Delicious Lakeside Dining in Chiang Mai at Huay Tung Tao
Looking for delicious lakeside dining in Chiang Mai? I really recommend a visit to Huay Tung Tao when you are in the city. This gorgeous lake, dotted with bamboo huts along its perimeter, makes for an ideal half-day trip from Chiang Mai city.
The lake is situated about a 20-minute drive from the old city in Chiang Mai. It is an extremely popular destination at weekends among Thai families who often go there to relax and enjoy the scenery at weekends. As a bonus, the food is absolutely top notch.
The area is considered a national park, so you will need to pay an entrance fee of 50 THB if you are foreign or 20 THB for a local. The admission fee is well worth it, and it ensures the place is kept nice and clean. Some tourists question the dual-pricing system, but this is operated practically everywhere in Thailand, and is one of those things you just have to roll with.
Sitting in a bamboo hut on the edge of a large lake with beautiful Doi Pui mountains in the background? Yes please. You pay 20 THB rent for the bamboo huts and they are yours to sit in for as long as you want. There are about 20 restaurants dotted around the perimeter of the lake. They all serve pretty similar, but delicious Thai fare.
A particular favourite of mine to eat at Huay Tung Tao is deep-fried fish Thai style. As you can see in the accompanying picture, a whole fish is deep-fried until crispy. At Huay Tung Tao, your deep-fried Thai style fish comes served with deep-fried herbs and vegetables scattered over the top. Our fish was cooked to perfection with gorgeously juicy white flesh. The dipping sauce that came with it was tangy and spicy: simply delicious. The entire fish cost 180 THB, which is good value.
The other dish we ordered during our latest visit was som tam pla ra. This is the Isaan style version of Thailand’s famous papaya salad. It tastes incredibly funky and addictive. My girlfriend and I share a pretty similar taste in food so we ordered our papaya salad without sugar (mai-sai nahm tan). The salad we received was that expert and indescribably blend of umami, salty, tongue-twisting sourness, and palate-warming spice. The som tam cost us 80 THB and it was worth every baht!
There are lots of other Thai favourites available to order at Huay Tung Tao, and I could think of few more picture perfect locations from which you can try some real Thai food that doesn’t hold back on flavour to cater for the foreign palate.
An added bonus of visiting Huay Tung Tao, especially if you have children, is that they have now designed a mini park near the lake featuring gigantic gorillas, peacocks, and other animals made entirely of straw. It’s definitely worth checking out this place as a little side visit.
If you have a motorbike or car rental in Chiang Mai, getting to Huay Tung Tao is as easy as looking the place up on Google Maps and taking the short journey there. Alternatively, you can hail a red songteaw or a Grab taxi and get to the lake that way. They serve beer at the lake so I’d advise some form of taxi if everyone going with you plans on indulging in a few cold beer Changs.
There are actually a limited number of small little bamboo huts to sleep in, but they are not right beside the lake. You will find these huts located near the straw animals park. It costs 400 THB for the privilege and I honestly think it would be a really nice thing to do.
You’ll be far enough outside the city that the light pollution should be minimal enough for you to star gaze. They don’t call the sky nature’s television for nothing. Sometimes we could all do with a break from our hyper-connected world to just relax in nature. If this isn’t your cup of tea, Huay Tung Tao usually closes around sunset so you have plenty of time either way to eat some really excellent Thai cuisine.
If you are looking for a hotel at a good price in Chiang Mai, I personally recommend Agoda because the website is well laid-out, making the right hotel easy to find. I don’t know about you, but I can often spend an hour or two researching for the right hotel, which just ends up stressing me out. Agoda makes it easier.
This map link gives you the exact location on Google Maps of Huay Tung Tao Lake. So go there, eat until you are full, and let me know what you think of the food and the scenery. Note that out of the 20 restaurants at Huay Tung Tao, I don’t have a preference. All of the ones I’ve eaten at have served really good food and never failed to disappoint. Enjoy!
I lived in Thailand for a few years during my 20s during which time I fell in love with Thai food. Along with my Thai partner, I cook and eat tasty Thai dishes 3 or 4 times per week. I’m here to bring you recipes, Thai food tips, and suggested cookware for making Thai food.
