With just one week in Phuket, here’s where to eat and stay – starting with two nights in the fabulous culinary melting-pot of Phuket Old Town
“I get my kicks above the waistline, Sunshine.” Me too, but not that far above the waistline. Right in the region of the stomach, actually.
Travel doesn’t have to be all about food – but for us it often turns out that way. Phuket is no exception: Southern Thai is a melting pot of Thai, Malay, Burmese and Chinese cultures, and Phuket was named “Thailand City of Gastronomy” by Unesco in 2017.
Roy and I visited Phuket at least half-a-dozen times during our Singapore years (2001-2016), but never spent any time in Phuket Old Town. I hadn’t been to Phuket since around 2014. For Roy, it had been even longer. Thailand is our favourite Southeast-Asian country – apart from Singapore of course. I was itching to get back.
Though it pains my dearest to take time off from watching our new house in Iluka WA not being built (here and here), he agreed to a fortnight away from Perth. It helps that spicy green papaya salad (above) is one of his favourite dishes ever. We’d have a week in Singapore, plus a week-long side trip to Phuket.
Brief History of Phuket
To get a handle on the food culture, it helps to look at Phuket’s history.
Negritos were the first known inhabitants of Phuket – a dark-skinned people from what is now the Philippines, mostly Malay in origin. (I only include this factoid because it was news to me.) Then came the Mons from central Thailand, Dravidians from India, and Muslim fishing communities from Malaya. What about the Burmese? Well, they originally invaded Phuket in 1785 – but a much more recent wave of immigrants is simply looking for a better future. Most Thais are Buddhist, and that goes for Phuket, too; just 20 percent of the population is Muslim.
Always a lucrative stop on the trade routes, European and Chinese communities arrived here from the 16th to the 18th centuries and exerted a strong influence. Tin and rubber were important commodities.
Above: Sino-Portuguese architecture in Phuket Old Town
The yellow building above is the Baba Museum, one of many examples of the Sino-Portuguese architecture that typifies Phuket Old Town. Rooftops are curved in Chinese fashion; pillars and walls reflect European neoclassicism.
Two nights in Phuket Old Town
It might be more relaxing to book into just one hotel for the week. Having been confined to WA for nearly three years, though, had left me more relaxed than anyone needs to be. Not that I’m not grateful – I truly am! – but in recent years I’ve likely had more toes-in-the-sand moments, glorious sunsets and fresh sea breezes than your average mermaid.
Now, I was hankering after something more varied than a beach resort holiday – something with a smidgen of Sino-Portuguese-Thai history and culture.
Cannabis and coffee
Review: Hotel Verdigris
An internet search turned up what proved to be a true gem: Hotel Verdigris.
It was delightful from my first enquiry until the minute we left. Aptly described as “contemporary Eurasian with hints of old-world opulence”, it’s located in a restored four-storey city mansion (154 Yaowarat Road, A$483 for two nights).
The charming Milk had pre-arranged airport transfer by local taxi (about 45 minutes, 800 baht), and the elegant Peach signed us in.
Hotel Verdigris came complete with concierge service, courtyard koi pond and swimming pool, a library/lounge, and an amazingly huge menu for the included breakfast.
I’d booked a twin room, but asked them to push the two beds together; the result was an enormous expanse of linen that proved extremely comfortable. Big bottles of water, capsule coffee machine, TWG tea, delicious cookies, cold drinks, snacks and fruit replenished daily are all included in the price. I’d forgotten what good value Thailand generally delivers.
Sunday Walking Market
It being Sunday, Thalong Road – just 400 metres from our hotel – was hosting its weekly Walking Market. Food stalls run down the centre of a temporarily pedestrianised thoroughfare that’s lined on either side with restaurants, bars and shops selling clothing, pottery, knick-knacks and more.
We walked it first in the heat of the afternoon, seeking the shadier side, while many of the stall-holders were still setting up shop.
Amazing street food included these delicious boiled dumplings: 40 baht (less than A$2) for five fat ones stuffed with chicken; 50 baht (around $2) for three stuffed with sizeable prawns. Another 40 baht got me a small carton of shredded cabbage piled with egg-coated, wok-fried squid topped with green chilli sauce, yum!
We came back after dinner to a night market that was three times as buzzy, complete with live music and thronged with both locals and tourists.
