Eat and meet

Mae Hong Son

The restaurant scene in Mae Hong Son has changed dramatically over the past few years and the town is now overflowing with good places to eat along with a couple of outstanding options.

For those on a tight budget the market still offers the usual good options, but some places in town do offer value on a par with the market, so be sure to browse around.

Despite the vaguely French-sounding name, Chez Ton on Phaditchongkam Rd offers well-priced Thai and foreign food, with their Thai fare being the better choice. For a light meal try their rice or spicy salads -- the yam khai dao is a spicy Thai beef dish with a fried egg thrown in for a twist. Order it with sticky rice and eat it with your fingers, northern style.

Vegetarians should swing by Ji Ji in its new location up near the tourist police office -- the food is good and a touch more experimental than many of the options in town. While if you're in the mood for some traditional Shan food, try the noodles at the fresh market early in the morning. They are thicker than their Thai or Chinese cousins and are served with a glutinous yellow bean sauce.

Lunch stand Lung Hom (Thai sign only) on Udomchatnithet Rd is an easy pick-n-point stand with pre-made curries. The food is local and generally full of fish or meat, so not recommended for vegetarians. They occasionally offer local "jungle" meats like squirrel, for the gastronomically bold. Across the street from Lung Hom is Gai Mook, a popular group spot which is rammed with package tour vans every lunchtime and as such off limits to mere travellers. If you drop in during evening hours you'll find a table and the food's not too bad, although portions are a bit stingy.

Lucky Restaurant serves delicious Thai standards -- their spicy catfish salad is excellent -- don't be turned off by the menu reading "spicy fish cat salad". It remains unclear what services the "free lance" chicken offers. The beef Korean BBQ is high quality if you're willing to put the work into cooking your own dinner at the table. Recommended.

Salween River is the prime meeting and hangout place for local expats. The helpful and friendly owners will give impartial information about local tourist options. They do a free book exchange for customers, and have a large screen TV with unpredictable programming. Burmese and Shan food is offered, as well as Thai favourites and international staples. The food is nothing short of exceptional, and whether you go for Spaghetti carbonara or the Shan curry with poppadoms you wont be let down. Particularly recommended is the Kao Soy, a northern speciality with chicken, noodles, and the most delicious gravy sauce which tastes like a blend of red curry and massaman and is on a par with liquid ecstasy.

Your Shan host La at Sunflower Cafe on 7 Singhana Thoumrung Rd bakes fresh bread every morning. While the service is sometimes a tad slow, this is probably some of the best, light foreign food you'll find in Thailand and definitely in Mae Hong Son. There's a good vegetarian option with lesser known items such as veggie lasagna or potato au gratin, and there's even some wine on the menu. There are some Thai options as well. La can also help you book a trek or tour. The chocolate cake is lovely.

Local Italian restaurant La Tasca on Khunlumparaphat Rd, is a good place to rid yourself of those pizza cravings after a day of trekking. However if you're hungry you'd better order two as the pizzas aren't exactly huge. A good option here is the home made pasta which is tasty and good for those carbohydrate hits.
If you're looking for a romantic Mae Hong Son evening, a picnic around the lake or up at Wat Doi Kong Mu is cheap and easy. Pick up local fare from the market and head down to the lake.

Out of town
Teng Na offers strictly northern food in a rustic, middle-of-paddy-fields setting. Try to get there early to get a table in one of the bamboo salas. The frog curries are delicious if you're willing to put in the effort it takes to get past the bones. To get there, take Panit Watana Rd past the airport. A few kilometres past the runway, you'll see a yellow sign on the right for Teng Na. Turn right and continue on that road until you're really afraid because it feels like you're alone in the middle of nowhere -- about four kilometres. Teng Na will rise up like a beacon on your left.

On the road to Mae Sariang, Fern Restaurant is part of the same group that owns the excellent Fern Resort. The food is quite excellent with full marks for authenticity. If you're feeling really wild and crazy and can handle really spicy food, then the local Shan curry is worth a try, similar to Tom Yum but hotter and herbier! For the more regular palettes the spring rolls with plum sauce are a definite crowd pleaser. It's not only Thai food here; the daily specials board always has some steaks, as well as salmon, chicken, and other western dishes.

Bars and entertainment
In prime position right by the lake and just around the corner from the night market on Phaditchongkam Rd, Lakeside Bar has an acoustic guitar and singer, with old time rock classics floating out across the night. Food is served as a large buffet 'barbecue', Korean in origin, but now wholly embraced as the region's own. You choose raw meat, vegetables and noodles from the buffet table and cook it yourself at the table. Meat goes on the grill at the top, while noodles and vegetables go in the soup in a ring around the edge. It's all eaten with a zesty sauce. This costs just 89 baht, and is a hugely filling meal. If you don't want to eat there's a slim bar at the side which has TV's with full cable options so you can catch up on the news or sport. A large Heineken will set you back 90B.

Right beside Friend Guest House, at 29 Phaditchongkam Rd, Chilli Bar is a small but comfortable shack like set-up run by Yai and Sun, two fun loving Thai guys who double as great chefs. The main theme of the place is drinking or trying to master their rickety pool table, but if you find yourself hungry they can magic up any number of dishes from club sandwiches to green curry. Open til midnight.

The drinks at Crossroads on Singhang Bamrung Rd are overpriced, but the free pool on the second floor partly makes up for it. There is a limited menu served in their upstairs section. Mostly international dishes such as burgers, spaghetti and a few standard Thai dishes. Not very exciting -- but this is overall a decent people watching spot. Another option, on the main road to Mae Sariang, is Sabaay Corner, with friendly staff and live music on offer every night.