Dai cuisine is closer to northern Thai than to Han Chinese — sticky rice, grilled river fish, sour soups built around tamarind and pickled bamboo, pineapple-rice claypots, papaya salad pounded in a wooden mortar. The food is fresh, herb-forward, and often surprisingly spicy. Most Dai restaurants in Jinghong cluster around Manting Lu and the south end of the riverside promenade.