Two Dibuk Road restaurants
But first, three of the best mural paintings in Phuket Old Town:
Charm Dining Gallery
Located in a traditionally restored century-old shophouse at 93 Dibuk Road, Charm Dining Gallery lived up to its reputation as one of the best Southern Thai restaurants in Phuket. Ushered to the first table upstairs – the upper level soon filled up, too – we feasted on green mango salad, fish soup described as Grandma-style fish fumet: fresh grouper, stock, sesame oil and ginger (300 baht), assam prawns fried in tamarind sauce (400 baht; a bit too sweet, and that’s what another reviewer said, too) and pork belly cooked in shallots, chilli and dark soy sauce (220 baht).
No carbs, no – apart from two bottles of Singha beer, and whatever sugar had inevitably been added to the salad dressing and other dishes. Service was extraordinarily friendly and efficient. This entire lovely meal cost A$70 for two, and filled us to the gills.
Dibuk Restaurant
It was time for lunch, and this just happened to be where we ended up – attracted more by the whimsical interior than the menu of French and Thai classics. Service was a bit slow, unusually for Phuket; but we weren’t in the mood to mind.
Whatever we ordered, it wasn’t French… and, clearly, I ate it.
Solo street-walking
Next morning, I sallied forth on a solo meander – just me and my camera – back down Yaowarat Road, left into Dibuk Road, and right down Phuket Road, to see what I could see.
That included a stall manned by a beautiful girl cooking “young coconut cakes” – delicious and hot from the griddle.
I ate mine on the front verandah of the not-yet-open vegan restaurant (“Join the Revolution”; thank you, but no). Were they still abed, perchance laid low by B12 deficiency?
But this next one did appeal to me, Keto Phuket Café. Who’d have thought there’d be a keto restaurant in Phuket Old Town? In fact, it’s not difficult to follow a low-carb diet in Thailand, with all its seafood, satay and salads. That’s as long as you can resist the siren song of cocktails, Singha beer… and mango sticky rice.
I might have stopped in at one of the legal medicinal cannabis shops if we hadn’t been returning to Perth via Singapore; a stint in Changi Prison (or worse) is not high on my bucket list. Also, a fellow tourist told me that the locally sold weed was not only rubbish, but over-priced. (She hailed from Mumbai and sounded like an expert on the subject.)
Also of note: Durian Lover, a cafe devoted to what is certainly the world’s stinkiest fruit. I can’t get enough of it as an ice cream flavour, though. (The cart outside Takashimaya in Orchard Road, Singapore, will sell you a slab sandwiched between two crispy wafers, still for only S$1.50. But be prepared to queue – it’s become an institution.)
One last thing. I don’t even like doughnuts, but this John Donuts shop could convert me. Take a look at the menu! Strawberry Cream Cheese doughnuts. Boston Cream Bomboloni doughnuts. Pink salt caramel doughnuts, for crying out loud. Lemon Meringue! And Cointreau Cream Brûlée, to cap it all.
Fine Dining at Blue Elephant
Speaking of institutions, I was determined to try Blue Elephant Cookery School and Restaurant at 96 Soi Krabi, Old Town Phuket. You need to book; they turned some of the tables over three times while we were there, which was from 7pm to 9.30pm.
We’d scoped it out earlier so as to get a daylight photo of the lovely old building in its spacious grounds, right in the centre of Old Phuket Town, and just a ten-minute walk from Hotel Verdigris.
An exquisitely restored example of Sino-Portuguese architecture, it was once the governor’s house. Blue Elephant has three Michelin stars, which we found somewhat surprising considering the slightly inept (though well-meaning) service – but then I have no idea of the criteria behind the award.
Anyway, after cocktails from the Blue Bar menu – Blue Elephant Iced Tea for me (only OK) and an old-fashioned for Roy (better), we opted for the Peranakan set meal (about A$71 baht pp). Three delicious starters: fish cake, swimmer crab dumpling, and a prawn creatively served in a small green coconut shell. Then came creamy coconut chicken and glass noodle soup topped with seared foie gras, followed by a choice of braised pork belly or duck.
After all that, I could barely touch the king mackerel fillet with red curry sauce and sticky rice. But a space magically opened up for the delectably creamy coconut ice cream dessert with a melange of goodies.
It was too much food: I would have done better ordering à la carte. Nevertheless, at around A$200 for two, including a cocktail and a beer each, it was a good way to experience a whole lot of high-end, classic Thai dishes.
A Chef’s Tour in Phuket Old Town
For a couple who don’t normally eat before 12 noon at the earliest – we practise time-restricted eating, read all about that here in my other blog (Living Long & Strong with Verne and Roy – the walking Chef’s Tour Original Southern Flavours Phuket Food Tour sounded initially daunting.
