How To Order Noodles In A Thai Noodle Shop

Have you ever been to noodles shops in Thailand and getting something the vendor thinks you want or wants to give you instead of really getting what you want?

Often, non-Thai speakers have trouble communicating with the vendor, so you end up getting what the vendor thinks you want, or just the "standard" dish, which is probably fine.

However, if you'd like to take control of what you're ordering and actually order what you want to eat rather than leaving it up to the mercy of the vendor, this guide is for you!

The Steps

1. Choose your noodles

Here are the more common noodles (kway tiew ก๋วยเตี๋ยว) you can get in a noodle shop:

1. "Sen Yai" เส้นใหญ่  -  Soft, wide, flat rice noodles
2. "Sen Lek"  เส้นเล็ก-  Thin, flat rice noodles
3. "Ba Mee" บะหมี่ - Yellow egg noodles
4. "Sen Mee" เส้นหมี่ or "Mee Khao" - thin rice noodles, also known as "bee hoon" & vermicelli.
5. "Woon sen" วุ้นเส้น - Clear glass noodles. These are made from mung beans.
6. There is also another type of noodle soup  you can get, that is getting a noodle soup without noodles! This variation is called "Gao Lao" เกาเหลา 

2. Decide how you want your soup

1. "Haeng" แห้ง, literally, "dry" - The noodles / extra bits are cooked in the stock, but served without the soup. 
2. "Nam" น้ำ, literally, "water" - with soup
3. "Yentafo" เย็นตาโฟ   these are the pink noodle soup. The pink in the soup comes from fermented soy beans. It's generally served with "sen yai" (soft wide noodles) with morning glory and a cube of coagulated pig's blood. You can always take out the blood if you don't want to eat it (or ask for "mai sai leud" - no blood). 

   

   Yentafo

4. "Tom Yum" ต้มยำ  - The soup is pre-seasoned with lime juice, chilli powder, fish sauce and crushed peanuts, so tom yum noodles are usually quite spicy and sometimes quite sweet. I usually ask for "mai wan" (not sweet). You can also ask for "mai ped" (not spicy). This is usually available for noodles with pork or fish (not beef).

Ba Mee Tom Yum See Khrong Moo (Egg noodles, tom yum soup, pork ribs)

For example, I mostly order "sen lek nam" (thin noodles with soup).

However, when I have BBQ pork / cha siew and wontons, I always get "ba mee haeng" - yellow egg noodles without soup.

3. Choose your meat

Generally each noodle shop with have their own specialty. For example, a shop might only sell beef (and beef innards) noodles, some shop have fish balls and fish dumplings, other shops have BBQ pork/cha siew and wontons. 

Beef Noodles:

Generally, beef noodles contain beef, various beef internal organs (heart, stomach, liver, etc) and beef balls (look chin neur). If you just ask for beef noodles, you'll get everything (or whatever the vendor wants to give you). If you don't want certain bits, you'll need to be more specific! 

Kuaytiew Neur ก๋วยเตี๋ยวเนื้อ / Kuaytiew Neur Ruam ก๋วยเตี๋ยวเนื้อรวม = the works! ie. beef + internal organs + beef balls

Neur sod เนื้อสด= raw beef (quickly dipped in boiling water before serving, so you're not actually eating raw beef)

Neur toon เนื้อตุ๋น  = stewed, melt in the mouth beef

Look chin (neur) ลูกชิ้น (เนื้อ) เครื่องใน= beef balls

Kreung Nai เครื่องใน = internal organs / entrails

Example:

Sen Mee Nam Neur Sod  = Vermicelli noodles, soup, "raw" beef only

Sen Lek Haeng Look Chin = Thin noodles, dry, beef balls only

If you want to leave out something:

"Mai Sai" ไม่ใส่ / "Mai" ไม่ / "Mai Ao" ไม่เอา = Don't put in... / Don't want

Example:

Baa Mee Haeng (Neur) Mai Sai Kreung Nai = Dry beef noodles without entrails. 

Pork Noodles:

Moo sub หมูสับ = Minced Pork

Kreung Nai เครื่องใน= internal organs / entrail

Moo toon หมูตุ๋น - stewed pork

Look chin (moo) ลูกชิ้น (หมู) = pork balls

See krong (moo) ซี่โครง (หมู) = pork ribs

Example: 

Sen Lek Tom Yum See Krong Moo = Tom yum thin noodles with pork ribs. 

(One of my favourites!)

Note: Depending on the shop, not everything may be available.

