Wonders of Northern Thai Cooking - Ban Rai Yam Yen

One of my rules of thumb in looking for good local food is only go to the restaurants filled with locals. When you walk into Ban Rai Yam Yen in Chiang Mai you know this is a very popular local restaurant as it is jammed with local Thais. Ban Rai Yam yen has to be one of my all time favorite Thai restaurants. It has a lovely rustic ambiance with fountains, foliage and tables made from old wood under a traditional open Thai “Sala”. Add to the folksy northern and bluegrass music and you have just a real nice hang out place. What really puts this restaurant over the top is its menu of traditional Chiang Mai cuisine. No effort is made to protect you from the strangeness of some of the dishes but every effort is to done present this unique cuisine to you in an appetizing way. For anyone familiar with Thai and Lao food will appreciate the unique melange of flavors in Chiang Mai cuisine. Chiang Mai as a trading rendezvous point, the destination of many caravans, was influence by many of the different cuisines of Asia: Burmese, Lao, Chinese, Muslim, Central Thai and Indian. One of my favorite dishes at Ban Rai Yam Yen is Gaeng Ho. This is a stir fried glass noodle dish much as you would find in Laos or Central Thailand but when once difference – I thas the flavor of a Burmese or Indian Curry. If you are one who love to explore the cuisine of the places that you visit, if an important part of your travels is to experience the local fare, then a visit to Ban Rai Yam Yen is obligatory!