Tong Tem Toh

Another hot spot located in the trendy Nimmanhaemin neighborhood, Tong Tem Toh specializes in traditional Northern Thai fare. What is Northern Thai food you ask? While commonly-known Thai dishes like phad thai and creamy curries may be eaten throughout the country, the food from the north has a bit more of an earthy taste to it, often using herbs and flavorings from the mountainous jungles to go along with the much-loved sticky rice and a lot of pork.

Come here and order several dishes to share so you can get a sampling of what the locals like to eat. Menus are available in English so it’s easy to figuring out what you’re choosing. Some dishes are only for the most adventurous eaters, like red ant egg salad, but there are several that are still crowd pleasers for picky eaters. Try the naam prik ong, a hearty roasted tomato and pork paste served with steamed vegetables and sticky rice, naem, a sour fermented pork sausage often steamed or grilled and eaten with chilies, sai oua, the local Chiang Mai sausage stuffed with herbs and spices, or gang hung lay, a rich Burmese-inspired curry with pork belly. Told you there was a lot of pork!