Fish Ball Noodles:

Look Chin Pla ลูกชิ้น ปลา= fish balls (which may come in various shapes and flavours, and may not necessarily look like a ball)

Kiew Pla เกี๊ยว ปลา = fish wonton / dumplings

Example:
Sen Yai Yentafo. This will give you wide noodles, yentafo style with all the varieties of fish balls and wontons (if the shop sells them). 

BBQ Pork:

You'll see Chinese BBQ Pork/cha siew hung up in the cabinet in front of BBQ pork noodle shops. Sometimes these shops will have pork wontons as well. 

Kiew (Moo) เกี๊ยว (หมู)  = Pork wonton

Moo Daeng หมูแดง ="Red" pork / BBQ pork / cha siew

My favourite is the Ba Mee Haeng Moo Daeng = Egg Noodles (Dry) with BBQ Pork. 

If you want pork wonton and BBQ Pork: Ba Mee Nam Kiew Moo Daeng = Egg noodle soup with wonton and BBQ pork. 

Sounds complicated? Here's a summary.

You can save the picture on your phone and take it with you to noodle shops to try it out!

Good luck and enjoy!

PS. I forgot to mention that you can order the noodles in the regular size or large size.

Regular size = tammada  ธรรมดา
Large = Piset  (literally, special)  พิเศษ

 

Matsu Japanese Restaurant

How fortunate us Chiang Mai-ers are to have a plethora of Japanese Restaurants to choose from. It's amazing how many good Japanese restaurants there are here. The other day, I visited the new Central Festival Mall, and wow, there must be about 25 Japanese restaurants there... Thai people must really like Japanese food!

And here I am to introduce another Japanese restaurant to you, thanks to the recommendation of a couple of my friends. This one is a little hole in the wall place in the Old City. The shop looks a little ordinary, and the service so-so,  but their salmon sashimi is great! Served at just the right temperature, very buttery and smooth, melt in your mouth deliciousness! 160 baht.

Ten Zaru (Chilled Buckwheat Noodle with Tempura and Dip). Very nice and refreshing. The tempuras were quite nicely made and the prawns tasty. Very nice dish as well, and pretty good value! 95 baht.

Well, that's all I tried, and I was quite impressed with the quality of the food, and the price! The restaurant was packed when we arrived, and there were quite a few Japanese patrons too, which is always a good sign.

So, I'll definitely want to go back to try other dishes, which also look pretty good. The offering is pretty standard Chiang Mai Japanese restaurant menu, but the salmon sashimi is one of the nicest ones I've had here in Chiang Mai.

Matsu Japanese Restaurant
74/2 Singhrat Rd
Muang, Chiang Mai
(In the Old City)
Tel: 081 472 0171
Opens: 11am-2pm & 5pm-10pm
Closed on Mondays



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Jia Tong Heng (Faham Branch)

Being of Taechew Chinese heritage, one of the restaurants we often go to when we have our family reunion dinner is Jia Tong Heng. Family members often remark that the food is "just how grandpa made it"- that's a pretty good endorsement to me!

The Faham brach on the Super Highway has only been opened about a year or so, and is in a huge building with dining areas surrounding a Chinese garden, and also lots of private rooms that you can book (extra charge).

The service is usually OK and fairly efficient, but it can get quite frustrating slow when they are very busy (eg if they have a wedding - I had a particularly bad experience in the original branch at Sridonchai Rd). As for private rooms, a lot of the times, there is no staff stationed there, so we often would have to go out to look for someone to help us. Still, we keep going back because the food is good, price reasonable, and it's close to home!

Jia Tong Heng has an extensive menu, specialising in Taechew food, but also has other Chinese and Thai dishes as well.

My favourite is 'steamed bitter melon - Chinese style'. Bitter melon, I'm sure, is not on many people's list of favourite vegetables (or is it a fruit?). Bitter melon is cooked with tofu, various vegies, pork and mushrooms. The sauce has a nice combination of mild bitter and salty flavour. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I love it!

Other dishes I've had:

Suckling pig, called 'Hong Kong Roast Pork' in the menu. Beautifully roasted, the pork skin is nice and crispy with a thin layer of fat and meat underneath. Dip in the sweet soy sauce and eat with the steamed bun and pickled veggies. The only complaint I have is that they only give us one steamed bun, which is really not enough. The roast pork is one of the pricier dishes, but you do get a whole piglet - 1800 baht.

Deep Fried intestines - I can hear the squirms now (LOL). Innards are not something I would ordinarily order, if I had to choose, out of all the internal organs, I like intestines the best. There's something about the crispy "skin" and the soft chewy "meat" that makes it rather appealing, and Jia Tong Heng's version is pretty good. Really worth trying!

