Restaurants in Pai
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Baan Benjarong
This converted house serving central Thai dishes is where the locals come for a ‘nice’ Thai meal. Dishes like stewed, salted crabs in coconut milk, and spicy banana flower salad are delectable. Out the back are tables with views of the rice paddies.
reviewed
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All About Coffee
This tiny wooden place was probably the first business to do the cutesy ‘bohemian’ style that now dominates much of Pai. Come here for eye-opening coffee drinks and the best French toast in town. Yummy open sandwiches are made with homemade bread.
reviewed
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Big's Little Cafe
Big does largely English-influenced Western dishes, from bacon butties to burgers, not to mention breakfasts and a tasty homemade sausage.
reviewed
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Yunnanese Restaurant
This open-air place in the Chinese village of Ban Santichon serves the traditional dishes of the town's Yunnanese residents. Standouts include màntŏ (steamed buns), here served with pork leg stewed with Chinese herbs. There are several dishes using unique local crops and other dishes involving exotic ingredients such as black chicken. Or you could always go for the excellent noodles, made by hand and topped with a delicious mixture of minced pork, garlic and sesame. The restaurant is in an open-air adobe building behind the giant rock in Ban Santichon, about 4km west of Pai.
reviewed
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Baan Phleng
A branch of the excellent Mae Hong Son restaurant of the same name, this popular place does a mix of northern Thai and Mae Hong Son–specific dishes. To go truly local, try the ‘fern salad Maehongson style’, tender ferns par-boiled and mixed with a dressing combining sesame oil, dried chili and garlic, or ‘pork and tomato chili paste’, the Shan dish known locally as nám prík òrng. There’s an English-language menu with photos if you feel you’re treading in unfamiliar waters.
reviewed
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Laap Khom Huay Pu
Escape the dreadlocks and tofu crowd and get your meat on at this unabashedly carnivorous local eatery. The house special, and the dish you must order, is lâhp kôo·a, minced meat (beef or pork) fried with local herbs and spices. Accompanied by a basket of sticky rice, a plate of bitter herbs and a cold Singha, it's the best meal in Pai. The restaurant is on the road to Mae Hong Son, about 1km north of town, just past the turn-off to Sipsongpanna.
reviewed
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Nong Beer
The atmosphere at this extremely popular place is akin to a food court (you have to exchange cash for tickets, and everything is self-serve), but it's a good place for cheap and authentic Thai eats ranging from kôw soy to curries ladled over rice. Open until they run out of food – usually about 8pm.
reviewed
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Burger House
If you are hankering after a big juicy burger this is the place to come. Try the super-high Barbarian Burger with its two quarter pounders, two cheeses and special sauce. Or if you need a fortifying breakfast, go for the Truck Driver Special, which will probably take most of the morning to get through.
reviewed
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The Sanctuary
The local/organic dishes at this new-agey quasi-veggie restaurant are rather expensive by local standards, but the cakes and coffee are tasty, and the free wi-fi and, yes, free yoga lessons (10.30am Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) are a good deal. There’s also a variety of live music on most nights.
reviewed
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Amido's Pizza Garden
Considering how far Pai is from Naples, we reckon they do a pretty damn good pizza here.
reviewed
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Je-In Pai
Opposite the District Office, this simple open-air place serves tasty and cheap vegan and vegetarian Thai food. During lunch, choose from the metal trays out front. There's good fruit and soy milk shakes too.
reviewed
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Cake Go “O”
This Muslim-run bakery serves decent baked treats (try the oatmeal scones), coffee and light meals. There are a couple of other Muslim bakeries in town, although the others don’t have quite as many entertaining signposted house rules.
reviewed
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Mama Falafel
This friendly native of Pai has been cooking up tasty felafel, hummus, schnitzel and other Jewish/Israeli faves since 2002. Set meals win in both quality and quantity. Come on Friday and Saturday when she does hamin, the Jewish stew, accompanied by challah bread.
reviewed
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Maew Chomphu
Head to this corner restaurant for a tasty Asian-style breakfast. Go for dim sum or try kài gà·tá, two eggs cooked in a tiny wok with Vietnamese sausage.
reviewed
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Evening Market
For tasty take-home local eats, try the evening market that unfolds here every afternoon from about 3pm to sunset.
reviewed
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Witching Well
This foreigner-run place is where to come if you're looking for authentic sandwiches, pasta, cakes and pastries. They also do the kind of breakfasts you're not going to find elsewhere in Pai.
reviewed
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TTK
The expansive menu here spans Israeli dishes from standards to surprises, with breakfast options and Thai vegetarian thrown in for good measure.
reviewed
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Khanom Jeen Nang Yong
This place specialises in kà·nŏm jeen – thin rice noodles served with a currylike broth. They do a particularly rich and spicy kà·nŏm jeen nám ngée·o, great with deep-fried pork rinds, but don't worry about getting the names right – simply point to whichever clay pot looks the tastiest. It's in the same building as Pai Adventure.
reviewed
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Good Life
Wheat grass and secondhand books (sample title: The Aloe Answer) function as interior design at this eclectic and popular cafe. In addition to heaps of teas, coffees, 'juice joints' and other tasty drinks, they also do breakfasts and vegetarian Thai dishes.
reviewed
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Charlie & Lek Health Restaurant
This popular place does central Thai-style fare for foreigners: lots of veggie options and light on the flavours.
reviewed
