Khao Soi Mae Manee in Chiang Mai
[Non-halal] We checked out Michelin-recommended Khao Soi Mae Manee ข้าวซอยเเม่มฌี in Chiang Mai.
Mai Manee operates from a corner house in a housing area, and uses a family recipe for the curry noodles.
The home-made egg noodles has a nice thick al-dente texture and the curry has a good mix of spiciness with light coconut milk creaminess.
Khao Soi Mae Manee ข้าวซอยเเม่มฌี
Khao Soi is not to be missed if you’re travelling to Chiang Mai.
Deriving from the Lao language which means ‘sliced rice’, Khao Soi is a popular noodle dish in Northern Thailand with influence from the Myanmar and Laos cuisine.
Khao Soi is a type of curry noodles dish with a broth similar to massaman curry in terms of spices, and is usually served with egg noodles, crispy fried noodles, pickled mustard greens, shallots and lime.
There’s plenty of restaurants and stalls that serve Khao Soi in Chiang Mai, but Mae Manee is one of the more popular ones. In fact, it is recognised by the Michelin guide since 2020.
A homely spot
Mae Manee operates out of a corner house in a residential area. It is located about 7km or a 15-minute ride from the centre of the Old City, and is easily accessible by Grab.
Mae Manee serves a family recipe for its Khao Soi, and you can opt for different types of noodles and toppings for your bowl. Protein offered here include chicken, pork, beef and fish.
Mae Manee’s khao soi
The broth here is prepared by mixing a thick curry sauce, before topping it with a more watery curry sauce and a spoonful of coconut cream into a bowl of noodles.
To enjoy this, one simply mixes the different broth. On its own, we found the broth to be mildly spicy with just a hint of creaminess from the coconut milk. The egg noodles here are thick with a good bite as they are handmade, and we found the fried noodles to be wonderfully crispy as well.
For a more spick kick, chilli oil can be added to the dish. The proper way to enjoy the noodles is too add the pickled mustard green, shallots and a squeeze of lime juice.
We tried the pork collar, stewed pork ribs and beef cheeks in our three bowls of khao soi.
All were flavourful but our favourite was the beef cheeks as they were really tender.
We also quite enjoyed having the rice noodles as it soaked up the soup quite well.
Summary
Khao Soi Mae Manee is one of three spots we visited for the noodles during our Chiang Mai trip.
Among the three, Mae Manee offers the most traditional flavour in a very local setting. The service is also of the friendliest we’ve encountered in the city.
Stay tuned as we’ll share our experience of the other two khao soi restaurants in the future.
Khao Soi Mae Manee
Address:18 Chotana Rd, Chang Phueak, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand
Hours: 9am-3.30pm Daily
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