Besides excellent Thai and Chinese food, visitors can enjoy Italian, French, German and Muslim food in specialty restaurants. US-style steakhouses, sandwich bars, fast-food outlets, English-style pubs and vegetarian restaurants offer a broad range of cuisines. International fare is widely available in teahouses and coffeeshops.

Local culinary specialties include highly spiced Naem sausages and mildly curried Khao Soi noodles.

Many visitors enjoy a traditional Khan Toke dinner which is accompanied by a display of northern dances. Khan Toke actually is a wooden tray for carrying dishes. In a Khan Toke dinner the guests sit in groups of five or six on the floor.

Major Khan Toke dishes include glutinous rice, Burmese and northern Thai-style curries, spiced mincemeat dishes, Chiang Mai sausage, highly seasoned sauces and dips, and crisp pork rind.

Diners eat with their hands while groups provide entertainment, performing popular Northern dances such as the graceful fingernail dance, the candle dance and the sword dance.