Fullboy - Thailand - Chiang Mai - Comfort

Our final destination in Thailand was Chiang Mai, an international anomaly in the otherwise very rural northern region. Chiang Mai is a cosmopolitan city of cafes, multi-nationality restaurants and general ease and comfort. It all proved too much for us to resist as we gorged ourselves on Mexican, Italian, Turkish and other cuisines. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality and authenticity of the food considering we were in Thailand. The one standout for me though were the most fantastic chicken, bacon, avocado and cheese sandwiches we have ever tasted. The restaurant prided itself on using organic ingredients and the food was very high quality at a very low price. The bread was homemade, baked in the onsite bakery, the chicken and bacon were freshly cooked and the avocado, perfectly ripe was sliced and layered generously inside the crusty, wholemeal burger. Avocados seemed to grow in abundance in this part of Thailand and they were put to fantastic use in this sandwich.






























Most of our evenings were spent drunk on extremely cheap, very strong, happy hour margaritas… no work the next day so why not make the most of it! On our hangover days we indulged in Thai massages and Dr Fish treatment for our weary feet. Laos was our next destination so we saw this as a chance to recharge our batteries before what was probably going to be a less comfortable journey ahead.





























We did managed to track down a handful of local dishes in Chiang Mai, one of them being an interesting curried noodle soup that has Burmese origins. The large bowl arrived and sprinkled on top was a sort of crispy fried noodle, certainly the first time we’d seen a noodle soup served up in this way. The broth had a mild coconut curry flavour and worked wonderfully with the chicken. The crispy noodles soaked up the tasty curried broth yet still retained a nice crunch and added an interesting dimension to the soup. The soup had some similarities to the southern Thai coconut curries but the spice was a lot milder. I was adamant that I was going to lose a bit of weight on our travels but the combination of calorific coconut milk and beer every day ensured that this was not to be the case!


















Another of the local specialities we tried for breakfast one morning was a laab, a dish consisting of minced meat or fish, lime juice, chopped up shallots, chillies, peanuts, garlic and coriander. It’s a sort of minced meat salad, very light and refreshing with a zingy kick. It’s definitely something I’m going to try and make when I get home. I ordered a stir fried liver with garlic to accompany and Melissa ordered a somewhat bitter and slightly muddy looking bamboo shoot and mushroom soup which she didn’t really like at all! I tried to eat some of it but also found the broth to be a little ‘muddy’ with a very strong, earthy, mushroom taste. My liver on the other hand was exceptional!












































So, after six weeks in Thailand it was time to travel to Laos, a country we know very little about. The Thai food certainly lived up to expectations but our bellies could do with a break from the coconut milk and fiery chillies! The soups and curries were absolutely amazing though, especially the Tom Yam and the Massaman, and I look forward to having a go at cooking them myself when I get home.