Peter Törnstrand

I recently got back from a two week holiday to Phuket, Thailand (actually this post has been in the draft stage for over a year). During my stay in Patong Beach, the number one turist trap on the island, I visited several restaurants. As one might expect, there are hundreds of restaurants in Patong, many located near Beach road, the main road running next to the beach, and some hidden away on the second floor of some obscure pub. It took me a few days to figure out where the real gems lay hidden and I ate some pretty crappy food before I found them and I can tell you this – there are no respectable restaurants on Beach road.

Since there are so many bad restaurant in Patong I will only write about those that I thought was good and would visit again. Before I begin I would just like to mention that while I found many of the much frequented restaurants along Beach road a total bust you might not. But if you feel you actually have standards when it comes to food and refuse to call what they serve at McDonalds a hamburger then this might just be for you.

The good

White Box

White Box get it’s name from the building itself, a glowing white building shaped like a box. The restaurant is located in north Patong with a view of the ocean. Walking is not an option unless you are staying at one of the hotels right next to the restaurant. A Tuk-tuk ride from anywhere in Patong should set you back about 150-200 baht. White Box also sports a very own pick up service if you make reservations (recommended) that can pick you up at any location in Patong for free and also takes you back home after you have eaten.

The service is excellent, without a doubt the best I encountered during my stay in Thailand. The waitresses are friendly and are not hording the tables like flies which you encounter all to often in upscale restaurants outside of Europe. During our complementary starter the owner comes to our table and introduces himself and offers advice on wine selection to go with our orders, a nice touch.

The food at White Box was top notch besides the fish soup I ordered for starter. It was served in a bowl much to large for a starter and taste much like thickend fish stock. For main course I ordered duck which was excellent and cooked just right. For dessert I had three different flavors of sorbet which was just right thing to finish of an exelent meal. The bill for this 3 course meal with a bottle of wine came to about 2300 baht (about half a workers monthly sallary in Thailand).

Baan Rim Pa

There where six of us on this holliday trip to Thailand. One night me and my girlfriend went out to have a romantic dinner on our own. We ended up at the restaurant Baan Rim Pa, one of the most famous restaurants in Thailand if you read the brochure or the web page. Baan Rim Pa exclusevely serves what they call “royal thai cuisine” which probably is what we westerners call thai food.

Just like all the other fancy restaurant in Patong Baan Rim Pa is beautifully located on the north shore and is only accessible by car. Just like White Box they have a pick up service. However they didn’t give you the same star treatment as we had to share a car with a strange westerner and his company which I believe was a prostitute.

We both ordered a specially assembled menu which consisted of a starter, five different thai dishes for main course and a dessert. The food was excellent except for the dessert, a fruit sallad, which I felt was a bit ordinary. I should probably also mention they have a great selection of wine available. However, since all imported liquor in Thailand are belayed with heavy import taxes don’t be supprised if a bottle of wine costs twice as much as a complete three course dinner for two.

The 9th Floor

The 9th Floor is a restaurant located on the 9th floor in one of two tall buildings in Patong. It’s an open air restaurant which in this case means the walls of the place open up and you can look out over the city while you eat. Don’t be put off by the restaurants souroundings (a dodgy apartment hotel), the momentarily unpleasantness getting to the place is worth it when you get there.

The 9th Floor serves mediterranean food which is a nice break if you been eating thai food for a long period. They also have a wide range of cigars which you can buy and smoke right at your table, a rare sight in Europe these days with the ban on smoking in restaurants in many countries.

For starters I ordered goat cheese wrapped in italian ham which was placed on a bed of rocket sallad. For mains I had charr with risotto which was beautifully cooked with a crunchy skin. The selection of desserts was a bit disapointing which seems to be a recurring theme in restaurants in Thailand. Often you have about three choices with one always beeing sorbet.

The ugly

Floyd’s

English celebrity chef Keith Floyd have one restaurant in asia and it is located at the Burasari hotel in Patong. This is actually the hotel we stayed at during our holliday. It’s a great hotel not far from the beach with two swimming pools, pool bar and all the things you expect from a hotel in the mid/high price range. It does however lack in one important sense, the hotel restaurant is awfull.

During our stay we ate at the hotell restaurant at least five times, mostly during lunch time. Every time, either the service was slow, we didn’t get what we ordered or the food was blend and tasteless. Floyd’s place isn’t actually part of the hotells own restaurant but they share the same kitchen and have the same waiters. That’s why we didn’t eat at Floyd’s. And if that wasn’t enough, look at the picture to the right. The interior of the restaurant is awfull.

Local delights

My food experience in Thailand was not all about fancy restaurants and expensive wines. Grilled corncob, bought from a mobile stand, was one of the best and most authentic food experiences I had. Right next to the beach there where tons of different food stands selling all kinds of different food at extremely low prices. You could get a freshly grilled corncob for about 40 baht, which was prepared in front of you while you waited. There was fresh fruits, chicken, soups and lots of other delights. The locals working at the beach often got theire lunches from theses stands and the prizes reflected that.

Another great food experience was the food court at Patong City weekend market. Every weekend there was a big market in Patong City visited by both locals and turists. In the different stands you could find cheap knockoffs of designer goods such as bags, t-shirts, watches, shoes and also lots of different food. My visit to the market came just as we where about to fly home again and I didn’t dare to try anything to wild in fear of stomach problems. My girlfriend and I ended up with a couple of pork and vegetable skewers and some fried rice which set us back just 100 baht.