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Phad Ped Muu on Singharat Rd just north of Ratchdamnoen

Chiang Mai, Thailand – “Oh, you’re sooo Thai now,” my friend laughed when I told her I didn’t need breakfast because I’d already eaten phad ped muu.  ”I’ve been eating Thai food for breakfast since my first week,” I protested and then added, “I only eat western breakfasts here!” (Her cafe, Elliebum, makes some of the best western breakfasts I’ve had in Thailand, which isn’t many, but I think I know one when I eat it.) Like many countries throughout Asia, there is little to distinguish breakfast from other meals in the day.  My first day in Thailand, jet-lagged and disoriented, I wasn’t quite ready to handle it, but after that it was all in. Curries, khanom jean (fermented rice noodles with fish curry), catfish stir-fries, spicy bamboo shoots, and clear rice noodle soups.  The only difference now is that my stomach is more accustomed to taking in spicy food early in the day.  (If you’re not used to spicy (phet phet), it’s a good idea to start off slowly and later in the day.)  

This phad ped muu was particularly fiery, sending me straight into the plate of cooling cucumbers, herbs and green beans, as well as considering a cola for breakfast.  Phad ped means wok fried and muu is pork so this was wok-fried pork with kaffir lime leaves and a very, very healthy dose of chile.  I got it at a little open-air southern thai restaurant on Singharat Rd just north of Ratchdamnoen, where my last meal, meaty little frog legs, also set my mouth on fire like little else has in Thailand. There’s no English sign or menu; you just walk up to the pots and lifting each lid until something strikes your fancy.  And after your mouth ignites?  Onto Elliebum for a milk-rich coffee to extinguish the flames.