"Fried fish steamed" - well, that's the name on the menu. The fish has been deep fried and then boiled in a soup with sour plums. Very nice sourish soup and the fish was very fresh.

Fried Chinese Noodles (mi sua) - Very nicely stir-fried mi sua (wheat noodles). Not too oily and mildly flavoured, so it can be eaten by itself, or with other dishes.

Steamed mixed vegetables with pork. This is a very nice and healthy dish with steamed cabbage, dried mushrooms, lotus seeds and pork. The whole thing is packed into a bowl and steamed for around 3 hours. 

The verdict

Jia Tong Heng is a very popular restaurant, and is always packed with diners. The food is consistently good. The service is usually OK, but can sometimes be a bit slow. Very good value - most dishes range from around 60-300 baht. When my family went last time (9 people), it worked out to be about 400 baht/person and the Hong Kong Roast Pork (suckling pig) was ordered. 

Jia Tong Heng
Faham Branch
222 Moo 5 Chiang Mai - Lampang Rd (Super Highway)
T. Faham A Muang
Chiang Mai
Tel: 053 242 242

Sridonchai Branch (near Night Bazaar)
193/2-3 Sridonchai Rd
T Changkhlan A Muang
Chiang Mai
Tel: 053 820 860-2

http://www.jiarestaurant.com




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Khao Soi House @ Chaing Mai Airport

So you live in or have just visited Chiang Mai and fell in love with Khao Soi, and would like to have one (or more!) last bowl before you leave, Khao Soi House could just be the place to satisfy your craving.

It's not street cheap, though, at about 100 baht per serving of the Chicken Khao Soi, but you do get more than twice the amount that you would off the stalls, not to mention good quality ingredients and a nice and creamy, coconuty broth. I find (from the one time I've been there) that although the broth is pretty decent, it's a little mild and lacking the intensity and deep flavours from khao soi places "off the street".

Khao Soi House seems to be a popular restaurant at Chiang Mai Airport (not that there are many resturants there!). I think it's not a bad place to go if you're happen to be at the airport, or even as you arrive in Chiang Mai to wet your appetite for more khao soi to come.

Water is pretty expensive here though at 45 baht/bottle!

Khao Soi House
Chiang Mai Airport (Domestic Arrivals Hall)

Noen Makok (Noodle Shop) - Now closed

I know, I know, another noodle shop post...but the only thing noodle shops have in common are...noodles, meat, vegies and soup (or without). The flavourings of the noodles are totally different from shop to shop... really!

Tom Yum Noodles with Soup

Noen Makok, a fairly recently opened open air restaurant is fast becoming one of our favourite lunch time places. We go there now at least once a week. Their specialty? Their fantastic chilli dipping sauce which is served to every patron.

Chilli Dip. Very special! 

My favourite there is the Tom Yum Noodles with soup,  with the chilli dip added - the play of the different flavours in your mouth is simply amazing, making me savour every spoonful of the soup. Bliss! 30-35 baht / regular bowl.

The shop itself is very clean and open. There's a covered street front section, and also a very nice area on the side terrace attached to the old Thai house which overlooks a bit of greenery as well.

Noen Makok
1st Ring Road (Middle Ring Road)
Coming from Meechok Plaza towards the City Hall, the restaurant will be on your left just before Moo Baan Preuksathong.
Opens Daily 8am-4pm

Kuay Tiew Pla Doctor ("Doctor" Fish Noodles)

Having been away in Sydney for a month, I came back to Chiang Mai craving something spicy and sour. Yen ta fo came to mind and off to Kuay Tiew Pla Doctor, a newish noodle restaurant around the corner from my office at Meechok Plaza.

When I arrived though, I promptly changed my mind (this happens quite often!) to another rather spicy and sour dish - Tom yum with crispy wonton skins (45 baht), and boy, was it "sap". "Sap" is the Thai word for dishes with intense spicy and sour flavour - just what I needed! This particular one was a "gow laow" - ie no noodles, but has heaps of bean sprouts, various types of fish balls, and of course the crispy wonton skins which were nice and crunchy, providing a nice contrast to the spicy soup. If you prefer something a little less intense, you can also order "Tom yum manao" - tom yum with lime juice. It's still pretty "sap", but is quite a bit gentler on the tongue.

