Boat Noodles at Damnoen Saduak Market

Michael Babcock, March 1st, 2012

One of my favorite stops when we visit Thailand is Damnoen Saduak Floating market in Ratchaburi province. Although it is also one of the most heavily touristed places I visit, the color and interest is always there.

Boat noodle vendor

When Kasma and I visit, we make a point to get there around 6:45 a.m., long before the tourist buses and hoards of tourists descend. At that time the market is relatively quiet and you can have a leisurely, uncrowded ride around the klong (canals) on a boat being powered by a person with a paddle. Later on the motor boats will disturb the water as they race by and the silence. We always get there early by leaving Bangkok early (around 5:00 a.m.). The market is located 104 kilometers south-west of Bangkok, in-between Nakhon Pathom and Samut Songkhram.

It gives you an idea of what Thailand must have been like in the old days, before roads when much of the commerce took place on the canals.

Look for this sign

One of the fun sights of the market is the boats laden with produce or the restaurant boats, complete with propane burners on which hot food is prepared.

Like all Thai markets, indeed, like nearly anywhere in Thailand, there is an abundance of food, both as ingredients and prepared food. Our preferred breakfast here is always boat noodles from the vendor at the far end of the old section of the market – look for the sign to the right.

Boat noodles are a name for a type of noodle in Thailand. Sometimes you’ll pass a restaurant in the street with a boat out front to advertise boat noodles. They tend to have a rich broth and are usually made with pork or beef. The boat noodles from our favorite stand are made with pork, rich and flavorful.

Pork Boat Noodles

These boat noodles are very good; the broth rich and flavorful and a little bit spicy from the get-go. Of course, there’s always the condiment set to let you adjust the flavors to your liking. (See Michael’s blog on Thai Condiment Sets.)

You can either purchase the noodles while riding by on a boat or from land. We usually purchase them after our boat ride and sit on the steps, slurping and enjoying the delicious meal.

On a recent trip, the vendor had, unfortunately, taken the day off. We found a reasonably good vendor a little further down. So if you’re unlucky enough to show up on a day off (it only happened once in 26 years for Kasma), try one of the other vendors for a more than adequate substitute.