Chiang Mai - Warorot and Muang Mai Markets

We visited a couple of markets during our stay in Chiang Mai. First up was Warorot Market - just a short walk east of the old city.

There was plenty of stuff to see, including this massive banana stand we came across just before we hit the main market:



Our primary focus, however, was on looking for the food court so we could have some lunch.



We finally found it in the basement. We checked out a number of stalls before ordering a papaya salad from this one:



It was hard to resist this friendly lady working in front of a giant picture of herself.



The salad was very tasty, with lots of chunks of some kind of pork sausage. She also didn't hold back on the chili level, which we appreciated (she held up a chili as a question, and we gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up).



We accompanied it with a dish from another stall:



Described as a "spicy lemon noodle with pork", this dish was not very spicy. It was delicious, however, and different from anything we'd had before - minced pork, sliced pork, pork balls and some crackling. The broth had a nice combination of creamy sweetness from coconut milk and bright acidity from the lemon.



Another day we were walking in the same area, but a bit farther north and came across the Muang Mai Market.



The market was quite large - sprawling across multiple blocks.



We were there in late morning, so a lot of stuff had already packed up, but there was still a lot going on.



It would be amazing to spend more time in a place like this and be able to shop for cooking ingredients. On this visit, however, we had to make do with feasting with our eyes.