I couldn't swing an entire month this time around, but I've managed to squeeze in about nine days up in my favourite place in Thailand, the northwestern province of Mae Hong Son.
I've spent a lot of time up here, and I've been visiting the area since 1998, so I'm pretty familiar with the city's restaurants and stalls. I love the food in Mae Hong Son, but it's a small town, and the options are limited.
Perhaps in an conscious effort to avoid ordering the same old dishes, on a recent visit to Baan Phleng, we ordered luu, a dish of raw blood that I've previously described here. It's an intimidating dish -- perhaps the most so in all of Thailand -- and if you smile while you're eating it, you look like a murderous carnivore. But luu is actually relatively subtle in terms of flavour, and boasts a touch of chili heat coupled with the unique dried spice notes that characterise northern-stye laap. And as far as I'm aware, all of the people who sampled the luu pictured above are still alive and healthy.
Baan Phleng is probably Mae Hong Son's best all-around restaurant, and serves a wide spread of mostly blood-free Thai Yai/Shan-style and northern Thai style dishes.
A few slightly less-intimidating Mae Hong Son dishes to follow soon...
Baan Phleng 108 Th Khunlum Praphat, Mae Hong Son 053 612 522 8am-8pm
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