Eat Chiang Mai - One Day with Yao!

I’m here to introduce my Chiang Mai to you.

Here to show you healthy & sustainable local food to support local people. Start your day with coffee and breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, pastry and dinner.

This 1-day experience will be perfect for foodied to be able to learn about Thai food, community and culture.

In Chiang Mai we have a lot to offer in terms of good food, art and music scene.

Where to eat? Many choices up for discussion! Why with Yao? I’m a local Thai chef in relationship with the local food scene. And yes, I can talk about food all day!

Fee
1 person 2,000 THB
2 person 3,800 THB
Group can be much cheaper and we can discuss.
Price does not include transportation, food, drink.

This tour program below please contact: yousabai@gmail.com

Sustainable Food Tour

Thai Traditional Village

This tour takes guests to visit a beautiful, rural Thai village in the mountains, about 2 hours drive from Chiang Mai. The village is small and community focused, containing mostly traditional homes, with community life centered around the local temple and school.

The village’s main source of income is a tea plantation that the community has operated together for generations. Even the oldest members of the village don’t recall when the plantations started or how long tea was foraged before they began actively cultivating it. The tea is usually not prepared as a drink. Instead they villagers ferment the tea leaves and, once it is ready, will chew it throughout the day for its effect as a mild stimulant. They also get income from cultivating indian pepper, which is dried and used in northern laab for its a mala spice and fragrance.

The villagers work together as a community, and share most of their resources. Their own food comes from sustainable sources, mostly either grown in small gardens or gathered wild from the surrounding jungle.

They began working with tourists just a few years ago. All the profits from these tours go to the village and are shared for projects that benefit the whole community, allowing them to rely on their own income for community projects rather than the government.

Example Itinerary

This is not a traditional tour, in that it aims to create more natural and authentic interactions than many ‘on-rails’ tours to rural villages. We encourage visitors to be open to adjustments in the timing and content of the itinerary. We promise if you keep an open spirit and willingness to engage in meaningful interactions, you will have a much more fulfilling experience than you can find in most conventional tours.

Itinerary:

You will leave from Chiang Mai after lunch and drive 1 ½ to 2 hours to arrive at the village in the afternoon.
When you first arrive at the village you’ll be taken to a community building to meet a welcoming party of villagers. This is an informal meeting, and we encourage you to mingle with the villagers, ask any questions you have, and even tell them a little about yourself. This is a space where we encourage you to take the opportunity to create meaningful and personal conversations that go beyond the staged interactions of most village tours.
After the introductions, you’ll come back to your accommodations near the community building so you can rest for a moment and change clothes. You’ll be staying in well-maintained tents with comfortable mattresses, charging stations, a shared shower area, and an adjoining communal bonfire. The weather is temperate throughout the year, and mosquitoes/insects are very limited. Contact the organizer for seasonal information about appropriate dress.
After changing, you’ll be taken on a brief hike with a local guide, usually a village hunter. Your guide will take you through residential garden spaces to gather herbs and vegetables to be used in that evening's dinner. You’ll be able to see the village's tea fermentation process in action. The guide will show you the space they use for different stages of the fermentation and answer any questions you may have. The hike will then go a short distance into the jungle, where you’ll be shown how to identify and forage local plants, and learn their uses as food and medicine.
After you arrive back at the village, you’ll bring the food gathered from your hike to join the village in cooking dinner together. You’ll share a meal with the villagers in the open kitchen area, after which you’re free to enjoy the bonfire or engage in your own activities.
In the morning you’ll have breakfast before going back to Chiang Mai.
- For larger groups, it’s possible to have a local coffee grower/roaster come to provide fresh drip coffee with breakfast. Contact the organizer to discuss arranging this.

Indigenous Pakakeryaw Village

You will visit a group of Buddhist Pakakeryaw people living together in a self-reliant, sustainable village. The village uses only solar powered electricity, chickens or pigs are raised next to village houses, and most of their food is foraged from the nearby jungle. This Pakakeryaw village is most famous for its high quality honey, cultured from royal bees, black bees, and honey bees.

The village is arranged along a narrow path of land with beautiful hills and jungle on either side. Food growth and production is a big part of village culture, and you’ll be invited into the villagers’ homes to see how integral food is to their daily lives, and the strong connection they have to the ecosystem that sustains them.

You will be housed in local houses with very simple mattresses and blankets, either a spare room or a living area.

Example Itinerary

This is not a traditional tour, and the village is not built around providing experiences for tourists. This tour offers a chance to connect with a culture that is a beautiful example of simple and sustainable living. We only recommend this tour to visitors who are flexible, open to experiences and willing to engage meaningfully with ways of life that are not similar to their own.

Itinerary:

The tour leaves in the morning and arrives at the village before lunch. Travel time from Chiang Mai is about 2 ½ hours.
Upon arriving you’ll be shown to your accommodations and given time to get ready, change clothes, and relax after the journey. You will be staying in villager’s houses and sleeping with very simple mattresses and blankets in either a spare room or a living area. Please pack a jacket, and email the organizer to find out what is appropriate clothing for the season.
The group will then have a lunch of traditional Pakakeryaw food.
After lunch, one of the villagers will lead you through the beautiful old growth jungle on a foraging tour where you’ll be taught to identify medicinal plants and edible fruits and vegetables that grow wild in the jungle. This hike will last for about 3 hours, and includes lots of breaks for the guide to stop and tell you stories along the way.
When the tour is over, you can enjoy some afternoon free time and walk through the village.
Dinner will be a truly special experience. You will share an intimate meal of traditional Karen food with the villagers in their private home spaces.
After dinner, the village becomes quiet and people generally go to sleep, so anticipate an early bedtime.
In the morning you can enjoy locally grown and roasted coffee with your breakfast.
After breakfast, you’ll be given a tour of the villages beekeeping operation, and have an opportunity to purchase some of the most delicious, sustainably cultured honey that Thailand has to offer.
(Optional) You may also arrange to have a honey tasting, dependent on the availability of village beekeepers. Contact the organizer as early as possible if you would like to arrange this.