In our family, we love food – we really love it. So, when you’re in Thailand, specifically Chiang Mai, you eat great food, and preferably street food.
Chiang Mai Gate Food Market is a very popular street food market in Chiang Mai – and for good reason. The food is cheap and good, the atmosphere is fantastic – and we were there even during the rainy season when it often showered while we were eating. Chiang Mai Gate Food Market is very popular among expats, travelers, and locals, and it can get quite crowded there.
How to order food from the street stalls
All the food stalls at Chiang Mai Gate Food Market have English menus or signs. Many of the menus/signs also include descriptions and pictures of the food, making it easier for you to order or point out your desired dish.
To order food, simply go to the person cooking and tell them what you want. You cannot order drinks at the food stalls, so you will need to find those elsewhere. For example, you can buy a smoothie at one of the smoothie stalls or get a soda from the 7-Eleven across the street. It’s perfectly normal to bring your drinks and consume them at the tables.
At several of the stalls, it is possible to sit at a table where you can eat your food – which can be quite atmospheric.
Try a bit of everything
There are an incredible number of options for good food, so why not try a bit of everything? We typically walked around to see what we felt like on a given evening. First and foremost, it was important to find something our son, Sebastian, 8 years old, would like. He often enjoyed a skewer with chicken, sausage, or meatballs – but he also tried other exciting dishes.
Rainy Season
If you happen to be in Chiang Mai during the rainy season, you can still visit the food stalls. During Thailand’s rainy season, it is indeed cooler than outside of it, though still warm from a Danish perspective.
Occasionally, there will be a heavy downpour, and you might risk getting wet – or rather soaked. Fortunately, there are umbrellas at many of the tables, but I would still recommend bringing an umbrella and possibly a raincoat.
If you take these precautions, it can actually be quite pleasant to sit and eat while the rain drizzles down. We experienced several instances of rain, which simply meant that guests at the tables moved a bit closer together, ensuring everyone had some shelter from the rain.
Create your own mini high tea
Right next to the actual Chiang Mai Gates Food Market is the Bumrung Buri Market. It’s a covered market where you can buy fresh ingredients, laundry detergent, toiletries, and all sorts of other items. Oh, and you can also find all sorts of small, colorful cakes at the market.
One afternoon, we decided to create our own little mini high tea. We bought a variety of these small, colorful cakes – because we didn’t want to run out, and we wanted to try as many flavors as possible.
We sat down on a bench and tasted all the cakes, which came in various exciting and delicious varieties. We tried coconut cakes, almond cakes, colorful cakes, gray cakes, and everything else we could find. The three of us discussed how each cake tasted and each found our favorite.
A fun little adventure that didn’t cost much and where the whole family could join in.
Price examples (2017):
- Noodle soup with beef: 55 Baht (10.50 DKK)
- Chicken kebab wrap: 40 Baht (7.50 DKK)
- Mango, pineapple, and banana smoothie: 20 Baht (3.75 DKK)
Note that the food in Chiang Mai is even spicier than what you might experience in places like Bangkok. So, if they say a dish is spicy – expect it to be very spicy.
