Khao Soi is always available on the menu.
Related Post: The Best Cafes in Santitham, Chiang Mai
What is Khao Soi?
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Khao Soi, also spelled as Khao Soy and Kao Soi, is a mouthwatering curried soup. It perfectly balances everything that is appealing to the palette in Thailand: sweet, sour and spice.
Khao Soi includes an array of spices and herbs that blend with coconut milk to make the delicious soup to slurp. At the base there is yellow egg noodles and can either come as chicken (Ga), pork (moo) or vegetarian. Most places will put a chicken on the bone in the dish, pork comes in sliced pieces and vegetarian option will have protein or mushroom balls.
I’ve also tried a vegan version which uses a vegan style noodle instead of egg noodles. I had the vegan version in the old city at a restaurant called Tien Sieng Vegetarian Foods, Phra Sing, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200.
Some places differ their versions of Khao Soi such as adding broccoli, carrots and cauliflower but the traditional ones will always give you a side plate of red onion, lime and pickles.
Before you eat it, squeeze the lime all over the dish for the zest, and use chopsticks to add the onion and pickles throughout your meal. There’s always water stations nearby the tables for you to refill water and ice throughout your meal. You will be provided with chopsticks and Chinese spoon to eat with. After eating multiple Khao Soi dishes, I was given a fork to eat with and I physically couldn’t eat or enjoy it properly so I asked for chopsticks!
Finally, on top of this heavenly bowl will be crispy noodles to eat crispy or let them soak in the juice and raw coriander for the added blissfulness.
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Best Khao Soi in Santitham, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Small store on Santitham Road – ร้านขนมเส้นนั่งยอง.
- Stall outside 7/11 on Hussadhisawee Road.
- Food Stall at Thanin Market.
- Khao Soy Mae Sai.
- Street food stall on the corner of Charoensuk Road.
My Favourite Khao Soi
Starting with my absolute favourite Khao Soi in Chiang Mai, this tiny street food stall only sell 3 choices of food and that’s because they are special dishes. The dishes sold are:
- Khao Soi for 30 baht (large bowl).
- Khanom Jeen Namyaa which is a fish curry for 20 baht.
- Khanom Jeen Nam Nglao which is a spicy pork soup for 20 baht.
The Khao Soi sold here is one of the spiciest meals I’ve had in my life. To the point where I had to take lots of deep breaths for air to hit my tongue. But wow, this Khao Soi is so glorious, I returned time and time again! The two ladies who own this stall are part of the reason why this place is my favourite. They epitomise everything I love about Thai people. Neither of them speak a lot of English but are so friendly and helpful about the spiciness in dishes. We ate here so regularly that one of them recognised us and whenever we’d come for Khao Soi, she would personally bring us our food and make us water with ice. I’d recommend adding some sugar toward the end of your meal to help with the heat. Did I mention it was hot?
Price for Khao Soi: 30 Baht
Address: 8 Santitham Rd, Tambon Chang Phueak, Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai, Chang Wat Chiang Mai 50300.
Khao Soi in an Unexpected Place
Wherever you go in Chiang Mai, a 7/11 will never be more than 100 yards away. They are everywhere! They are also the best corner shops I’ve ever been to because they have everything convenient. The local 7/11 I used everyday in Santitham has a vendor on its doorstep selling a couple of Thai meals and fresh fruit. One day, I decided to try their Khao Soi on my quest to find the best Khao Soi in the area! I was pleasantly surprised, and happy that good Khao Soi was so close.
They have a little dining area around the side of 7/11 or they do take-away Khao Soi that comes with all the usual trimmings. A tip I picked up from locals is to peel the boiled eggs that are on the table and add for something extra to your Khao Soi.
Price for Khao Soi: 40 baht
Address: 7/11, Hussadhisawee Rd, Tambon Chang Phueak, Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai, Chang Wat Chiang Mai 50300.
Thanin Market Khao Soi
Thanin Market also known as Siri Wattana Market has so much food on offer it can get overwhelming. The market is separated into departments like fresh fruit, bakery, snacks and the main food court in the centre. At the very end of the food court, just before you enter the fresh food market, is a stall selling only Khao Soi and noodle soup. Here is where I had the tasty curry with the best crispy noodles on top I’ve had anywhere in Chiang Mai!
Price of Khao Soi: 40 baht
Address: 169 Ratchapakhinai Rd, Tambon Chang Phueak, Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai, Chang Wat Chiang Mai 50200.
Read Next: What Else to Eat in Chiang Mai
The Famous One
Khao Soy Mae Sai is a very popular place to try Khao Soi. It has been written about lots of times and claimed to be the best Khao Soi in Chiang Mai. It is located in Santitham and so I had to try for myself. As soon as I walked in, it was jam packed and the staff run like clockwork: some cooking, some taking orders, delivering food, washing up. They serve a creamy Khao Soi, a less spicy version in my opinion and was definitely tasty. Not my personal favourite, but a busy place and worth a visit!
Price of Khao Soi: 45 baht
Address: 29/1 Ratchaphuek Alley, Tambon Chang Phueak, Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai, Chang Wat Chiang Mai 50300.
Join a Communal Table for Khao Soi
Right on the corner of a chaotic junction lives a charming street food stall. It has a few table and chairs along the wall but the main place to eat is a long communal table. The communal table has all the condiments, cutlery, herbs and vegetables ready for you and enough space to sit about 20 people. This place is always busy and for good reason. The Khao Soi is fragrant and you’re given a good portion to eat.
Khao Soi Price: 40 baht
Address: 2 Charoensuk Rd, Chang Phueak, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 5030.
Tips
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- Be sure you can handle the spice before asking for extra spice (I’ve made this mistake).
- If the locals are eating there, it’s got to be good (all the places above have regular customers).
- Take your own chopsticks and spoons. To buy these from Amazon, you can search here – Find Reusable Chopsticks on Amazon
- If you want to give it a go yourself by following the Khao Soi recipe, read it on BBC Food here.
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