Tong Tem Toh is a hugely popular Northern Thai restaurant in Chiang Mai that serves authentic and affordable Northern Thai specialities. It is one of the most popular Thai restaurants in Chiang Mai and a must-visit for any foodie who visits Chiang Mai. Reason enough to write a detailed review of this local gem.
Tong Tem Toh is located on Nimmanahaeminda Soi 13, an area outside the old city of Chiang Mai where you can amazing restaurants. However, if you are looking for authentic Northern Thai food, Tong Tem Toh is the place to go in this area. The restaurant itself is spacious and has the authentic local Thai restaurant looks with wooden tables. Due to popularity, Tong Tem Toh has waiting queues around dinner time. Luckily the food gets served pretty quickly and usually, the maximum waiting time is around thirty minutes. You can obviously avoid this by visiting early, but keep in mind that the grilled meats are not available during day time. The restaurant closes at nine o’clock in the evening.
The atmosphere at the popular Tong Tem Toh restaurant in Chiang Mai
The food at Tong Tem Toh
The menu at Tong Tem Toh is extensive and for foreigners with no knowledge of the local cuisine, it can be very difficult to order something to your taste palate, as the Northern Thai cuisine can have some extraordinary and uncommon ingredients, such as fermented sausage and pigskin. If you are in an adventurous mood, you should most definitely try out their signature Northern Style Hors D’Oeuvre (173 THB), which is a plate full of local delicacies: Northern Thai sausage, pork skin omelette, deep-fried pork and boiled pepper sausage. It’s also served with two different types of nam prik, which is a herbal dip, and boiled veggies to dip with. This combination of local delicacies and flavours makes it the most interesting dish they serve and I highly recommend you to try this.
Northern Style Hors D’Oeuvre (173 THB)
Nam Prik, the Northern Thai chilli dips
Another must-order at Tong Tem Toh is their Burmese Style Pork Curry (73 THB), which is actually the famous Northern Thai dish called Hang Lay. Compared to the signature dish Northern Style Horse D’Oeuvre, this Burmese Style Pork Curry is much more suitable for the Western taste palate. The delicious curry is creamy and has a bit of a peanut taste, but the best part is the incredibly tender chunks of pork.
Burmese Style Pork Curry (73 THB)
The Fried Sweet Leaves with Egg (83 THB) is a real local favourite and is a simple yet tasty dish. The fried egg and leaves are covered in a sweet dressing and are perfectly suitable as a side dish. For example, it goes perfectly together with the popular Deep-Fried Streaky Pork in Fish Sauce (72 THB). These crunchy deep-fried bits of pork are popular among locals and goes really well with rice. Flavourwise not as exotic as the Northern Style Hors D’Oeuvre, but definitely tasty!
Fried Sweet Leaves with Egg (83 THB)
Deep-Fried Streaky Pork in Fish Sauce (72 THB)
Authentic Northern Thai food at Tong Tem Toh in Chiang Mai
Overall verdict: Tong Tem Toh is a must-visit when you are in Chiang Mai and want to experience and taste the authentic Northern Thai Cuisine. The menu is extensive with an amazing dish for anyone's preference. In my opinion, the Northern Style Hors D’Oeuvre and the Burmese Style Pork Curry are the absolute winners and a guarantee for exciting flavours.
Tong Tem Toh is listed in our food review app called TopTravelFoods. With TopTravelFoods, travellers can easily find the most recommended and exciting dishes near them during their visit to Thailand. If you are looking for more amazing restaurants, check out our article about the best local Thai restaurants in Chiang Mai.
Joost Beijers 