OK. You might say, so it's a nice tom yum, which you can get pretty much all over Chiang Mai (or Thailand for that matter). What is different about Kuay Tiew Pla Doctor? The fishballs here, as claimed on their menu board, are free of fishy smell, MSG, borax, preservatives and mercury. Honestly, before coming here, I didn't even think about possible health hazards of eating fishballs before, but having "bad" chemical free versions is definitely not a bad thing, particularly if they taste great as well.

...And it's not just the "good" fishballs that set this eatery apart either. You may recall from my previous posts about Yen ta fo that the red / pink colour of the dish comes from fermented tofu. It's interesting to find  out that the red colour of yen ta fo here comes from making a sauce from rozelle water, tomato & red chillis - how ingenious! What about the taste? I would say that yen ta fo here is very nice (and very "sap" as well!) - comparable to the other good yen ta fos around.

Continuing on with the health theme, various refreshing herbal drinks are also served here, as well as Cha Yen (cold Thai tea),... and for dessert,  fried ice-cream! Yes,  I did have a fried ice-cream in honour of fond childhood memories of eating these in Chinese restaurants in Sydney when I was young. OK, it wasn't exactly the best ice cream in the world, but it was still fun especially since it's topped with chocolate sauce, sweet condensed milk, corn flakes, sprinkles... 39 baht.

The restaurant

The restaurant itself has quite a nice open air set up, surrounded by lovely shady trees. Very clean and pleasant place to sit around, have lunch, and chat.

The staff / service

Very friendly staff. The dishes don't really come as quickly as you would expect from the usual noodle shop though, so be prepared to wait a little.


Kuay Tiew Pla Doctor
Just past Meechok Plaza / Ruamchok Market on Mae Jo Road
GPS Coordinates: 18.830000° N 99.012167° E
Closed on Sundays
Tel: 081 6719155, 081 9603827

Tipparot Noodle Shop (Beef and Pork Noodles)

Tipparot's Mixed Beef Noodles with Soup

I wouldn't actually say it's the best beef noodles in Chiang Mai, as there are so many good places to go...but I can safely say Tipparot is certainly one of the good ones. The stewed beef is nice and tender, the beef balls are firm and has a nice and chewy texture, and the soup tasty, but not overly so. Actually, I find the soup perfect for my taste -  I don't have to add any condiments (sugar, fish sauce, etc) to the dish except for a bit of chilli/vinegar dip that comes with the noodles. Some people may be interested to know that the soup at Tipparot is not sweet, so it's great for people who doesn't like too much sugar added to their food. If you have a sweet tooth, you can always add sugar! 30 baht/bowl.

If you don't want noodles, you can always ask for the Gaow Low version (as in all other noodle shops). This is basically just meat, vegies and soup without noodles.

The eatery itself is nothing more than a big shack on the side of the road, but it's very clean, and the people making and serving the noodles are nice and friendly. 

Tipparot Noodle Shop

Chiang Mai-Doi Saket Road

Go pass Samyeak (Sansai) Market towards Doi Saket, pass the traffic lights. The eatery is just before Petronas Petrol Station.

Open daily 8am-3pm

(Click on the link at the bottom of the post next to "Location" to be directed to google maps)

Khao Soi Mae Manee (ข้าวซอยเเม่มฌี)

Oh my gosh! I haven't been so excited about food…since last entry! Here we have the no so humble Khao Soi sold in a rather humble little shack like place in a small lane off Chotana Road. I knew it would be good when the Thai friend who took us there said it's his favorite Khao Soi place since childhood, and I got really excited as soon as I see the place (see above photo), and the two older ladies who run it  - you can find some of the best food in such places!

The shop itself is fairly simple and clean. The walls are adorned with posters of reviews and articles about this eatery from various magazines. Looking at the rather extensive looking menu board, I was little astounded. I've always thought Khao Soi comes in 3 varieties - pork ribs, chicken, beef…was rather surprised to see varieties like Mama (instant noodles) Khao Soi, Vermicelli noodles Khao Soi, as well as fish, pork and beef ball khao sois on the list. Regular Khao Sois are 25 baht per bowl, and you can even combine 4 different "meats" together for 90 baht. They even have special Khao Sois for children (on request). 

I decided to put in my regular Khao Soi order - Khao Soi with Pork Ribs. 

As we helped ourselves with complimentary water and ice, our Khao Sois arrive with condiments - lime wedges, shallots and generous amounts of homemade pickled mustard greens. The deep colour of the broth already hints on how great the Khao Soi would be.

