Start your journey up north at Krua Pa Ta Chiang Mai, an authentic Lanna restaurant which insists on traditional cooking techniques. That means dishes like the rare-to-find khao ram fuen tod (golden fried tofu-like bites made of chickpea flour with tangy ginger-vinegar sauce and ground peanuts and sesame), khai pam (an oil-free omelet made on banana leaf) and jin som mok khai (a Northeastern-style sour sausage cooked with egg and grilled on a banana leaf). Also, be sure not to miss the tum kanoon (stir-fried jackfruit with raw jackfruit curry paste)—a dish which Northern superstition dictates should be eaten on auspicious occasions.

Next, head down south to Na Chalong, which serves high-heat delicacies like goong pad sataw (shrimp in chili paste with bitter beans) and kanom jeen gaeng poo bai chaphlu (crab curry with wild betal leaves and fermented rice noodles). Turn up the heat even more with their sour and spicy seabass curry with coconut shoots—have some comforting stir-fried melinjo leaves with eggs on hand to extinguish the flames. 

For a true taste of Isaan, Eathai serves up a classic somtam tard (papaya salad served with side condiments on a metal tray), as well as a special somtam see pak (four regions somtam) that draws in flavors from all over Thailand. To go with it, they’ve even recruited some of the best grilled chicken in Bangkok.

Krua Apsorn, the Bangkok institution for classic Thai cooking, is Eathai’s partner for central region cuisine, serving favorites like roasted duck curry and red curry, panaeng moo (ground peanut-coconut cream curry with pork) and beef green curry. Looking for fancy bites? Go for the popcorn Thai yai from Mae Hong Son, which is made using crispy toasted waxy corn.

Commemorate your adventure with handicraft products and souvenirs ranging from textiles to mineral soaps, and even support the Saori Training Centre in Phangnga, which has helped tsunami victims since 2005. Shop at the Eathai Market to carry that authentic taste all the way home after learning how to cook Thai food at the Issaya Cooking Studio.  

All these amazing delicacies and more can be found alongside workshops and traditional shows on level LG of Central Embassy from Jul 21-31.

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