Kai Yang, Som Tam & Sticky Rice
ไก่ย่าง ส้มตำ ข้าวเหนียว
Lunch Hot
The classic Isan trio: charcoal-grilled chicken, pounded green papaya salad and sticky rice eaten by hand. Ask for "phet noi" if you want it less spicy.
What to Eat in Udon Thani: Isan Food & Cafés
Local dishes to try at each meal, how spicy they are, and where to find them.
Isan local food
Northeastern Thai dishes, best with sticky rice and eaten with your hands.
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Larb (Spicy Minced Meat Salad)
ลาบ
Lunch Medium
Minced pork, chicken or beef tossed with lime, chilli, roasted rice powder and fresh herbs. Eat it with sticky rice and raw vegetables.
Sai Krok Isan (Sour Isan Sausage)
ไส้กรอกอีสาน
Dinner Mild
Fermented pork-and-rice sausages grilled at night-market stalls and served with ginger, chilli and cabbage. The perfect street snack.
Jim Jum (Isan Clay-Pot Hot Pot)
จิ้มจุ่ม
Dinner Mild
A clay pot of herb broth with lemongrass and galangal over charcoal. Dip in meat, vegetables and glass noodles, then add spicy jaew sauce.
Khao Chi (Grilled Sticky Rice)
ข้าวจี่
Breakfast Not spicyVegetarian
Sticky rice patties brushed with egg and grilled on a stick over charcoal. Cheap, filling and easy to eat on the go.
Photo: Takeaway (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Jpatokal (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Vee Satayamas (CC BY 2.0) · Takeaway (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Isan1985 (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons
Mains & noodles
Filling dishes for any meal, including Udon's famous Vietnamese pork rolls.
Naem Nueang (Vietnamese Pork Rolls)
แหนมเนือง
Lunch Not spicyUdon Thani speciality
Grilled pork sausage rolled in rice paper with fresh herbs and green banana, dipped in a sweet-savoury sauce. Vietnamese families brought it here, and it's now Udon Thani's best-known dish.
Khao Piak Sen (Rice-Noodle Soup)
ข้าวเปียกเส้น
Breakfast Not spicy
Soft, chewy hand-cut rice noodles in a light pork or chicken broth. Isan and Lao comfort food, eaten early in the morning.
Khao Tom (Rice Soup)
ข้าวต้ม
Breakfast Not spicy
Rice in clear broth with fish, shrimp or pork, topped with fried garlic and ginger. Gentle on the stomach and sold at every morning market.
Moo Kratha (Thai BBQ Hot Pot)
หมูกระทะ
Dinner Not spicy
Grill meat on a domed pan while vegetables simmer in the broth around the rim. Best with a group, and usually all-you-can-eat.
Photo: manda_wong (CC BY 2.0) · Spencer (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Takeaway (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Chainwit. (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons
Desserts
Sweet snacks from markets and roadside stalls.
Mango Sticky Rice
ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง
Any timeVegetarian
Sweet sticky rice soaked in coconut milk with ripe mango. Best from March to June, when mangoes are in season, but sold all year.
Khao Lam (Bamboo Sticky Rice)
ข้าวหลาม
Any timeVegetarian
Sticky rice with coconut milk and black beans, slow-roasted inside a bamboo tube. Peel the bamboo back and eat it on the go, a favourite roadside snack.
Khanom Krok (Coconut Pancakes)
ขนมครก
BreakfastVegetarian
Little rice-flour and coconut cups cooked in a dimpled pan: crisp outside, creamy inside. Look for them at morning markets, served hot.
Photo: Arthur Taksin (CC BY 4.0) · Xufanc (CC BY-SA 3.0) · User:Mattes (CC BY-SA 3.0), Wikimedia Commons
Cafés & drinks
Thai iced coffee and tea from street stalls, Vietnamese drip coffee and new cafés.
Local Café & Pour-Over Coffee
คาเฟ่ & กาแฟดริป
Any timeVegetarian
Udon has a growing café scene, from lakeside spots at Nong Prajak to garden cafés serving Thai-grown beans as pour-over or iced lattes.
Oliang (Thai Iced Coffee)
โอเลี้ยง กาแฟโบราณ
Any time
Strong, sweet black coffee brewed through a cloth filter and poured over ice. Order "kafae boran" for the old-style version with condensed milk.
Cha Yen (Thai Iced Tea)
ชาเย็น ชาไทย
Any timeVegetarian
Bright-orange spiced tea with condensed and evaporated milk over crushed ice. Sweet, creamy and everywhere in Udon.
Vietnamese Drip Coffee (Cà Phê Sữa Đá)
กาแฟเวียดนาม (กาแฟดริปหยด)
Any time
Dark coffee dripped slowly through a metal phin onto condensed milk, then stirred over ice. A taste of Udon's Vietnamese community, often served with naem nueang shops.
Photo: Takeaway (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Chainwit. (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Andy Li (CC0) · Vinnie Cartabiano (CC BY 2.0), Wikimedia Commons
Find cafés nearby
Opens Google Maps with cafés in that area, with current hours and reviews.