Our guide is Andy Ricker, longtime resident of Chiang Mai who popularized this region’s cuisine in the U.S. with his PokPok restaurants and his appearance with his friend Anthony Bourdain on Bourdain’s television shows from Thailand. Our local host is Phongsila “MaPeng” Commak, a multilingual photographer, traveler, and collaborator of Andy’s.
R&K Host
Chef, Writer, Raconteur Andy Ricker
Local Guide
Culinary Connector Mapeng Commak
Overview
Chiang Mai Private October 2024
This former capital—which King Rama V called the “prime diamond on the crown of Thailand”—is the mountain soul of this country. We’ll start there and then branch widely, venturing to the Golden Triangle and back down to Chiang Rai, into the mountains and finally into one final Bangkok bacchanal. Restaurateur, writer, and raconteur Andy Ricker and his friends, including some of the best people to cook and drink with in the country, are our guides to the multi-faceted cuisine of this extraordinary place.
88/8 Bumruang Rajd Rd, Chiang Mai, Chang Wat Chiang Mai, 50000
+66 053 262 818
Early morning fresh market walk at Talaat Jin Haw, the best indigenous and Yunnan Muslim food market in the country. Breakfast with the famous “Mohinga Lady”
Lunch at Huen Jai Yong for Yong-style Northern Thai food
Relax at the hotel, prepare for a big feast
Akha feast at Andy’s shophouse in the city with Seeds Journey, a team on a mission to preserve the rich traditions of seasonal eating and seed knowledge from Akha and Paganyaw heritage
Andy Ricker is an award-winning chef and best-selling author widely credited with introducing Northern Thai cuisine to the United States through his Pok Pok Restaurants. Formed in Portland in 2005, Pok Pok later operated in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and New York, where it earned a Michelin Star. The two-time James Beard Award winner has worked as a pumpkin picker, DJ, house painter and construction contractor, ship’s cook, busboy, waiter, bartender, musician, commercial fisherman, outdoor store salesperson, maintenance man and short order cook. He first visited Thailand as a backpacker in 1987 and now lives full time with his wife and six cats in Chiang Mai city.
Local Guide
Mapeng Commak
Culinary Connector
An avowed environmentalist and “culinary connector,” Mapeng Commak was born and raised in Bangkok but went to Chiang Mai 12 years ago to escape flooding and never left. He founded a nonprofit that connects local farmers with chefs in the region and helps them to transform endemic ingredients into artisanal products. We met him through Lee Ayu, proprietor of the extraordinary Akha Ama Coffee in the Akha highlands and soon realized there was no one better to join chef Andy Ricker in guiding the League through the country’s south.
Where You’ll Stay
Rarin Villas
Chiang Mai Oasis
Set in the serene Mueang district of Chiang Mai, Rarin Villas is a sanctuary where urban comforts meets nature’s tranquility. Spanning 4 rai, the estate boasts seven villas—each designed with privacy and comfort in mind.
Riva Vista Resort
Chiang Rai Views
Riva Vista Resort on the banks of the Kok River features some of the largest rooms in Chiang Rai, with high-end amenities and private balconies with breathtaking views of the surrounding misty mountains and rolling green landscape.
AYLA CHALET
Mountain bungalow
Perched high in the hills of Phrae, Ayla Chalet offers comfortable bungalow accommodation in verdant natural surroundings. Plentiful outdoor spaces and well-appointed rooms make this a great base for exploring the area.
Como Metropolitan Bangkok
Urban Oasis
Como Metropolitan Bangkok offers expansive, light-filled rooms and suites with a blend of eastern and western influences, all designed by Singaporean interior architect Kathryn Kng. Conveniently located minutes from major shopping hubs like Siam Centre, MBK, and Central Silom Complex, the hotel provides a peaceful retreat from the city’s hustle and bustle.
Really appreciated traveling alongside Andy. The history and context provided by him at the table helped me pull together so much more understanding.
Chiang Mai and the Festival of Lights 2023
The food and the guidance, the open minds, the access. Most of all, the people. The experience was great, dare I say life changing.
Travel to Thailand for a week of culinary exploration that is sometimes rustic, sometimes luxurious, but always fascinating. By foot, by plane, by private vehicle, by speedboat: this is a kinetic journey through the heart of the South. Your hosts Andy Ricker and Phongsila “Mapeng” Comack are the perfect guides through the big history and bright flavors of the region, mixing places you think you know with locations that few outsiders get to visit.
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