In August, we’re cooking from The Food of Northern Thailand cookbook by Austin Bush!

Khao soi, a chicken -or beef-based curry broth made rich with coconut milk, fragrant with a mild dried spice mixture, and bulked out with wheat-and-egg noodles, is without a doubt Chiang Mai’s— if not northern Thailand’s— most famous food item…

Today, most vendors in Chiang Mai attribute khao soi to the Jeen Haw, Muslims of Yunnanese-Chinese descent who, as early as the sixteenth century, plied a web of overland treading routes that linked Yunnan, northern Thailand, and Mawlamyine (in present-day Myanmar). In the early twentieth century, some Jeen Haw began to put down roots in Chiang Mai, predominately in the area east of the walled city known now as Ban Ho (“Jeen Haw Village”), or in English as the Night Bazaar. It is approximately this period that we begin to hear about khao soi, a dish that was allegedly sold and eaten exclusively by the Jeen Haw. But just about every long-standing vendor of the dish in Chiang Mai claims that the khao soi prepared by their predecessors bears little resemblance to the dish we know today. 

Several vendors told me that the original khao soi included noodles made from rice, not the current wheat-and-egg variety. Others mentioned that the early version of the dish was topped with minced meat stir-fried with pickled vegetables, not the larger cuts of curried meat that we know today. And nearly every body agrees that the original khao soi did not include coconut milk, a defining element of the contemporary dish. ..

น้ำพริกหนุ่ม NAAM PHRIK NUM $12

a northern Thai-style dip of grilled chilies, shallots, and garlic, serves with market vegetable (v)

ลาบไก่ LAAP KAI $12

a salad of minced chicken sautéed with curry paste, shrimp paste, fennel, rau ram, cilantro, mint (gf)

ข้าวเหนียว STICKY RICE $2

Available after 3pm:

ข้าวซอย KHAO SOI SHORT RIBS $17

muslim-style curry, wonton noodles, coconut milk, ginger, mustard greens, red onions, hot oil

ข้าวซอย KHAO SOI MUSHROOM & TOFU $16

muslim-style curry, wonton noodles, coconut milk, ginger, mustard greens, red onions, hot oil (veg)

(We have rice noodles for gluten-free and vegan khao soi.)

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v=vegan

veg=vegetarian

gf=gluten-free

Pricing includes tax. We accept cash & credit cards.

Menu may change slightly when something unforeseeable happens. No reservation is needed. No ticket is needed. First come first served. Counter service only. Please help us bus your dishes at Sante Adairius. If you plan to bring a large group, we recommend prepay and preorder food at least 4 days in advance.

WE REALLY REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR BUSINESS. KOP KUN MAK KHA!