Huen Phen
Huen Phen things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
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I decided to give Huen Phen a try after reading many mixed reviews. We stopped by for lunch and were blown away with how good the food was. We ordered Kanom Jeen Nam Ngiaw, Khao Soi, Chiang Mai style sausage, and sticky rice. The Kanom Jeen Nam Ngiaw is the best dish I have had in my 5 nights in Chiang Mai and the Khao Soi is our favorite in the city (we tried 4 others up to that point). The sausage and sticky rice were also very good. The place was busy, seemingly full of locals, the service was fast, and the food was hot and incredibly delicious. I highly recommend We liked our lunch so much we decided to go back for dinner. The experience was very different than lunch as they use two different areas for lunch and dinner. The lunchtime area is very casual and nothing to write home about (I was there for the food) but the dining area used for dinner was very nice. The dinner menu was different than their lunch menu (no Kanom Jeen for example) which was fine for us as we wanted to try other dishes. We ordered Kaeng khae, a spicy curried pork stir-fry, fried chicken (Huen Phen style), sauteed morning glory, and sticky rice. Everything was tasty but not quite as good as lunch. The dishes weren't cold but weren't hot either (at lunch everything was piping hot), and the restaurant was mostly other tourists. I'd still recommend Huen Phen for dinner but would recommend going for lunch instead. The prices were lower at lunch as well and were very affordable.
Burke ThomsonBurke Thomson
10
I would say it's a food and culture experience, museum-like ambience, 100% recommend for culture bugs. We started sitting on the outside hall and didn't pay too much attention to the decorations and antiques around us, until we used the bathroom which is on the inner side the hall. Then we are totally amazed!😆 All the wooden or golden Buddhas, different gods in Buddhism, pottery stem cups, pots, bedside decorations... they silently shine there for us to enjoy. And the food is so nice! Don't get it why it was so empty, maybe because of Monday? We talked to the owner after the meal, he told us he begun with the stuff from his grandmother, he said "at that time, 50 years ago, none of my siblings want this, so I took it."😂 For those from Singapore, this place makes me feel like "The Intan", that Peranakan culture Museum, while you only need to pay for food. Wish a good business and the culture of Chiang Mai can last forever.
Elvis JoeElvis Joe
00
Worst meal I've had in Thailand ... in all six months of traveling of SE Asia for that matter. I would give it zero stars if possible. STAY AWAY. After seeing this place listed on several recommendation websites, I decided to give it a try. What an enormous mistake -- I should have paid attention to the recent Google reviews. The food was mediocre, at best. And prices were ridiculous, given the portion size and quality. I ordered the larb khua moo (pork) expecting to find some nice organ meat inside, as shown on Eating Thai Food's site. Apparently, they have changed the recipe because "tourists don't like that part of the dish." The jackfruit salad was dry, bland, and tasteless. And my small Chang beer (85b!) was was so warm I almost choked on it -- it got sent back. (They said they would bring me another, but never got around to it. They tried to charge for it, but to their credit did promptly remove it from the bill when I pointed it out.) All and all, I got the distinct impression that this place was coasting on past reputation alone. Nothing "authentic" about it at all - I didn't see a single local eating there. Service was barely passable, although the food did come out quickly. Best thing I can say in their favor is that the decor is lovely. But that's not what I go to a restaurant for. If you're a tourist looking for bland tasteless food but still want to brag back home that you ate some "authentic" Northern Thai food, this is your place. If you're looking for actual authentic Northen Thai food that tastes good, go elsewhere.
KendraKendra
20
Huenphen was our first local meal in Chiang Mai. We went to the restaurant at around 1pm. The restaurant is big and was crowded. We waited for a while and decided to find our seats after no one attended to us. There were many staff walking around in the restaurant , and it seems that each of them have strict scope of responsibilities. When we requested for our order to be taken, one attendant gestured us to wait for someone else to come. We ordered a Khao Soi (THB60), Thai Pork Sausage (THB70) and Baby Eggplant Salad (THB50). Khao Soi and sausage were served very quickly, but we waited for a quite a while for the salad to be served. The Khao Soi resembles a curry noodles. The broth is not as thick and spicy as the usual curry, but it is still as fragrant and rich. The thai sausages had a strong taste of kaffir lime leaves, but good nonetheless. The salad was only served after we finished our mains. The baby eggplants tasted raw. The salad also had crispy pork skin, but they might be over fried and had a bitter aftertaste. The chilli in the salad packed a punch too, making it difficult to finish. Overall, am rather disappointed by the food quality of this established restaurant. The serving of the food was pretty small, and based on the other reviews, I believe that the quality of food used to be better.
Henry LohHenry Loh
00
Not sure if we came here for the food or the decors 😉 As soon as you stepped in, you'd think you're in a museum filled with exquisite antiquities and not a restaurant. The seating situation was rather confusing. We didn't see the host and didn't know where to wait. A waiter finally informed us where to wait and eventually where to sit. We sat and waited for the menu. The staff disappeared. We had to flag down one of the waiters for a menu. We waited again for 30+ minutes and almost left the restaurant until one of the guests at another table got up to look for a staff. They need to triple the numbers of service staff. We ordered the Huen Phen appetizer and the Luang Prabang (LP) papaya somtum. The appetizer was ok. The somtum was too salty and doesn't taste like the LP somtum. It tasted like a Thai somtum. It's missing a few LP ingredients (we just came from LP and ate LP somtum daily when we were there). The food came fairly quick after the order, but getting the attention of a waiter was a challenge. For that reason, we will not return because the food wasn't worth the wait, although the setting and ambience was lovely.
amie kamie k
10
Very disappointing. Khao Soi: worst I have had so far, it tasted industrial like a cheap coconut milk tin, a spoon of curry and a spoon of turmeric. If this is your first time in Thailand, do not order this dish here or it will leave you the wrong impression. It's also meant to be spicy and it wasn't at all. Rice Vermicelli with Northern Thai Pork Curry: Pork bits were very fatty, the dish also contains blood which isn't mentioned on the menu. I usually like but its flavour overpowered everything else. Couldn't taste any spices or else. Fried spareribs: very fatty but decent, nice chili dip. All dishes came within 1 minute of us ordering so they must be pre-prepared and all came luke-warm. Service: waiter was available and friendly. Atmosphere: I thought the place was decorated with lots of antiquities but they were all crammed in one room non-accessible at the back of the restaurant, maybe for cleaning purposes. All in all, very disappointing, will not come back and would not recommend.
Haroun KiddHaroun Kidd
00
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Nearby Restaurants Of Huen Phen
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Rock Me Burger
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Reviews
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4
(1.6K reviews)$
Phone
+66 86 911 2882
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