What is Northern Thai Lanna Cuisine? Underrated Flavors You’ve Never Heard Of

Many of you might be familiar with Central Thai cuisine, the most common type of Thai food that is served in most restaurants in the West. But there exists an underrated cuisine, even in Thailand, that I think far surpasses the flavors of any other cuisine in the country. Northern Thai Lanna Cuisine.

But what is Northern Thai Lanna Cuisine exactly? Not to worry I will explain all you need to know about this hidden gem of a cuisine and provide you some example dishes as well as some recommended restaurants in Thailand.

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What is Lanna Cuisine?

northern Thai temple — Northern Thailand is influenced by many neighbouring countries like Laos and Myanmar

Northern Thailand is home to a rich culture that is rooted in the cultural heritage of the Lanna Kingdom.

With Chiang Mai being the heart of the region, you might have heard of some famous Northern Thai dishes like Khao Soi, a coconut curry noodle soup.

Lanna cuisine is famed for its flavorful dishes which comes from natural herbs and spices. Due to the region’s rich soil, a lot of aromatic herbs like galangal, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves are used to infuse dishes with their fragrant essence.

In addition, spices, often indigenous to the region, lend a rich depth, and grilled or charred techniques bring a touch of smokiness the Lanna dishes.

Vegetables also play a prominent role in Lanna cuisine, making their appearance in almost every dish, whether that’d be as a side garnish or incorporated heavily into a dish.

Examples of Northern Thai Lanna Dishes

There are so many Lanna dishes to try, it will be difficult to list them all into a quick article, so I’ll highlight some dishes that are a “must try” whenever you get the chance to feast on Lanna cuisine.

Nam Prik

In Northern Thailand you’ll often find a very famous chili dip known as “Nam Prik”. Each restaurant and family has their own recipe but there is always 2 variants to choose from.

Nam Prik Ong is a hearty and meaty chili paste that features a base of flavorful ground pork, combined with a bunch of aromatic ingredients like garlic, shallots, and most importantly, tomatoes.If you prefer your chili paste to be less spicy and more sour and tangy, Nam Prik Ong is the one for you.

On the other hand, Nam Prik Noom is another chili paste but this time it is made primarily from green chili peppers. The green peppers are charred or roasted before being pounded into a paste combined with various other spices like fish sauce and garlic.

These Nam Priks are always served with a side of boiled vegetables or pork rinds. You can also just eat it straight up with some sticky rice.

Sai Ua

Sai Ua is a remarkable culinary creation that takes some influences from Laos. Sai Ua, is a pork sausage mixed with a variety of aromatic herbs and spices such as lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, red chilis, and more…

A fresh off the grill Sai Ua is the most delicious thing you can ever put in your mouth. When you bite down on the Sia Ua you’ll be met with a literal flavor explosion as the juices of all the meat and spices will be flowing in your mouth.

Any self respecting Lanna Restaurant will have Sai Ua in their menu.

Khao Soi

I guarantee that you’ve never had a noodle soup dish quite like Khao Soi.

A bundle of wide egg noodles sit in a glorious pool of thick, rich, and spicy coconut curry soup. Yes, the heart of Khao Soi is the divine coconut milk curry broth, made from a mixture of spices such as tumeric, coriander, and cumin.

That’s not all there is to the humble Khao Soi, the bowl is topped with your choice of protein, whether that be tender chunks of beef, or a large fall of the bone stewed chicken drumstick.

Then you have the optional accoutrements, from crunchy fried egg noodles, to pickled veggies and the all important roasted chili paste.

Every time I visit the northern provinces of Thailand, Khao Soi is always the highlight of my trip.

Khanom Jeen Nam Ngiew

Khanom Jeen Nam Ngiew is like a staple dish in this region of Thailand. The dish is a base of rice delicate and fragile rice noodles (Khanom Jeen) combined with the rich tomato broth (Ngam Ngiew).

The Nam Ngiew broth is made with a tomato and pork-based broth, its distinctive reddish color comes from the use of fermented soybean paste and dried chili. It's seasoned with a blend of spices, herbs, and ingredients like garlic, shallots, and sometimes shrimp paste.

The dish comes with different proteins and toppings based on the recipe of the Ngam Ngiew, a popular protein is stewed chicken and coagulated pigs blood.

Larb Kua

You might’ve heard of Larb, a sour and spicy Loatian minced pork (or many meat) salad, but have you ever heard of Larb Kua?

A style that is unique to northern Thailand, this variant of Larb uses dry spices rather than lime juice or fish sauce. So that means there isn’t any sourness to the dish but rather a aromatic earthiness.

A unique twist is that sometimes (or all the time) Larb Kua has some pig’s blood mixed in to give it that extra intense flavor and dark color. Don’t worry, it’s way better than it sounds.

This is my favorite type of Larb too.

Recommended Lanna Restaurants in Thailand

If you are in Bangkok, you’ll be hard pressed to find out that there aren’t that many restaurants serving Lanna cuisine, the only place that I can think of is Maan Muang which is a Michelin Guide recommendation.

If you want to get a taste of real Lanna cuisine, then the northern provinces of Thailand is where you must go.

The regions of Chiang Mai and Trat has some authentic and intensely flavorful Lanna dishes for you to feast upon.

Chiang Mai - Tong Tem Toh

Tong Tem Toh is one of my favorite restaurants to feast at whenever I visit Chiang Mai, whether it’s their deliciously thick and rich Gaeng Hung Lay, or their intensely flavorful and pungent Larb Moo Kua, Tong Tem Toh never fails to disappoint my Lanna food cravings.

If you’d like to know more, you can read about my review of Tong Tem Toh here, I also included a handy little tip to avoid long wait times because Tong Tem Toh is always packed full of hungry customers.

Phone: +66 53 894 701

Location: 11 13 Nimmanahaeminda Road, Suthep, อำเภอเ มือง, Chiang Mai 50200

Opening Hours: 8AM - 11PM | Mon - Sun

Pricing: 100 THB (or 2.80 USD) per dish | $

Bangkok - Maan Muang

maan muang gaeng ho — *I’ve been eating here for years and I only recently found out Maan Muang got a Michelin Guide*

It’s hard to find a restaurant serving Lanna cuisine in Bangkok but Maan Muang is a place that does it incredibly well. Maan Muang was featured in the Michelin Guide for multiple years in a row now, and i was always critical of Michelin recommendations in this part of the world but Maan Muang deserves all the praise they get.

Like Tong Tem Toh, I also have a review of Maan Muang here, feel free to read if you’d like to know more about this amazing restaurant.

Phone: +66 02 729 6275

Location: 165/7 Ramkhamhaeng Alley, Saphan Sung, Bangkok 10240

Opening Hours: 9:00AM - 9:00PM | Mon - Sun

Pricing: 80 - 150 THB | $$

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