Some of you've probably been to Thailand extensively or if the major cities, like Bangkok, Pattaya or even Hua Hin don't excite you nomore. There are plenty other cities that you can visit in Thailand. This post will take you to a pretty rare place for foreigners but is totally worth it for adventure takers. If you have a few spare days in Thailand, you can do a short 3 days 2 nights trip to Northeastern Thailand, Mukdahan and surrounds, this might work well for you. You can also combine it with visiting Laos, the border city called Savannakhet and a nearby city, Xeno in a day trip as well.
In Mukdahan itself, there are activities to do, such as visiting temples, shopping at Mukdahan Indochina walking street and enjoying some delicious snacks from Talad Ratri.
This area in particular is very famous with its ko khun pon yang kham beef, or it's like the Kobe beef of Thailand. We made a lunch stop at this restaurant called Farm Rak that is serving good quality of beef for BBQ and hot pot. I totally recommend this place, especially for beef lovers. You will forget those wagyu beef for a moment. The meat is as tender and fatty but way cheaper in price. We grilled them in butter, made them even tastier. You can also cook the meat in some Thai spices broth and do like a Thai style hot pot or jaew hon. The meat comes in very thin slices so they cook in an instant.
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| Beef grilled on a hot iron pan over charcoal with some butter |
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| Jaew hon esan hot pot |
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| dipping sauces |
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| Ratri night market |
This night market in Mukdahan is called Talad Ratri. It opens every night from 4pm -9pm. It is located just opposite Mukdahan City Hall on Song Nang Sathit road. In Mukdahan, their cuisine gets a lot of influences from Vietnam. This is because so many Vietnamese migrated and settled here long long time ago.
One of the famous snacks in this market is from Pak Mor Chaideaw stall. They are selling khanom pak mor which is kinda like a dumpling made from flour mixture and sometime comes with eggs and filled with different meat fillings, such as chicken, Vietnamese sausage or pork minced and it accompanies with some greens like lettuce, cilantro and onions. They are all made fresh to order right in front of you. It was really really delicious and pretty cheap as well. They also have khao kriap, the crispy version one which is quite similar to banh xeo.
Another iconic dining spot in Mukdahan is here along the river on Samran Chai Kong Nae road near Thai-Lao Friendship bridge no.2. I think, it could be around one kilometer long of stalls and tables there. They all have equally nice-looking view by the river. This place is loved by locals as well as tourists. Mainly, they sell fried snacks and Thai style BBQ/hotpot with great range of fresh seafood, meat and vegetables to choose from.
Normally, the fresh vegetables displayed on the table are there for free and you can take as much as you like as long as you order dishes from them. Like the store the one we had, they also have unlimited ice cream for customers to enjoy. You can order some other cooked e-san dishes too, such as som tum (papaya salad), yam (spicy and sour salad), pla pao (salt-crusted fish cooked over hot charcoal) and many more.
Stay tuned for the next blog still in Mukdahan:
