Yok Fa — Restaurant in Chiang Mai Province

Accidentally this morning I stumbled upon an article Andy Ricker (of Pok Pok fame) wrote about his favourite spots to eat in Chiang Mai. As I glanced at the article I noticed I had already been to a few of the places and they were superb, so I continued reading. Being a big fan of Phat Se Ew, I noticed him raving about exactly this dish at Yok Fa. Even better, it was 500 meters from where I was staying.

Out into the burning furnace of high tension sunshine, finding shade spots along the way snaking like a rabid cobra, I walked into what seemed like a time-vortex. This place was amazing. It hadn't been remodelled since the 60's or 70's so all the original wall hangings and clock were on full display.

An old lady fired up the wok and threw in some flat noodles, within 5 minutes the plate was at my table, a further 5 the plate was empty. This is exactly how Phat Se Ew should taste. Nothing more, nothing less. A glorious version of a...

A happy surprise! We wanted to eat Blue Noodles (popular stall on the same street) but they closed so we randomly checked out Yok Fa on the way out. The shop looks like a big house where they use the front to become an eatery.

There are 3 establishments here actually. A noodle cart, a mango salad table and a stir-fried/wok noodles. We tried the noodle soup with beef slices and balls. It was sooo good that we ordered another round.

The bowl looks simple but smell good of lark and garlic and tastes super nice. Reminds me a lot my childhood Chinese noodles...

One of my absolute favorites in Chiang Mai, I come here at least once a week. They have several dishes but for me their number one is pad see ew.

They do it just perfectly, it's very smokey with the exact amount of soy sauce, probably my favorite in all Thailand.

PRO TIP: Ask your pad see ew with a fried egg on top, it's the ultimate combination and it won't disappoint you, I promise!

The shop has been opened for decades and it's a true classic for local people, the staff is incredibly friendly and speak English. You have to come...