A little dinner with your Hong Thong?

Creating the perfect bite of food in Chiang Mai, Thailand

The more time we spent in Thailand, the more obvious it became that the best way to find a great place to eat was to follow your nose, and look for the red and blue plastic chairs. Seemingly synonymous with ‘delicious’ all across the country, it took us little time to figure out that where we found the chairs, we would find the local folk enjoying truly authentic local food.

Lucky enough to have such a place just a few steps away from our hotel in Chiang Mai, we took a seat at a wooden table with a view of the open air kitchen (essentially just a wok, vent, and refrigerator), and ordered up a couple bottles of Chang while we decided what to eat. Where to begin…where to begin? The menu was filled with recognizable favourites, and as usual we had arrived hungry and fully ready to indulge. Pad Prig with seafood and Larb Esarn were ordered to start. I delighted in how well the Chang paired with the lightly spicy and slightly sweet curry that clung to the crisp green beans and wedges of local eggplant.

Two more beers were ordered, along with two more plates of food. This time we asked the owner to bring us his favourite dish. Off to the side, his wife worked furiously at the wok. Handfuls of fresh veggies and ladles of secret sauces were expertly combined at an almost maddening pace in an effort to keep up with the steadily increasing number of patrons filling the seats.

We noticed that the people next to us had pulled a bottle of something called Hong Thong out of a rumpled paper bag. They poured it out into little glasses to be passed around the table. Well, of course we had to try some.  Spying a bottle up on the counter, we wasted no time in asking the owner to pour two servings, “however everyone around here drinks it.”  A shot of liquor and a splash of soda water filled our glasses and we toasted to another great night of eating in Thailand.  The light bodied whiskey drink went down dangerously easy.

The next round of food arrived. This time it was chicken with cashews and pad see ew. The chewy rice noodles, thinly coated with brown sauce were divine. There was more Hong Thong. American music played on the stereo.

It was now officially dark outside, and we celebrated under the lights of the menu board, quite comfortable in the now-familiar glow.  People’s laughter grew more robust. Hong Tha Thong, Thong, Thong (you know, like the chorus to that Sisqo song…) We ordered more food. All of our new friends looked at us: amazed. I think they even cheered us on.  A bowl of Tom Yam Kung and a plate of Phat Khana Mu Krop were brought to our table. Things were definitely getting hazy at this point. We would possibly eat our way through the entire menu in a single night… I had a drunken epiphany when I came to the sudden realization that eating Thai food while intoxicated is spectacularly easy. No balancing grains of rice, or attempting to capture slippery noodles with wobbling chopsticks- food inevitably falling down the front of one’s shirt. All you have to do is push the components of a perfect bite into the hospitable cradle of a spoon and relish the mouthful of flavor. Genius!

I don’t really remember leaving… or how much longer we stayed to eat or drink Hong Tha Thong, Thong, Thong…but, I do know that we had made a bunch of new friends- of that, I was certain. For the remainder of our time in Chiang Mai, every time we walked by this special little restaurant, everyone smiled and waved. (We did go back while we were in town- just to make sure that we actually did eat everything on the menu!)

I don’t know what this place is called, but it is hard to miss! Here is a map. And if you’re worried about missing it, here is a streetview. Just look for the lighted menu above a little counter with outdoor seating. (Across the way is a convenient store and another little restaurant). Everything was tasty…I don’t think you can go wrong- and don’t forget your glass of Hong Thong!