Muang Mai Market – Chiang Mai

The Muang Mai Market is the main wholesale area for fresh produce in Chiang Mai and for anyone interested in food it’s a great place to visit. The market runs along the west side of the Ping River. It’s a maze of streets and lanes, bustling with pickup trucks, people walking and on scooters.

Muang Mai market is a mix of small stalls, warehouses, permanent shops and pick up trucks. Much of the food has come straight from the farm and in some parts of the market the farmers sell their wares direct from the back of their vehicles. You will be amazed at how much garlic, cabbages or other vegetables can be piled in the back of one of these vehicles. Most of the vendors specialise in one or two items of produce so buying a basket of food will mean working your way around the market. The majority of the market is made up of an enormous range of locally grown fruits and vegetables – one stall will sell watermelons, another pineapple, another lettuce and so on. The variety and freshness is astonishing to those used to buying from a western supermarket.

A section of the market is for fresh meat serving mainly pork and chicken but with some beef. We’re used to buying meat cling wrapped on polystyrene plate, here some of the hygiene standards may not be to western supermarket standards.

In another lane there are stalls selling fresh seafood laid on ice. There are not only fish (live) but a huge variety of shellfish, prawns, squid and crab much of it heading for Chiang Mai’s many restaurants.

Turn a corner and you find stalls that specialise solely in curry pastes.

Compared to our usual market (Somphet) the prices at Muang Mai market are much cheaper. We were absolutely astonished at some of the prices compared with the high prices in UK supermarkets. Although Muang Mai is mainly a wholesale market selling in bulk, all the stalls will sell smaller amounts and shopping for fresh food will save on the weekly budget!