Why Does Thai Cuisine Have So Many Portuguese Sweets? Tragic History of Thailand's Queen of Desserts Maria Guyomar de Pinha

When you enjoy foi thong, the popular Thai sweet dessert of golden threads of egg yolk cooked in sugar syrup, you are keeping alive a 400 year old connection with the Ayutthaya kingdom (1351 to 1767).

Roti Sai Mai Sweet • Ayutthaya Iconic Food

On our way to Ayutthaya from Bangkok, Wilbur was raving non stop about roti sai mai. His enthusiasm got me excited too, even though I had no idea what roti sai mai is.

Every time we passed a roti sai mai stall on the way to Ayutthaya, Wilbur would go, " 👉 there! 👉 there! 👉 there!" 😅

The road from Bangkok to Ayutthaya is sometimes referred to as the "Silk Road" as sai mai means silky thread in Thai and there are many roti sai mai stalls.

1 Day 5 Temples Tour of Ayutthaya · Thailand's Amazing Ancient Capital City

The Historic City of Ayutthaya, founded in 1350, was the second capital city of the Siamese Kingdom. Before it was sacked in 1767 in the war with Burma, Ayutthaya was a global centre of diplomacy and trade as well as one of the world's largest and most cosmopolitan cities. Traders from India, Arabia and China lived together with Thais. At its height, Ayutthaya had a population of over 1 million people. Ayutthaya, home to over 500 Buddhist temples is still the spiritual centre of Thais.

Sampaonava Restaurant · Amazing Giant River Prawns in Ayutthaya Thailand สำเภานาวา

We spent a fascinating day visiting the historic city of Ayutthaya which was Thailand's capital from 1350 to 1767 (more on this in a future post). We stopped for lunch at Sampaonava สำเภานาวา - a nice, small restaurant beside the Chao Phraya River. We had a relatively light meal of four dishes 🙏 which included a pair of amazingly delicious Thai giant river prawns.

Restaurant name: Sampaonava สำเภานาวา

Address: 4 ประตูชัย U Thong Rd, Tambon Pratuchai, เมือง Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya 13000, Thailand

Tel: +66 65 554 2266

Hours: 10:00am - 10:00pm