And yes, it was GOOD. The broth was beautiful, rich and deeply flavored, and surprising not that spicy (for me). Of course, you can always add extra chilli if you like. The pork ribs were lovely -  succulent and tender, and the homemade pickled mustard greens were great too - crunchy and mild tasting to add an nice contrast to the khao soi. 

Khao Soi Mae Manee
18 Soi Chotana 24
T. Changpeuk, A. Muang
Chiang Mai
Tel: 053 218 286, 053 218 519, 0819612235
Open daily, closed on Buddha days.

...and yes, this is my new favourite Khao Soi place! 

Miso Korean Restaurant

A while back, reader recommended Miso Korean Restaurant to me. Up till now, I've mainly pretty much gone exclusively to Lum Lum for Korean food as the food there is great and it's just a few doors down from my office - can't get more convenient than that! ...But it's good to try something new as well, and I'm glad I did! ..So it was...Miso (sometimes spelt Misone), a comfortable and unpretentious restaurant in the trendy Nimmanhaemin Area.

Outdoor area

There are 3 dining areas. The two indoor air-conditoned rooms are quite plain but comfortable enough, the outdoor section is quite nice. The food is great, and very good value too!

Indoor air-condtioned room

Miso has some yummy Korean dishes I haven't had for a while, for example, Ja Jang Myeon - Korean noodles with pork, cucumber and thick sauce made from black beans. I must say it was delicious! The noodles also comes with 3 side dishes. 130 baht.

The Dolsot Bibimbab, 120 baht, (Rice with various vegies and egg served in a stone dish), another one of my favourite Korean dishes is very nicely done as well. It's served with some korean chilli paste, which I found to have a nice blend of soy bean flavour, and not overwhelmingly spicy, and comes with 3 side dishes as well.

The side dishes are all lovely, particularly the firm tofu with sesame oil and chilli - really good!  You also get free refills, which is a nice touch.

Miso Korean Restaurant also has other typical Korean dishes such as Toukbokky (very spicy!), kimbab (korean sushi), lunch and dinner buffets (seem like great value as well).

In the end, it was a very enjoyable meal. The food is certainly very good here. I sat chatting with my friend quite late in the night, and the staff was very nice to keep refilling our water, and we felt very comfortable sitting there for a while. I noticed too, that there were a lot of Korean patrons, which is always a great sign!


Miso Korean Restaurant
9 Nimmanhaemin Soi 7 Chiang Mai
Tel: 053 894 989, 083 322 3990
www.misonehotel.com/koreanrestaurant.html

Siew Li (ซิวหลี) - Minced Pork Noodles, Taechew style

Siew Li is a rather unassuming yet atmospheric noodle shop set in an old wooden house, right on the side of the rather busy Middle Ring Road. The walls are adorned with photos of the Royal family, and the tables are made of old style sewing machines (take a look under the table when you go!). Siew Li is always busy at lunch time, but the tables are well-spaced apart, so we are always comfortable...And very noticeably, the shop is very, very clean!

It's specialty? Taechew style "ba-chor" (minced pork) noodles. Delicious egg noodles with mince pork, cha-siew pork, dumpings, tofu, served with a wedge of lime. Stir well to mix the ingredients and the special sauce before eating!

Many other dishes (all very nice) are also available as well...

Yen-ta-fo is very good here. Don't be put off by the bright red colour! This is a fairly simple dish, but packed in flavours, predominantly spicy and sour.  The pink / red colour comes from ferment red tofu.

Siew Li also makes a great rendition of Guay Jub. Instead of your regular noodles, you get rolls of wide rice noodles in a rich brown broth. Ingredients thrown in include: pork blood cube, crispy pork, half a boiled egg, and various innards such as intestines and other things. Whilst I'm not really an innards person, Guay Jub here is so nice that I ate everything to the last drop of the soup...with one exception, the pork blood cube. I did take a bite of the blood, but I still find it kind of a weird concept! Served with a chilli/vinegar mixture.

And here is a very Taechew version of siew-mai. I know because my mum is Taechew and she said it's exactly the same as what she used to have when she was a kid. The siew-mai is soft (compared to the Cantonese version) and you eat it with crispy garlic and vinegar. The green "skins" are pandan leaf "flavoured", although both colours taste the same to me!

So there we have it, Siew Li Minced Pork Noodles Shop. A very clean eatery with plenty of atmosphere and great noodles! Prices are around 30-35 baht/dish.

 

Location: On 1st (Middle) Ring Road, Chiang Mai. Opposite Meechok Plaza.

Also check out the very cute Mee & Mee Coffee Shop next door. The coffee is very nice there!


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