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btw, Is their a difference in cuisine between Chiang Mai and other parts of Thailand? I love noodle dishes, spicy food, and seafood.
There are some specialty dishes from various regions, but generally, much of what you find in one part of the country, you can find in other parts of the country. Noodle dishes, spicy and mild food, rice dishes, fish and other seafood, chicken, pork, beef, you name it, it's there. There's a wide variety of different foods. Just about anywhere you go, you'll smell food. It's almost like you can't go around the corner without finding a food stall or vendor nearby. LOL! It's pretty amazing. They're everywhere. Most places provide condiments at the tables for you to spice up your dish to suit your own taste. Admittedly, not all stalls, vendors, and restaurants cook all things, but you'll certainly find plenty to satisfy your taste and appetite. If you've eaten Thai food in the US, chances are it's toned down a bit and not quite like what you'll find in Thailand. To me, eating Thai food in Thailand is never dull. It's incredibly flavorful.
There are some specialty dishes from various regions, but generally, much of what you find in one part of the country, you can find in other parts of the country. Noodle dishes, spicy and mild food, rice dishes, fish and other seafood, chicken, pork, beef, you name it, it's there. There's a wide variety of different foods. Just about anywhere you go, you'll smell food. It's almost like you can't go around the corner without finding a food stall or vendor nearby. LOL! It's pretty amazing. They're everywhere. Most places provide condiments at the tables for you to spice up your dish to suit your own taste. Admittedly, not all stalls, vendors, and restaurants cook all things, but you'll certainly find plenty to satisfy your taste and appetite. If you've eaten Thai food in the US, chances are it's toned down a bit and not quite like what you'll find in Thailand. To me, eating Thai food in Thailand is never dull. It's incredibly flavorful.
Do any of the other SE asian countries have food thats similar to thai? whats the food like in cambodia, vietnam, malaysia, and the like?
Do any of the other SE asian countries have food thats similar to thai? whats the food like in cambodia, vietnam, malaysia, and the like?
I love Cambodian food. Similar to Thai, but I actually think slightly even better - which is impressive, as Thai already is world class food.
Vietnamese is another of my favorites. Not as spicey, more 'pho', or soup. I love this one dish they have there where you wrap your meat/veggies in rice paper and pop in the mouth. Expect fish sauce in Vietnam, which I also quite like.
Malaysia is much more bland. However, you get a lot of Indian foods in Malaysia due to a lot of Indian people who live in that 'multicultural' society.
Do any of the other SE asian countries have food thats similar to thai? whats the food like in cambodia, vietnam, malaysia, and the like?
Tiger Beer has already covered food in some SE Asian countries that he's traveled to. I've never been anywhere else except Thailand, so I can't really speak too much about other SE Asian countries. However, my wife and I have a good number of friends who are from Laos and from the Northeastern Region of Thailand. There's a strong influence from Laos in both the North (where Chiang Mai is located) as well as the Northeastern Regions of Thailand for various reasons which predate national borders, but there are also differences between the two regions. Anyway, dishes of both Thailand and Laos are very, very similar, but as indicated there are also some dishes that are a bit different because of local tradition.
Do any of the other SE asian countries have food thats similar to thai? whats the food like in cambodia, vietnam, malaysia, and the like?
Malaysia has three main ethnic groups: Malay, Chinese, and Tamil (Indian). There are also sub-groups under each of these making for both a linguistic and culinary polyglot. Additionally, Thai food is quite common in the north and along the east coast.
As mentioned by TigerBeer, Indian food, both north and south, is readily available in larger cities and towns since there quite a few Tamils and smaller numbers of Malayalee, Keralese and so forth.
So, yeah, there is quite a bit of spicy food and most certainly NOT bland. In fact, I have traveled in Thailand, and live in Malaysia, and find that Malaysia has a greater variety than Thailand.
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