About 80km north of Bangkok, Ayutthaya is renowned for its great number of majestic temple ruins and listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1991. This ancient city with a rich historical and cultural background provides a unique experience for the travellers who love history and architecture of the ancient times. Besides exploring the historical attractions, tasting the Thai cuisines from the locally owned eateries is also one of the activities in Ayutthaya.
When you visit Ayutthaya, do try their famous foods like Kuay Tiaw Reua (Boat Noodles), Roti Sai Mai (Rolled Pancakes with Candy Floss) which can be easily found along the U-Thong Road, Khao Mok Kai which is a Muslim dish consists of yellow rice and also the Grilled Giant River Prawns which can be commonly found in many of the Thai seafood restaurants.
In this post, we would like to share with you the 8 local eating places that we had hunted down during our stay in Ayutthaya.
1. Krung Kao Boat NoodlesKuay Tiao Reua or Boat Noodles is one of the Ayutthaya's specialties. These noodles were sold by the vendors in the wooden rowboats on the canals and rivers back in the early days. Today, most of the Boat Noodles are sold in a shop by the roadside. A bowl of classic Boat Noodles consists of rice noodles, pork liver, pig blood curd, roasted pork, pork balls, crispy fried pork skin and filled with dark brown soup. The Boat Noodles are normally served in a small bowl and you can choose the ingredients to go along based on your liking. While we were on our way to the Minivan Station, we chanced upon a Boat Noodle shop along Pratuchai Road; despite just had our breakfast, we decided to give it a try since it was served in small portions. We ordered 2 bowls of dark broth noodles with pork. The noodles had a very nice chewy texture, the pork was very tender and fresh, and the dark brown soup was rich and tasty. This is definitely an ideal dish for a quick slurp. |
| The Boat Noodle shop along Pratuchai Road. |
 |
| Boat Noodles with Pork |
 |
| Long wooden rowboat as display counter. |
"The specialty food of Ayutthaya"
<< Krung Kao Boat Noodles >>
Year Visited: 2017 Feb2. ก๋วยเตี๋ยวไง อยุธยา - วัดใหญ่ (Noodle Ayutthaya @ Wat Yai)
Tom Yum is a kind of spicy and sour soup originated in Thailand, and it is also one of the most well known dishes in Thai cuisine. There are 2 different types of Tom Yum, the clear version and the creamy version. At Noodle Ayutthaya (Wat Yai), they serve the creamy version of Tom Yum Goong and their signature dish is the seafood Tom Yum noodle soup. The Tom Yum soup come in 2 sizes, we ordered the smaller size, which was enough to feed 2 to 3 persons and it costs 560THB. This sumptuous bowl of Tom Yum soup consisted of crabs, flathead lobsters, squids, prawns, mussels, scallops, squid stuffed with minced meat, fried eggs, hard boiled egg, yellow noodles and green noodles. The broth was creamy sweet, mildly spicy and not very sour. The seafood and ingredients were very fresh and sweet without any fishy odors. Overall, the Tom Yum soup was quite value for money. |
| Noodles Ayutthaya @ Wat Yai |
 |
| Tom Yum Goong creamy version |
 |
| Green noodles |
 |
| Fried Eggs |
 |
| Crab |
 |
| Indoor seating |
"A sumptuous bowl of seafood Tom Yum Goong"
<< ก๋วยเตี๋ยวไง อยุธยา - วัดใหญ่ (Noodle Ayutthaya @ Wat Yai) >>
<< The Summer House >>Getting There: It takes about 10mins from Wat Yai Chaimongkol by using a Tuk Tuk (100THB) Year Visited: 2017 FebAfter a day trip around Ayutthaya, we were kind of tired and decided to settle our dinner near iuDia On The River, the hotel that we stayed. As the sky turned dark, most of the nearby restaurants were already closed, but we were lucky to find this push cart stall along the Uthong Road selling Pad Thai. Pad Thai is a stir-fried rice noodle dish; it is considered the national dish of Thailand and it is so popular that you can't avoid seeing it no matter where you go in Thailand. Although their stall name is ผัดไทย (Pad Thai), they do sell other dishes beside Pad Thai. The plate of Pad Thai that we ordered was nicely cooked, slightly sticky, but not too moist, and it had a traditional taste. We also tried out their Pad See Ew, which is the stir-frying of wide flat rice noodle with dark sweet soy sauce. The plate of Pad See Ew was dark in color and rather greasy, but surprisingly, the noodle was delectable and came with a good smoky taste or a wok essence. |
| Pad Thai |
 |
| Pad See Ew |
"Delicious with a wok essence"
<< ผัดไทย (Pad Thai) >>
Year Visited: 2017 Feb
5. ร้านบะหมี่จับกังไฮโซ สาขาตลาดเจ้าพรหม (Noodle Shop @ Center Chao Phrom Market)
