Northern Thai Food: 5 Must Try Dishes in Chiang Mai

If you’ve ever eaten at an overseas Thai restaurant or browsed through recipes on Pinterest, you’d think Thai food was synonymous with the lemongrass-chili-peanut flavor combo, when in fact there’s a lot more to it than that. In fact, even though Thailand is a relatively small country, it has four distinct regional cuisines: Northern, Southern, Central, and Northeastern Isaan, and each has their own flavor profile.

Top 10 must-try Northern Thai dishes

Think you know Thai food? Think again. Thailand's cuisine takes a different form every time it crosses a provincial border, and the dishes of Thailand's northern provinces are no exception.

Northern Thai food is a world away from the dishes you’ve probably encountered at your local Thai restaurant at home – or even in Bangkok for that matter. The food of the north is indicative of the region's seasonal and relatively cool climate, not to mention a love for pork, veggies and all things deep-fried.