Loei’s food sits between Isan and Laos, with the Mekong adding river fish and prawns and the Tai Dam communities around Chiang Khan contributing their own herb-forward cooking. Expect soft rice noodles in clear broth for breakfast, fiery jaew dipping sauces, grilled river prawns by the rapids and bags of coconut candy to take home. There is no MICHELIN Guide coverage in Loei, so the best eating is at markets, noodle shops and riverside stalls.<\/p>\n
Thick, slippery rice noodles in a gentle pork broth with sliced pork sausage, fried shallots and often a soft egg \u2014 the classic Loei breakfast.<\/p>\n
Fresh rice noodles in a sour-savoury broth flavoured with chilli and sugar, topped with pork, offal and shredded cabbage. A dish that tells you you are in Chiang Khan.<\/p>\n
Fresh rice noodles dressed with pounded jaew; you adjust the heat and sweetness yourself, with fermented fish sauce for those who like it funky.<\/p>\n
River prawns caught by Chiang Khan fishermen, skewered and grilled over charcoal. Best eaten at the Kaeng Khut Khu stalls with sticky rice and chilli dip.<\/p>\n
Tiny Mekong shrimp bound with a little flour and fried into lacy, crisp fritters, served with sweet sauce, shallots and cucumber.<\/p>\n
A Loei twist on papaya salad mixed with short, chewy khanom jeen noodles.<\/p>\n
Papaya salad seasoned with the liquid from long-fermented sathon leaves instead of fish sauce \u2014 mellow, savoury and unusual.<\/p>\n
A blanched vegetable dish seasoned with ginger or galangal, from the Tai Dam village of Na Pa Nad near Chiang Khan; light, aromatic and healthy.<\/p>\n
Chewy strips of young coconut cooked with sugar \u2014 Chiang Khan’s best-known souvenir, sold in every shop on the main lane.<\/p>\n
Whole fish grilled with salt or cooked in a sour soup; prices depend on the day’s catch.<\/p>\n
Chiang Khan Walking Street:<\/strong> the old main lane becomes a food and craft street every evening, busiest on weekends and in the cool season. Map<\/a><\/p>\n Chiang Khan morning alms and market:<\/strong> wake early to see the sticky-rice alms round, then grab khao piak or khao pun from the morning stalls. Map<\/a><\/p>\n Kaeng Khut Khu:<\/strong> a row of riverside stalls selling grilled prawns, fried shrimp fritters and coconut sweets. Map<\/a><\/p>\n Loei night market:<\/strong> in town, good for an inexpensive dinner of som tam, grilled chicken and larb before heading to the mountains. Map<\/a><\/p>\n Na Pa Nad Tai Dam village:<\/strong> a cultural village near Chiang Khan where you can learn about Tai Dam food and weaving. Map<\/a><\/p>\n Loei is not covered by the MICHELIN Guide, and many of its best cooks run small stalls without English signs. Our advice: eat where locals queue \u2014 khao piak shops open at dawn and often sell out by late morning; in Chiang Khan look for noodle shops along the main lane and the parallel road; at Kaeng Khut Khu choose a stall with a busy grill. In the national parks, simple park canteens serve rice dishes and noodles. Opening hours change often, so check before you go.<\/p>\n During Phi Ta Khon in Dan Sai (around June\u2013July), stalls line the streets with grilled meats, sticky rice and local sweets, and households cook for merit-making at the temple. In the cool season Chiang Khan’s evening street is at its liveliest, with hot soy milk, grilled snacks and coconut candy everywhere. Read more about the festivals and sights in our things to do in Loei<\/a> guide.<\/p>\n Khao piak sen and Chiang Khan-style khao pun are the dishes most associated with the province.<\/p>\n Jaew sauces and som tam can be fierce; ask for “mai phet” (not spicy) or “phet nit noi” (a little spicy).<\/p>\n Coconut candy from Chiang Khan, plus dried snacks and woven cloth from local shops.<\/p>\n Some \u2014 ask for “jay” food; Tai Dam vegetable dishes and noodle shops can often adapt.<\/p>\n Cover photo: Kung yang.JPG<\/a> \u00b7 Takeaway \u00b7 CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a> \u00b7 Wikimedia Commons<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What to eat in Loei: khao piak sen, Chiang Khan khao pun, grilled Mekong prawns, Tai Dam dishes, coconut candy and the best markets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5545,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[182],"tags":[],"province":[185],"class_list":["post-5544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-en","province-loei-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5544"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5600,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5544\/revisions\/5600"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5544"},{"taxonomy":"province","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/province?post=5544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Where to eat<\/h2>\n
Festival food<\/h2>\n
Practical tips for eating in Loei<\/h2>\n
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FAQ<\/h2>\n
What is Loei’s most famous dish?<\/h3>\n
Is Loei food very spicy?<\/h3>\n
What should I buy as a souvenir?<\/h3>\n
Are there vegetarian options?<\/h3>\n
Keep exploring<\/h2>\n
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