Just like Bangkok, Chiang Mai is very vegan friendly. If anything, there are markets and street vendors all over that sell fresh and local fruits.
Our first night in Chiang Mai we were planning on going to a buffet but it was closed. So, we happened to stumble upon a little vegan place that is a very close second on my list of favorite foods in Thailand.
Everything about Vegan Heaven was amazing. The menu had a huge selection from western food to Thai food and even included desserts, smoothies, and juices. My favorite part was that I was finally able to get a traditional Thai coconut smoothie in a coconut that was vegan and was zero-waste (typically the ones at the market come in plastic or with a plastic straw).
I got the vegan duck soup and was absolutely shocked with how much their meat alternative resembled meat. I think this dish could fool any non-vegan. Dan got the pineapple fried rice and a strawberry banana smoothie, both of which were incredible. Then, because we were curious, we tried the vegan bacon sandwich. I wouldn't saw it resembled bacon but it was still yummy.
For dessert, we got mango sticky rice (a Thai classic) and chocolate ice cream, again, both were phenomenal.
Unfortunately, that was all we had time for in Chiang Mai since the next day we went to Doi Inthanon National Park. If you are vegan and heading to this park I highly recommend that you pack your own food. We had trail snacks but once we were on our way back to Chiang Mai during dinner time, there were no vegan options in the little mountain village.
The upside is that there were plenty of vegetarian options so I resorted to that and I am glad we did. It was a little pizza place run by a man named "A" and his family. He spoke very good English, served very delicious food and fresh juice, and we even found out his brother is a police officer only 45 minutes from where I grew up! Although it wasn't vegan, it was an amazing experience.
Some other places I had on a list to go to in Chiang Mai were:
The Salad Concept
Good Souls Kitchen
By Hand Pizza Cafe
Happy Green
DA's home bakery
V Secret
Yupin Happy Mushroom
If we spent more time in Chiang Mai, we probably would have made it to a few of these. When in doubt, the app Happy Cow is a life saver and when in Thailand, you know there will always be fresh fruit around. Happy travels and happy eating!
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