Initially, I wasn't too impressed by the restaurant spread in the northern city of Chiang Rai. But after several visits and an equal amount of days spent there, I eventually dug up a handful of good places to eat. So in addition to previously-mentioned restaurants Paa Suk and Lung Eed Locol Food, and the excellent coffee and Swedish pastries at BaanChvitMai, if you find yourself hungry and in Chiang Rai, I encourage you to consider the following:
Nam Ngiaw Pa Nuan:
which, in addition to a rich and delicious version of the eponymous northern Thai noodle dish, do an excellent som tam ponlamai (som tam made with mixed fruit) and a few tasty-looking Vietnamese dishes.
Nam Ngiaw Pa Nuan Th Sanpanard, Chiang Rai 9am-5pm
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Pa Yai,
a Muslim restaurant outside of the city centre, does what were possibly the tastiest roti I've encountered in a very long time: puffy, light and crispy, with virtually no oily sogginess. Pa Yai also does a deliciously rich and fragrant beef curry and a slightly watery kaeng karee kai, Muslim-style chicken curry. Definitely worth the trip.
Roti Pa Yai Th Aladin, Chiang Rai 053 718 446 6-10am & 3-10pm
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Phu-Lae:
is a longstanding restaurant that serves local-style food to Thai tourists. Not everything is great, and in general the restaurant serves a rather gentrified version of northern Thai food, but I like their kaeng hang lay (illustrated above), which is served with a generous amount of ginger and pickled garlic - both spicy, acidic foils to an otherwise rich and oily dish.
Phu-Lae 673/1 Th Thanalai, Chiang Rai Lunch & dinner
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And finally, I really enjoyed Chiang Rai's evening market:
which had some really tasty-looking northern-style eats. Unfortunately it was to-go only and I had neither plates nor silverware...
Cnr Th Uttarakit & Th Suk Sathit 5-9pm
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