Back in the Old "New City"

We flew into Chiang Mai on a late morning flight for a four-night getaway. Pinky was able to take a few days off before the New Year rush, and we wanted to get out of the city to enjoy the relatively cooler air of northern Thailand.

"Chiang Mai", founded in 1296 as the capitol of the Lanna Kingdom, literally means "New City". However, the city is not exactly new to me. I've visited a few times with my wife, my mom, and my brother.

As soon as we touched down at CNX, we called a taxi to take us directly to Khao-Sō-i, a cool modern northern Thai restaurant that I had been wanting to check out for my blog, The World of Street Food.

Khao soi is sort of the "national dish" of northern Thailand. Recently named "The Best Soup in the World" by Taste Atlas, beating out 99 other national dishes, khao soi is a creamy, curry-based noodle soup. It is traditionally made with a fragrant coconut milk and curry broth, tender braised chicken, and a bed of soft egg noodles, topped with crispy fried noodles for added texture. 

The dish is traditionally garnished with pickled mustard greens, shallots, lime wedges, and chili oil. Owing to the northern Thailand's centuries-long occupation by Burma, khao soi is a fusion of Thai and Burmese culinary traditions, reflecting the region's diverse history and cultural influences. It's a comforting, aromatic dish that is one of my favorite Thai foods.

Here, however, khao soi is made a little bit differently...

The restaurant, built in a Japanese-style garden, elevates the simple, hearty bowl of curry noodles by introducing premium ingredients and unconventional presentations. 

I ordered the famous lobster khao soi, one of the shop's signatures. It featured a bowl of delicious, warming khao soi noodle soup topped with an entire juicy and meaty lobster tail topped with ebiko (Japanese shrimp eggs). The lobster was toasted by the chef himself with a blowtorch at the table right in front of me.

Pinky ordered a plate of deconstructed "dry" khao soi noodles with grilled chicken, and we shared an order of khao soi gyoza (Japanese-style steamed wontons stuffed with pork and khao soi spices).

It wasn't quite time to check into the hotel yet, so we decided to visit The Baristro, a highly rated cafe which is located on the banks of the River Ping.

We ordered their famous "black latte", an iced latte made from espresso, milk, and charcoal powder, which gives the drink its iconic rich taste and black color.

It was a cool afternoon, and we sat near the river and watched the boats slowly go up and down the lazy waters of the Ping.

We just had one night in Chiang Mai before heading further upcountry, and we wanted to explore a little bit. We started out by walking to Ta Pae Gate, the most famous of the five gates of the Chaing Mai Walled City, an ancient structure that dates back to the city's founding.

The gate, originally part of the approximately square-mile defensive wall and moat system built to protect the city from invading forces, is now one of the city's most iconic photo spots. Chiang Mai's Old Town, mostly contained inside the wall and moat, is now home to tons of popular cafes, hostels, bars, guesthouses, temples, souvenir shops, and pubs.

We've seen most of the main attractions in Chiang Mai, and we wanted to check out something new.

In late afternoon, we walked to Kalm Village, a cultural and lifestyle compound that blends modern design with traditional Lanna (northern Thai) heritage.

It's a sort of museum / cultural shop / cafe / co-working space / library / yoga studio. There's something there for everyone.

We had a coffee, browsed the exhibits, and looked through the shops and exhibition rooms.

One of the current exhibits was about northern Hill Tribe textiles. The walls were lined with beautiful and elegantly designed samples of cloth woven with intricate designs. These cloths are used for skirts, headdresses, and shawls in many of Thailand's northern tribal communities.

We returned to our hotel in the evening after visiting the Night Market for dinner. The next morning, we planned to wake up early to catch the bus to our next destination.