Bangkok Trip (Day 5 – Chanthaburi)

It was our first morning in Chanthaburi, we were very surprised when we saw the full set of Thai breakfast on the table served by our host, Ms. PT. Like what I heard earlier, Thai people usually eat a lot for breakfast, like, a lot. However, it was easy for me to get used to this because some of the food are very similar to Indonesian food, anyway.

After finishing quite a big portion of rice and all the yummy food for breakfast, we went to a historical site which is one of the must-see places in Chanthaburi. There is this Catholic church, which apparently has been built since 1711, and is the largest church in Thailand. The church itself was empty when we went there, but it took my breath away the moment I entered the building. It is so beautiful, although I learned that it has been renovated many times, but I could still feel the originality and the “old” feeling in it. One of the most fascinating things I found there is the Mother Mary’s statue which is made from gemstones. I took a lot of pictures outside and inside the church but since this is a food blog, so I won’t put a lot here.

 We also stopped by a local temple just near the church, and surprise, surprise, it also has the sleeping Buddha statue inside. And I did the fortune-telling by shaking the sticks container just like what Buddhist people usually do. Honestly my result wasn’t very good *sweat*

Walking around in such a hot weather made us thirsty fast, so Ms. PT brought us to a local coffee shop, which seems to be famous. I was very surprised by the crowds and the price of the drinks, they are so cheap! With about THB 40, we got a large glass of tea/coffee and they come with grass jelly if you want. Very satisfying. I personally never wanted to miss any chance to drink Thai milk tea when I was in Thailand, so I definitely ordered it. I loveeee their drinks, not only they tasted nice but also the portions were very generous. For such price. If I live there, I would probably visit there everyday. XD

We then continued with lunch in some other place, which is actually a famous (again) eating place for locals. The place is very traditional like, with family farm behind the eating place. They serve boat noodle, which we could choose what type of noodle we like; big, medium or small. The bowls are very small, so as predicted the portions are also very little, I would recommend ordering 2-4 bowls each person to fulfill your stomach.

I ordered the big one as I expected something like kway teow, but in fact, it was slightly bigger. But it was a disappointment because in my bowl, maybe I only got like 3 sheets of the noodle, what kind of portion was that? However, as usual, Thai food sauce are very nice and strong, so I really enjoyed drinking the soup and loved the generous amounts of herbs and condiments they provided.

After this late lunch, we went to one of the popular attractions which is a waterfall. Ms. PT already bought so many long beans in the morning to feed the fishes there, because if you buy in the shops around the park area, the price is ridiculously expensive. 

For dinner, we went to this seafood restaurant just by the side of the sea. The restaurant is called Tachalap Seafood restaurant, and I heard that it serves many varieties of seafood and they cook them very nicely. As usual, the menu is in Thai but they put photos for each menu so at least we know what we order even if we don’t understand any Thai.

We ordered some food immediately and took photos while waiting. The view from our table was wonderful. I was glad we came before dinner time, because Ms. PT said it is usually very crowded during dinner time and we might not be able to get table.

I don’t remember the names of each food but one thing for sure is they were very, very delicious. The strong herbs and spices are really the highlights of Thai cuisines. And believe it or not, we only spent like less than IDR 500.000 for all the dishes that day. Such a good price for fresh seafood eaten with good view of ocean nearby.

As if we weren’t full yet, there were some food stands outside the restaurants selling mango sticky rice and some local chili sauce in bottles/jars. I couldn’t control myself so I bought the mango sticky rice, and there was no regret. The mango was very sweet and it was a wonderful dessert to complete my dinner that day.