Phuket Culinary Guide. What to eat, how and where?

It’s in Phuket where you’ll find the largest selection of restaurants, cafés and snack bars.

Especially for true foodies, there are floating restaurants where you can gently rock on the waves and savor dishes prepared by Thailand’s top chefs.

The most popular dishes here are oysters, shrimp, crabs, and crayfish. And of course, a wide variety of fish dishes. On the island, you’ll find seafood for every taste.

Not a fan of seafood? No problem. Order chicken or pork skewers instead.

Japanese cuisine lovers won’t be left out either — here you can enjoy rolls and sushi made from the freshest fish, caught just a few hours earlier.

On a diet? Then boiled quail eggs or an omelet from them is your best choice.

A little caution won’t hurt

To be honest, it’s nearly impossible to get food poisoning from poor-quality products in Phuket. Thais have made a real cult of food. The quality is closely monitored by both the authorities and, of course, the chefs themselves.

It’s not about the ingredients or cooking methods. If it’s your first time in Phuket, your digestive system might just react to a sudden switch to a completely different diet. That’s all.

How to avoid troubles?

• Switch to the new type of food gradually. No problem with that — most Phuket restaurants and cafés offer Western dishes alongside Thai cuisine.
• For the first 2–3 days, don’t eat large amounts of local fresh vegetables and fruits.
• Don’t overdo it with spicy dishes.
• Avoid drinking cocktails with ice cubes far from tourist areas — there’s no guarantee the ice was made from purified water.
• And it’s better not to try drinks or dishes with “magic mushrooms”. The effects can be unpredictable.

Phuket cuisine

Just like Thai cuisine in general — it’s fiery. But almost all restaurants and cafés offer “lighter” versions of Thai dishes.

Usual seasonings: coriander, kaffir lime, lemongrass, basil, lime juice, chili, garlic, coconut milk.

Main ingredients: rice, seafood, vegetables, fruits, noodles, chicken, and pork.

The most exotic dishes are made from insects, crocodiles, sharks, and snakes.

Chopsticks? They’re only used if you order Chinese, Vietnamese, or Korean dishes. Otherwise, you’ll be served with forks and knives.

How are Thai dishes cooked?

Most dishes are prepared in a wok. The cooking process takes no more than 10–15 minutes. Ingredients are quickly stir-fried in a slightly sweet sauce, which keeps them nutritious and healthy.

Must-try soups and mains

• Tom Yum Goong — a national spicy soup with coconut milk, shrimp (or chicken), mushrooms, lime leaves, galangal root, and other exotic ingredients. Important: usually you eat only the broth, mushrooms, and shrimp. The rest is added just for flavor.

• Tom Kha Gai — another traditional Thai soup, made with chicken and coconut milk.

• Pad Thai — the most popular Thai dish. Stir-fried rice noodles in a wok with peanuts, shrimp, and eggs, seasoned with various sauces. It never gets boring because you can change up the fillings, noodles, and sauces. But it’s very filling!

• Try all noodle dishes! Here they eat noodles with everything — soups, mains, with pork, rice, shrimp, clams, and countless sauces. Noodles are made from different base ingredients.

Most popular desserts

Thai cuisine is famous for its desserts — soft and tasty, often made from fruits mixed with rice, syrup, and coconut oil.

Some are fried or boiled, some are served with ice.

• O Aew — banana jelly with boiled red beans, syrup, liquid sugar, lime pieces, and ice.
• Roasted chestnuts — can be eaten raw or freshly roasted by street vendors.
• Mango sticky rice — delicious and light, rice with mango slices served under sweet coconut milk.
• Fruits in syrup — pieces of pineapple, guava, santol, mango, kiwi, banana, and more, soaked in sweet syrup, served with rice and ice.
• Grilled pineapples — yes, fruits here are even grilled. Pineapple slices with syrup, sugar, and spices grilled to perfection.
• Fruit salads — perhaps not surprising, but the local exotic fruits and special syrup dressing give them a new twist.
• Tao Sor — very tasty buns, a local favorite. They can be salty or sweet. The dough is made with water, sugar, flour, and peanuts.

Where to eat?

• Basically anywhere. You can even ask market vendors to cook the products you’ve just bought: vegetables, fish, fruits, etc.

• Want to relax in a proper restaurant? Phuket has plenty. Call our managers, they’ll recommend the best places for you.

• If you’re staying in apartments or villas, try cooking national Thai dishes yourself. You’ll find everything you need at local markets or supermarkets.

Tom Yum Goong recipe

You’ll need:

• 500 g unpeeled shrimp (or 250 g peeled)
• 250 g mushrooms
• a couple of small firm tomatoes
• 1 stalk lemongrass
• 1 cm piece of galangal root
• 5–6 kaffir lime leaves
• juice of 1 lime
• 2–3 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp Nam Prik Pao / tamarind paste
• 2–3 chili peppers
• 2–3 garlic cloves
• coriander

Prepare spices: slice galangal into “coins”, bruise lemongrass and tie it in a knot, tear lime leaves off stems. Prepare shrimp: peel (leave tails for looks), remove the gut line.

In a mortar, crush chili and garlic into a rough paste, briefly fry in a little oil.

Put galangal and lemongrass in a pot, heat them in oil, then add some water to simmer and release flavors.

Pour in about 500 ml water for two portions. Add shrimp, chopped tomatoes, and mushrooms. Simmer on low heat.

Add fish sauce, Nam Prik Pao, and lime juice — adjust until it’s a balanced sour-spicy-sweet. Add kaffir lime leaves.

When shrimp are ready, remove from heat, sprinkle with coriander, serve with hot rice.

Enjoy your meal!