Ever since coming to Thailand, prawns have definitely become one of my favourite (sea)food. I know the environmentalist in me shouldn’t be saying that, especially since Thailand has a history of land degradation through shrimp rearing, but it’s hard not to love biting into those succulent prawns, especially the river varieties. There’s nothing mr;p and I like more than to tuck into a meal of big, grilled shrimps top with some beers.
When mr;p’s brother, Det, suggested bringing us to a freshwater prawn farm for dinner near his place in Thoeng district, Chiang Rai, I was already wetting my lips. Despite Chiang Rai being a landlocked province, the freshwater prawn farms in Thoeng have in fact established a name for themselves.
Dinner was at a no-frills establishment which consisted of a couple of thatch roofed huts set beside the prawn rearing pond. After settling down in one of the huts, we ordered 2 kg of prawns. These prawns were fished straight out from the pond and Det’s wife proceeded to cook them over a charcoal grill. The prawns turned out to be the best we have ever had, even beating our previous favourite at Ram II.
Overall, it was a fantastic dinner. With 10 adults and huge loads of food that we couldn’t finish, the bill only came to ~1,500B! You just have to like dining in provincial Thailand sometimes – delicious food in unpretentious environment at equally down-to-earth prices. 
A giant river prawn, as fresh as it can get
Squirming for life
Into the charcoal grill…
A superb meal of tom yum goong, fried succulent fish, charcoal grilled prawns and Leo beer.
2 Comments
October 17, 2009 at 12:34 am
prawning is evil. how could you pull the prawn off the hook and not feel guilty at all?
October 18, 2009 at 12:39 am
hey, no hook was used at all! the prawns were fished of the water and straight onto the grill.