I’m back in Thailand for my holiday. Among the places I have visited this trip is Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya is the ancient capital city of Siam, a pre-Thai Kingdom, before the role was taken by Thonburi and now Bangkok. It is only an hour’s drive from Bangkok. The city is famous for its historical ruins, temple complex and giant freshwater prawns (river prawns)

I actually have been to this place a few times. One time I went with my husband and his parents, when we went there with a tour company by bus and came back to Bangkok by boat along the Chao Phraya river, the major river of Thailand.

This time I went with my friends, and the main reason for the trip was to eat the giant river prawns. We left Bangkok around 9am. The first place we stopped was Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon, then Wat Mahathat, which is well known for the Buddha head with a tree trunk and roots growing around it.

Before having lunch we went to get Roti Saimai, also known as Ayutthaya’s cotton candy, which is sold in front of Ayutthaya’s hospital area.

The place we stopped for lunch is “Ruan Thai Kung Pao“. The shop is located beside the Chao Phraya river and was recommended by my foodie friend on Instagram. Here are the dishes we had.

Grilled river prawns(กุ้งแม่น้ำเผา) Of course must be this dish as this is the main reason we were here. That day the restaurant only had one size prawn, which was 5 prawns weighing 1kg. The chef butterflied the prawns then grilled them and served with seafood dipping sauce. What was so special about this is the yellow oil from the prawn head that tasted so good.

Next dish was my choice, Pad sai bau, stir fried lotus stems (ผัดสายบัว) The dish reminds me of my childhood, where my mother and I rode on a boat to pick the lotus stem from the river near our village. This lotus stir fried was special as the restaurant also added claws prawns (ก้ามกุ้ง) as well and it didn’t disappoint. I think I had more of this dish than anyone.

Pad Cha fish balls, stir fried fish balls with mixed Thai herbs (ผัดฉ่าลูกชิ้นปลากราย). I made Pad cha and posted a video before, however I didn’t use the fish balls. These fish balls were made from a special type of fish, clown featherback, which is not available in Australia (as far as I know). Well again, I really enjoyed eating something I haven’t eaten for awhile.

Fried fish with fish sauce (ปลาทอดน้ำปลา). This was my friend’s choice, I don’t really remember the name of the fish. It tasted good, but it is something I cook quite often so it was not that special to me.

The last dish was fried rice crab(ข้าวผัดปู). The dish tasted good, but this is normally available at most restaurants and I have to say I have had better fried rice crab before.

We got back to Bangkok around 5pm. Overall it is a fantastic trip to Ayutthaya. I know many of you are a bit concerned to have seafood or try new foods while traveling, but if you have no concerns please add eating river prawns in Ayutthaya on you list!