Charcoal-grilled marinated chicken, butterflied and cooked slow over coals until smoky and lacquered, torn by hand and eaten with sticky rice and chilli dip.

Grilled chicken is shared across northern and northeastern Thailand, carried into Chiang Mai kitchens by Isan cooks and northern grill houses alike. The bird is marinated in garlic, coriander root, white pepper, fish sauce and often a little turmeric, then butterflied and grilled slowly over charcoal so the skin lacquers without burning. It is eaten as part of a wider spread with sticky rice, green papaya salad and a fiery jaew dipping sauce, torn and shared by hand. In Chiang Mai it anchors cheap, smoky lunch counters like SP Chicken near Wat Phra Singh.

3 editor picks for Gai yang in Chiang Mai, ranked by editorial score. All Chiang Mai signature dishes · Gai yang across every city.