Thailand Market Amazing Tourist Experience.

Discovering all the incredibly exquisite foods available in a Thailand market is a joy everyone should experience. The new Chiang Rai City market is a must visit, with its three massive buildings it holds everything you could imagine. Let’s take a trip around the multiple large complexes with both the most amazing fruit, vegetables plus meat, chicken and seafood.

Thailand Market New Opportunity.

The new Chiang Rai municipal market is absolutely huge it has to be said. There are three primary buildings that are so large its recommended you drive your car through them. The four corridors have wide roads that accommodate two lanes of traffic. This does have issues as people spot fruit or vegetables they want to purchase because they then park up in front of the stall. This then effectively blocks one of the lanes. It’s fortunate its not super busy with traffic so you need to be patient. Take your time and move around parked cars as well as have an eye on pedestrian traffic.

Bulk & Consumer Options.

The food choices are separated between the complexes. The first complex as you enter houses seafood, meat as well as vegetables. The selection is really incredible with multiple stores supplying similar products. The seafood is fresh and in some cases live.

The fruit and vegetable selections in the front building is excellent. It’s worth noting that the meats available in the Thai market in Chiang Rai are chicken as well as pork. There is no beef available that I could see.

Beef in a Thailand Market.

Buying beef in a Thailand market is a challenge for expats, the bulk of meat being water Buffalo and not cattle. This I personally find quite tough so I choose not to purchase it. It is possible to find beef from cattle, but you need to find the specific shops that sell it generally outside the markets I’ve been in.

Thailand market butchers are really not trained as western butchers are. They cut all meats into usable chunks for cooking in stews with little regard for the grain of the meat. Cutting correctly using the grain of the meat can assure much tenderer cuts.

The standard is improving and at least in the market pork is often cut into good steaks. Ideal for a great massaman curry when cut into nice bite size chunks too.

Thailand Market Fruit.

The smorgasbord of colors on show in the fruit section of a Thailand market is truly incredible. The colors range from soft yellows and browns to vivid purples, red as well as greens.

Driving around the Chiang Rai market you will discover the fruit and vegetables in boxes and packed in larger bags. If your looking to buy just a kilo of something you may find the vendor is not interested in helping you. Primarily the major market areas where you drive through are aimed at commercial customers buying on bulk.

In Thailand it’s quite common to find utilities/Van’s parked on busy roads with umbrella’s up for shade up and selling vegetables or fruits. The goods likely all came from the Chiang Rai market.

During The King of Fruits.

One the most incredible fruits in Thailand is the Durian. The Durian has a truly repugnant smell! It’s enough to keep it away from my lips but many love it so much. It appears in the markets around March and runs for several months. The large fruit has a number of varieties with some more popular than others and different characteristics.

The skin of the Durian is thick, covered with very sharp triangular spikes, a little like a pineapple skin but much worse. Slicing through the thick external skin reveals a soft whitish yellow flesh which surrounds the delicious yellow fruits hidden within. I have had Durian ice-cream and it was pretty nice. The smell of the fruit is nothing like the taste of the fruit inside it.

It’s possible to buy Durian as a whole fruit, or buy it in a package without the skin. Prices vary from around 200 thb a kilo with whole fruit down to maybe 120 thb per kilo.

If the Durian has been packaged it is obviously more expensive, but the value for money can be made as a good argument. Cutting the fruit needs practice and knowledge to know where the valuable fruits are within. In the picture above the lady opened the Durian and packaged it for us. It cost 350 Thb with about five pieces of large fruits. It was exceptional value.

Vegetables

The choices of vegetables in our local Thailand market in Chiang Rai does not rival the fruit selection. The vegetable section consisted of a lot of pumpkins, onions and not much more the day we visited. The Thai perspective of vegetables in daily life is very different from expats.

Thai people seem to effortlessly find eatable vegetables around the garden and streets in our village. Many are shoots or leaves from many plants and trees in our garden as well as others. Village communities simply share what they have.

The desire to buy vegetables is really minimal. You will find onions as well as carrots and sometimes potatoes in smaller markets but you have to look to find them. They are not primary vegetables for Thais.

Seafood Extravaganza.

It is incredible the seafood available s o me one thousand kilometers from the sea is amazing good. You will be amazed by the quality as well as the variety of seafood available.

There is a wide range of incredibly fresh prawns available with a number of varieties available. These looked super fresh on our visit today. Kept on a bed of fresh ice there is a concerted effort to keep the produce as fresh as possible.

Squid Options.

If you’ve a desire for some squid then there was a good selection available in the many seafood stores. All these stores are co-located so there is good price competition. The prices and variety were very good in today’s visit.

There were some larger squid with what I think could be cuttlefish. It all looked very fresh and clean. All were kept fresh with fresh ice placed on them regularly. There is no refrigeration in most markets.

It’s imperative you understand how to identify fresh seafood. The eyes being clear and not milky or discolored is a good start. Checking the gills of fish is also a good check. They should be a deep red color as I understand.

Cleanliness of the Thailand Market.

A note on cleanliness around the Chiang Rai market as a whole was excellent. The individual stores were kept clean with the meat and seafood sections maintained with regular washing. There was no evidence of flies swarming around which makes it a great cleanliness standard.

This cannot be said of many of the smaller markets around Thailand. Flies around both meat and fish sellers can be a worrying issue. It is common for fans to be placed close to the meat with something attached to it to keep insects away.

Use caution in Thai regional markets as the height of fans for cooling is often at westerner head height. I’m sure there are people injured every year being hit by fans. Thais are mostly much shorter than westerners.

Young Thais are now certainly growing much taller. My nephew is 17 and 6ft. Timing your shopping for meat and vegetables can be important to find the freshest produce.

It’s a good guide that early mornings can be an option to get fresh meats. Without refrigeration getting fresh meat into cool storage is important. There is a need for fresh meat in the evening so you could find Thai market sellers not arriving till two o’clock in the afternoon.

Let’s Spice it Up!

Thailand Market stalls also offer an incredible variety of spices and Chili pastes. These pastes are the base for many specific Thai dishes. They are created specifically for a single dish like Massaman curry, red curry, yellow curry, BBQ Chili flavored and many more. The majority you are unlikely to know but the ones listed are some of the selection available.

I would suggest asking what each one is if your considering trying some. If you can speak Thai certainly ask, if you have a tour guide or a Thai partner then they can help you. Please be aware you cannot import foods into many countries when you return home. Its recommended you declare so it can be checked. It seems. If you declare they may confiscate it but no fine is applied. Its when customs find items not declared the fines can be applied. I forgot is not an excuse!

Australia is very strict on what can and cannot be imposed even for personal use. Note your countries restrictions before buying and taking it home.

Conclusion.

I hope this insight into Thailand market visits was helpful and entices you to visit. No matter where you are in beautiful Thailand you will find incredible foods in markets. Enjoy your time in Thailand and I wish you all the best.

The Author.

Brendon McAliece I’d an expatriate Australian who has been visiting and living Thailand over 40 years. He currently lives in Chiang a Rai Thailand with his Thai wife of 37 years. He speaks fluent Thai and loves sharing the Thai culture, language and food with everyone.

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