The 15 Best Street Food Stalls in Chiang Mai, Thailand

This long-established Chiang Mai staple, often referred to by its English name ‘Grandma’s Khao Soi’, serves its tasty version of the famous soup from a simple cart operation. Sat between two temples, Wat Rajmontean and Wat Khuan Khama, for the past 15 years, it’s best to arrive early as portions frequently sell out before 1pm.

The canteen-style restaurant is located in a heavily Muslim neighbourhood near the famous Night Bazaar, and adds this local cultural flair to its Burmese-styled, thick-broth soup. While their khao soi is a main attraction, locals swear by this stall’s Thai-Muslim fare like its goat biryani, or khao mok.

Located in the popular Ton Payom Market across the road from Chiang Mai University, this famous vendor sells the decadent snack by weight and is known to make sai ua that is less fatty and heavier on herbs.

This long-established restaurant has been serving northern Thai cuisine for over 40 years, basing its dishes on secret recipes passed down through the family. Arranged as an open-style canteen kitchen, it’s got the range of Lanna bucket list items like sai ua, khao soi, and tons of traditional curries.

This popular stall sets up each evening near the Old City’s North Gate, with freshly sourced and ingredients like chicken, pork, or seafood available in either dry or wet versions – suki haeng, or suki nam, respectively. The dipping sauce recipe is unique to this stall as well, made from a tomato base with sesame oil and a bit of spice.

A local favourite made famous by food bloggers worldwide, SP Chicken specialises in its eponymous namesake served up in any style imaginable. Most visitors keep it simple and go after the charcoal-cooked rotisserie chicken, or kai yang, available in a variety of portion sizes and with several options of dipping sauces to boot.

This shop’s humble menu indicates the attention that goes into crafting each dish, prepared from authentic yet evolved recipes handed down through generations. Its laab khua is a Lanna version of the Laotian speciality, peppery and punchy by the addition of offal, or pig organs.

This stall near the Old City’s North Gate is run by one of the city’s most locally-loved chefs. Known as the ‘cowboy hat lady’, this stall’s chef has become a sort of regional celebrity through her succulent portions of stewed pork leg over rice – even Anthony Bourdain was drawn in during his visit to the Northern city.

A prized establishment is locally famous for its khao soi, but it’s also one of the few places that locals turn to for a bowl of the ever-evasive khanom jeen. Located just north of the Ratanakosin Bridge, the kitchen is hidden among a number of khao soi-devoted restaurants, but its 20 years of operation elevate its quality far above the rest of the bunch.

Just across the road from Chiang Mai’s Mahawan Temple sits this tiny storefront that has been cooking away for more than ten years. The menu is small, focused on its highly specialized dish crafted with care and consistency, kanom jeen nam ngiaw. The owner’s savory and spicy dish is uniquely crafted with powdered toasted chilis and bits of basil leaf, and smoky blood cakes popping with flavour.

This 24-hour local haunt serves up its breakfast staple at all hours, packed with green onions, shredded ginger, and crispy rice noodles to complement a choice of chicken, pork balls, shrimp, or seafood. Also on the menu are comfort food favourites like dim sum and pork fried rice.

This humble dessert stall serves up all things sweet to passerbys scouting the food bazaar near the Old City’s Wat Phra Singh. Fill up on its pillowy and hard-to-find kanom kroke after touring the nearby stalls wafting in aromas of khao soi and other Northern Thai specialities of the area.