Chiang Mai Eat: Lek’s Wonton Noodle @ Old City

26 September 2024

Chinese wonton / wanton noodle (云吞面) with sliced barbecue pork / chicken, a popular noodle dish in Singapore and Malaysia, is also a common local dish in Thailand. Lek’s Wonton Noodle, located near Saen Pung Gate of Chiang Mai Old City, is an eatery that specialises in wonton noodle, shrimp dumplings and a series of delectable pork and/or shrimp dishes.

The basic ingredients of wonton noodle are egg noodle, wonton (meat dumplings) and barbecue pork. Lek’s Wonton Noodle offers variants using these ingredients, such as the standard wonton noodle with pork dumplings and barbecue pork, noodle with shrimp dumplings and barbecue pork, barbecue pork noodle / rice, or wonton soup only. There are sukiyaki dishes with pork or shrimps too.

The signature Egg Noodle with Shrimp Wonton and Barbecue Pork (叉烧云吞虾面) is served with all its ingredients on the egg noodle with greens. The noodle is dry-tossed with lard oil with fried pork lard. It is a delicious dish with tender barbecue pork and fresh crunchy shrimps in the dumplings.

The Thai’s standard sauce set includes dried chilli powder, brown sugar, fish sauce and pickled chilli. These are commonly used by locals to adjust the tastes of their meals. Don’t be surprise when they add sugar to their noodle soups.

Dry-style noodle dishes in Thailand are usually served without soup, so get a bowl of Pork Bone Soup (猪肉骨头汤) that comes with a big piece of pig bone with tender meat attached in a clear broth. It is delightfully light-tasting with rich flavour of boiling pig bones and without much seasoning. This is definitely a must to accompany any non-soupy noodle or rice dishes.

The Shrimp Dumplings with Shanghai Sauce (上海凉拌虾饺) is a nice and simple side dish to go for with extra flavours from the tasty chilli sauce. This dish is best to accompany wonton noodle with pork dumplings and barbecue pork noodle / rice or to satisfy the cravings for more of Lek’s shrimp dumplings.

The 3-piece Steamed Shrimp Dumplings (烧卖 or siomai) is another variation of the shrimp dumplings with fresh shrimps and top with edible gold. Dip the siomai in the light vinegar sauce before eating.