It was during the Ancient Capital Miracle Chinese New Year celebration when we visited Ayutthaya. There were many activities like lion dance, singing, cultural performances and celebration dinner took place around the Chao Phrom Market. And there were also many food stall carts lined along both sides of the Nareusan Road to pump up the atmosphere of the event. As we walked down the road, we saw many choices of mouth-watering food at those stall carts, but in the end, we were allured by this local eatery crowded with the locals. Basically, this local eatery sells noodles with different types of pork. We ordered a bowl of soup noodles with three of a kind, Char Siew (BBQ pork), roast pork and fermented pork sausage; also it was accompanied with some vegetable, dumplings and half sliced of a striking marinated soft boiled egg, which was very similar as the Japanese Ajitsuke Tamago. The soup was sweet-salty balanced, the Char Siew was soft but slightly fatty, the roast pork was tender with a crispy crackling, the pork sausage was flavourful and tasty. I would say this is one of the most comforting foods that you could find in Ayutthaya. |
| Noodle Shop @ Center Chao Phrom Market |
 |
| Dragon Dance |
 |
| Lion Dance |
 |
| Singing Competition |
 |
| Traditional Opera |
 |
| Opera Backstage |
 |
| Chinese New Year Celebration Dinner |
"One of the most comforting foods in Ayutthaya"
<< ร้านบะหมี่จับกังไฮโซ สาขาตลาดเจ้าพรหม (Noodle Shop @ Center Chao Phrom Market) >>
Year Visited: 2017 Feb
Housed in a cozy environment, this contemporary urban style cafe serves not only drinks and snacks, but also many of the classic Ayutthaya dishes and unique dishes of their own creations. Fried Rice with Ayutthaya (110THB) is one of the signature dishes in Silp Pa Cafe, and the real meaning behind this dish is actually fried rice with Sesbania; Sesbania is the provincial flower and also the symbol of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province. This creative dish is served on a banana leaf using the fine grain rice topped with Sesbania flowers as a centerpiece and surrounded by an adorable fried fish, fried eggplant, fresh cucumber, chili paste, and also comes along with a small bowl of hot soup. The ingredients were very fresh, nicely fried, and not greasy; most importantly, it was delicious. Another appetizing dish that we tried was Rice Vermicelli with Grilled Pork (90THB). The rice noodles were rolled into a bite-sized, good pairing with the juicy grilled pork and it was served with spicy-sour sauce. Silp Pa Cafe also created their own signature smoothies, Ayutthaya Sunrise (yogurt, strawberry and beetroot) and Ayutthaya Sunset (yogurt, passion fruit and mandarin orange), both priced at 60THB. There were many other mouth-watering foods and desserts that we felt like trying, but too bad we didn't have enough stomach space for it. Although Silp Pa Cafe is under the property of Silp-Pa Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Hotel, beside the hotel guests, we could also see many locals or domestic tourists coming in for a meal or relax and chill over some drinks and desserts.
 |
| Fried Rice with Ayutthaya |
 |
| Rice Vermicelli with Grilled Pork |
 |
| Spicy Sour Sauce |
 |
| Ayutthaya Sunset |
 |
| Thai Ice Tea - Cha Yen |
"Creative dishes of their own creations"
<< Silp Pa Cafe >>
Year Visited: 2017 Feb
7. ก๋วยเตี๋ยวไข่กรุงศรี (Noodles Krungsri)
Recommended by the locals, we hunted down this local eatery, Noodles Krungsri, that specialize in Tom Yum soup noodles. It was not easy to find the place, even the Tuk Tuk driver missed the eatery with his first attempt. At that point of time, I was thinking is that place not popular or it is really difficult to find? Anyway, we managed to find it, thanks to the accurate location shown in the Google Map. Noodle Krungsri is located next to the Ayutthaya Provincial Sport Stadium along Tambon Phai Ling Road. Looking at their menu, they have both noodle and rice dishes, and their signature dish seems like the Tom Yum Goong with river prawn/seafood. Since we already had a sumptuous bowl of seafood Tom Yum soup the day before, so we decided to settle with crispy pork Tom Yum soup noodles and Char Siew (BBQ Pork) rice. The Char Siew rice (35THB) with half sliced of hard boiled egg flooded with gravy tasted pretty average, but the crispy pork Tom Yum soup noodles (35THB) tasted really good for my liking; the Tom Yum soup was rather sweet-spicy than sour, the noodles were cooked to a perfect chewy texture, the roasted pork crackling remained crispy even it was half dipped into the soup and the half sliced of marinated soft boiled egg made me felt like I was eating a bowl of Japanese Ramen but in a Thai version. We ordered our drinks randomly, and it was served in an ancient silver bowl. Even after we drank it, we didn't know that we were drinking Bael fruit juice (15THB) until we asked the people around. We also ordered some coconut ice cream (39THB for small size) to neutralize the spicy food that we had. This classic Thai coconut ice cream with sides tasted rich, creamy and luscious, absolutely a perfect dish to complete a meal.
