Thai Mountain Village Street Food | Mae Kampong

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One thing I love so much about the northern Thailand is its cool(er) weather, all the nature and beautiful mountains. Even more fun to see is how some mountain villages still live their lives so differently than us all city people. I have been to quite a few and this one we just visited a few days back is sure lovely! Mae Kam Pong Village (แม่กำปอง)

It's almost like a tradition and I love it

A high school friend who was born on exact same date (not that you need to know :D) happens to live in Chiang Mai (เชียงใหม่) and somehow, I happen to come visit her almost every year. We of course, enjoy the night life at Tha Chang, street food at some random local markets, the beauty of old town, a cup of acidic coffee with Mae Ping River view, crowded weekend walking street and such a vibe at JingJai Market but.. Every time I come visit her, we always have a day trip or two sneaking out of the city to enjoy the beauty of what the city can't offer.

We do this literally every time I come visit her so it almost feels like it's our tradition.

It was quite a ride to Mae Kam Pong Village (แม่กำปอง)

It's my local Chiang Mai friend's idea.. She said she's never been and would love to check it out. In Thai, to me, 'Mae Kam Pong' sounds pretty and I already want to visit just because of the name itself. Even though, a few foreign friends of mine who have been living here in Chiang Mai for..ever have told me it might not be worth it.

Mae Kam Pong used to be so authentic and pretty until the Chinese Tour has found out about it

I was kind of skeptical at first but we ended up going anyways. Another friend, Esko was also in town so we sent the immediate invitation just a day before. The immediate 'yes' has been sent back so there we went, 3 of us on 2 scooters.

It's just typical us, not checking anything in advance and no solid plan. An hour has passed.. One friend's a bit tired and the other was dang sleepy with a mixture of hangover. Luckily, we saw a sign 'San Khamphaeng Hot Springs(น้ำพุร้อนสันกำแพง)'. Sounded pretty good so we swung by and chilled there for a bit before the trip continued.

Oh! The hot springs were interesting to check out and if you're coincidentally hungry for some boil eggs, then you sure should stop by! Almost sounds like #joke huh? Wait till you find out what I mean.

Mae Kam Pong Village (แม่กำปอง)

While riding up the mountains, there's not much but green scenery and maybe a few houses once in a while. Some spot could be pretty steep. My friend even told me to move closer to her in the front a little bit. The higher we get, the cooler and fresher as it gets, seems like.

When you get to Mae Kam Pong Village (แม่กำปอง), you don't even need a sign or nothing. It's quite obvious with all these houses built along side each other both along the side of the street and up on the hill. First thing besides 'wow', I also said 'This is so pretty!' No wonder why it started to get so popular as a tourist destination.

Mountain Village Street Food at Mae Kam Pong Village (แม่กำปอง)

I was all excited already when I saw all the colourful small little shops..

At the village, there's this main strip with a lot of cute cafes, coffee shops, restaurants, smoothie stalls and all Northern style street food you can imagine along side of the street. I'm surprised they could sell them all for pretty much the same prices as in the city considering the way they would have to commute to get the ingredients and all.

A lot of grilled snacks ready to grab and go. That classic grilled bananas (กล้วยปิ้ง), Khai Paam (ไข่ป่าม) some kind of omelette cooked in a banana leaf-boat. I tried it first time when we went to Lampang Cultural Street a few months back, then this authentic northern Thai style spicy sausage. Another classic one, charcoal grilled bread!! No kiddin', I could stay here for days trying all these treats.

First thing I got was a fresh squeezed juice (40THB). Mixture of carrot, apple, pineapple, lime and orange. First thing my friend got was a few screwers of chicken barbeque with sweet chilli, pineapple, tomatoes (20THB). If you haven't tried that so, next time when you're in Thailand, find it somewhere on the street. It's everywhere and most of the time, it just can't go wrong. Totally one of my favourite street food snacks!

Khaosoi Gloi Jai (ข้าวซอยกลอยใจ)

They all street snack looked yum, to be honest but after the long ride, we felt like sitting and relaxing a bit rather than just grab and go. This one caught our attention, Khaosoi Gloi Jai (ข้าวซอยกลอยใจ), a wooden house that has the second floor renovated to be a restaurant. The menu they put up outside just something I would love to try.

Fermented pork sausage (แหนม) 20THB - This is an interesting one. Pork with lots of pork skin fermented for quite sometimes that its taste becomes quite sour. People usually deep fried, steam or grill it. Eaten with fresh chilli. It tastes great here but somehow I felt like it's a bit too soggy.. Still good!

Laab Kua (ลาบคั่ว) 100THB : Laab is Spicy minced pork salad. It's sour, it's spicy with some other spices. This one you see is a bit different than any other Laab in other parts of Thailand. It's Laab Kua! Instead of some ground roasted rice, they have a bit of pork blood stirred around with the pork when being cooked. Served with types of veggies.

Deep fried squid (ปลาหมึกทอดนมสด) 10THB : Battered squid and sorry to disappoint, who is this made for?? Not much of squid. It's like you eat the batter. Also, it's real cold when being served. I didn't like it at all :/

We're on the top floor looking down at the street where people walking by every so often. The weather is nice. Not too hot, not too cold. Not to mention, a bit far out is a green mountain background. It was a lovely lunch that day.

Stay in a lovely village of Mae Kampong

Since the weather is nice, the atmosphere is something you'd like to be around and spend time for a bit. Many places built or turned to be homestay. While wandering around the village, all we saw were homestay signs everywhere. Some up the hills and some were down by a small river.

That would totally be splendid to spend some nights. Too bad we didn't have that much time this time.

It's not only this one small little road but we also could walk up further on the hill. There is a waterfall. Not like the small little ones in town but an actual waterfall, a temple, a school and a few more shops and cafe. Oh! There's even a coffee roaster!

Wat Khantha Phueksa (วัดคันธาพฤกษา หรือ วัดแม่กำปอง)

Seems like this is the only one in town as you know, it's not that big of a village so you wouldn't so many. We swung by an have a look a bit. It's a small temple and as simple as it is. A few buddha statues and a Buddhist Church with tree roots started creeping all over it.

Hello monk! Say jeez!

So chill, it was so chill. I sure will be back when I have a chance to come visit northern Thailand again. Next time, for sure will plan it a bit better so that I have time to spend at least a few nights here in this lovely Mae Kam Pong Village.

Mae Kam Pong Village (แม่กำปอง)
Address : 4074 Huai Kaeo, Mae On District, Chiang Mai 50130
Tel : 090 321 4731

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