Huen Phen is a traditional Lanna restaurant housed in an old Thai style wooden house right in the heart of Chiang Mai. The restaurant is filled with all sorts of antiques and nick-nacks, giving you the impression that you are dining in someones house which really adds to the experience.
They have a wonderful selection of Northern Thai dishes on the menu, many of which I had never seen before, with the local specialities being marked on the menu with a little star which makes it easier to narrow down what best to try.
This was one of the few times I have not been stuck as to what to order as I immediately saw some of my favourite dishes on the menu, Gaeng Heng Lay (90 THB) a Burmese-Northern Thai pork and tamarind curry, their homemade Sai Oua (85 THB) a curried pork sausage and Nam Prik Noom (55 THB) a spicy green chilli dip.
The Nam Prik was really excellent & had a real kick to it which was great for waking my tastebuds up! The Sai Oua was also one of the better ones I have tried, I was also really pleased to find that it wasn’t gristly at all, something I am always a little worried about but thankfully not the case here. I love the combination of flavours in gaeng heng lay, the fatty pork belly is tempered by the tartness of the tamarind and sweetness of pineapple, whilst the lemongrass, cloves, chilli & galangal add wonderful layers of flavour to it. Whilst this wasn’t the best I have had (that honour goes to Soul Food Mahanakorn in Bangkok) the Huen Phen version was still very good and I had a really enjoyable meal.
With a couple of beers, my bill came to around 500 THB ($14) but again I imagine the average bill would be around $10-$15 per person and you can certainly eat very well for that price. I was recommended to visit in the evening, which I did, something I would also encourage if you are to visit as the house has a lovely cosy feeling in the evening that I don’t think you would have during the day.
Be aware there is another restaurant called Baan Huen Phen on the same road! You are looking for the Thai wooden house – not the more modern hotel.
112 Thanon Ratchamanka Phra Sing, Chiang Mai
8:30 am – 4 pm and 5 pm – 10 pm daily
053-814548
A British Girl Abroad 