 |
| Tom Yum Soup Noodles with Roasted Pork |
 |
| Chewy Texture Noodles |
 |
| Crispy Pork Crackling |
 |
| Chaw Siew (BBQ Pork) rice |
 |
| Bael Fruit Juice |
 |
| Coconut Milk Sweet Cup |
 |
| Coconut Ice Cream with Sides |
"Taste like the Thai version of Japanese Ramen"
<< ก๋วยเตี๋ยวไข่กรุงศรี (Noodles Krungsri) >>
Year Visited: 2017 Feb
8. Baan Kao Nhom
We didn't know that there are so many varieties of Thai desserts until we visited Baan Kao Nhom, a stylish cafe selling traditional Thai desserts in the ancient city of Ayutthaya. When we first arrived at the doorstep of the cafe, we were very amazed by the shop front design; lively green in color with a European style, which simply stand out from the rest of the shops. This little cafe with a cozy interior decoration seem like very popular among the locals and also the tourists as we could see that the crowd traffic continued to flow endlessly. For drinks and ice cream desserts, you have to order with the staffs. For those small bite desserts, you can self service pick on what you like and pay at the cashier counter. Their signature drink, Ayutthaya Charming Green Tea and Latte priced at 60THB and 55THB respectively. Our favourite dessert Bolan Ice Cream (120THB) is actually coconut ice cream with a soft bun as a base, sprinkled with baked crispy mung beans, drizzled zig-zag with caramel sauce and finally garnished with mint leaves on top. We also tried the Khao Tom Mut, which was the Thai banana sticky rice (20THB) and 3 of the 9 auspicious wedding Thai desserts, Tong Ake (good one in life), Ja Mong Gut (superior like a king) and Sanay Chan (the love life as beautiful as the full moon). This so called the hidden gem of Ayutthaya is highly recommended, especially for the ladies and the dessert lovers.
 |
| Bolan Ice Cream |
 |
| Banana Sticky Rice and Tong |
 |
| Banana Sticky Rice |
 |
| Ayutthaya Charming Green Tea |
 |
| Latte |
 |
| Coconut Milk Sweet Cup |
 |
| European Style Shop Front |
 |
| Great Varieties of Thai Desserts |
"Thai dessert makes you happy"
<< Baan Kao Nhom >>
Year Visited: 2017 Feb
Where To Stay in Ayutthaya1. iuDia On The River (Our Choice)iuDia On The River offers well equipped facilities including river view suites and deluxe guest rooms with a majestic view of heritage ruins, in-house cafe, intimate Siamese courtyards and swimming pools. Inspired by the receptive culture of Ayutthaya, iuDia has their guest rooms named after the famous visitors of the ancient capital; and each room features modern Thai style setting with a twist of a special theme related to the famous visitor. There are two swimming pools at the iuDia On The River; one along the Chao Phraya river comes with a splendid view of the Wat Phuttai Sawan both day and night. Another plunge pool with transparent glass wall for dipping, especially after a hot wearying day out around the ancient ruins. In iuDia, there are no shortage of places for relaxation; choose from around the pool to along the river to unwind yourself. Read more about iuDia On The River.
 |
| iuDia On The River - River View Room |
 |
| iuDia On The River - Pool with a View |
2. Silp-Pa Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Hotel (Great Value)This contemporary urban style hotel with brick wall exterior that blend well with the surrounding ancient ruins is one of the gems in Ayutthaya. Situated in a peaceful location without much heavy crowd of tourists or traffic, and yet easily accessible to the city's must-see destinations. The stylish interior is like an art gallery with many tasteful art pieces such as sculptures, statues and paintings. The rooms are clean, well-furnished, and come with free WIFI, complimentary tea/coffee, towels, slippers, television LCD/plasma screen. There is also a restaurant on site, Silp Pa Cafe, serving classic Ayutthaya dishes and unique dishes of their own creations. After all, this budget friendly hotel offers a great value option for travellers who are looking for a real comfy stay.
 |
| Silp-Pa Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Hotel - Superior Double Bed Room |
 |
| Silp-Pa Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Hotel - Exterior Brick Wall |
Written by: Q.J. Photography by: Q.J & K.K.