Meeting on the front steps of the market at 10am, we’d be spending four-and-a-half hours sampling at least 14 dishes over the course of seven stops.
It’s described as a food journey through the various cultural influences that have shaped the cuisine of Phuket. Bring an empty stomach, said tour guide Nam’s WhatsApp message the day before.
We were a little early, yet everyone else was already there: Susan and Habib from Mumbai, Jeff from Canada (with, as it transpired, an unfortunate case of traveller’s diarrhoea), and Junior and Tiffany from Florida.
Phuket Old Town Market
A tour like this will only be as good as your guide, and Nam was outstanding: well-informed, chatty and lucid.First came a walk around Old Town Market to learn:
which leaves are edible (almost all, as long as they’re young enough);
how to distinguish winged from stinky beans, and salted from century or fermented eggs (the latter are dyed bright pink);
that banana flowers are edible;
that curry and shrimp pastes are indispensable to Thai cuisine;
the Indian spices used in a Massaman curry (everything you can think of).
1st Stop on The Chef’s Tour – Kuay Jab Pa Mai
This was the first stop for food: breakfast at a food stall at the back of the market run for the past two decades or more by family friends of Nam. She literally calls them Mom and Dad.
Mom and Dad are here each morning at 3am to make the pork bone broth for the kuay jab, or noodle soup, that is their stock in trade. (Sorry).
While cooking, the wide, flat noodles roll themselves up. You can ask for your portion to include just pork meat, or more adventurously the traditional version with snippets of the ears, heart, liver, intestines and so on.
2nd Stop – Arun Pochana restaurant
Representing Indian cuisine in Phuket, the local Roti King rules here. Stuffed with spicy veggies, the roti was outstanding, accompanied with rice salad, Massaman curry and washed down with iced teh tarik (pulled tea). I’ve had teh tarik in Singapore, but this iced version was a delicious first for me.
3rd Stop – Lock Tian local food court
I’d dropped in here the day before for a green coconut, one of my favourite tipples. (I bet it would go brilliantly with rum, plenty of ice and a miniature paper parasol.)
The same machete-wielding man also heads up a fresh spring roll stall, the wraps made from wheat, not rice. Simply delicious served with chicken satay… but the day was young and I was already starting to fill up.
4th Stop – Apong Mea Sunee, Phuket Old Town
This coconut pancake stall on a street corner has been going for more than half a century. It has a “Bib Gourmand” Michelin Award, and rightly so. Unless you’ve ordered ahead, like Nam does, you’ll wait an hour for a packet of half-a-dozen scrumptious, crispy rolls. They’re cooked in these mini-woks on charcoal stoves.
5th Stop – Mingalar Coffee Shop
Located behind the market, this busy spot features a clay oven where they slap the dough to the inside of the tandoor to cook the bubbly naan. This is Burmese cuisine, where the naan is served with mildly spicy dahl and rather bland samosas.
Oh, and raw veggies, including garlic cloves that you peel yourself and nibble throughout. Hmm… I think it may be best that the whole group does this together.
6th Stop – Ko Yoon Hokkien Noodle
Much like the famous Singapore noodles – after all, Singapore itself has strong southern Chinese Hokkien influence – but more intensely flavourful and chockfull of ingredients.
Many Chinese in Phuket are descendants of the tin miners who migrated here in the 19th century – and tin mining continued until the 1980s. The extent of Chinese influence in Phuket is huge, says Nam.
7th Stop – Prem Dessert Bar, Phuket Old Town
Good choice of a final stop, as this refined establishment in a lovely old house offers a welcome respite from the heat. All sorts of sweet delicacies are concocted here. We were served a confection of local honeycomb dripping over a bowl of delicately flavoured jelly and more. Fortunately, it seems, everyone has a pudding pouch.
Epilogue
After four-and-a-half hours of foodie heaven, and already checked out of Hotel Verdigris, we returned to the hotel and called a taxi to Indochine Resort and Villas in Kalim, just north of Patong, where we planned to spend the next three nights.
For how that went, plus our two-night stay at Kata Noi, watch out for Part Two! – the second and final part of this Phuket adventure.
Bonus Temple
In case you thought you might escape without having to watch a slideshow of a Buddhist temple in Phuket Old Town – not likely, mate! What do you take me for, a Philistine?
Well I don’t know how you manage to stay slim. I put on 2kgs just reading about the food. Looked really good.
Hahaha! Thanks, Dawn xx
[…] an introduction to this lovely Thai island. After two tremendous nights in Phuket Old Town (see 1st Part), Roy and I spent five fabulous days on the popular west coast of Phuket – a good balance of […]