Phuket Food & Dining Guide

International Cuisine

Vegetarian

Ranong Road in Phuket Town features one of the most popular vegetarian restaurants on the Island. Open from mid-morning until 9.00pm daily, this canteen style restaurant serves entirely vegetarian Thai food. You can sample the most incredible array of tastes using vegetables, herbs, spices and soyabean protein, served with either brown or white rice, thick flat white rice noodles, yellow egg noodles or Chinese rice noodles. One of the best value, most nutritious and delicious meals you'll ever have. During the vegetarian festival of late September early October, a number of other shop houses open up vegetarian eateries in the vicinity of the Chinese Temple on Ranong Road and at other sites, where you can sample all sorts of dishes created to imitate non-vegetarian dishes using soy protein.

Navrang Mahal, 58/11 Bangla Road, Soi Patong (Tel: 292280), in addition to their general menu, serve a variety of vegetarian dishes.

International Fast Food Chains

Kentucky Fried Chicken is found in 2 locations in Patong Beach. At Ocean Department Store, Soi Bangla, and at Patong Shopping Centre, Beach Road Patong. Also available at Tesco Lotus and Robinsons Department Store in Phuket Town

MacDonalds is found on Beach Road in Patong Beach and at Robinsons Department Store in Phuket Town.

Pizza Hut can be found opposite Robinsons Department Store in Phuket Town.

Starbucks coming soon to Patong Beach and will be located on Beach Road. Duncan Donuts

Bakeries/Delicatessens

Bakery Café at the Boat Lagoon on Thepkasattri Road (Heading from Phuket Town towards the airport) serves incredibly good deli style sandwiches on baguettes, fruit smoothies, croissants and other pastries, quiche, hearty breakfast fare (all day). Fresh bakery items for sale daily. Well patronised by resident and visiting Yachties, the cafe is intimate, quiet and very affordable.

The Deli Supermarket, along Rat-U-Thit Road at Patong Beach is where you'll find the largest selection of imported foods on the island, and a good selection of imported wines. Also available are fresh bakery items including baguettes, whole wheat loaves, croissants and pastries.

Flintstone Bakery on Chaofa Road in Chalong has a great range of pastries and treats to tempt shoppers. (Tel: 383 087).

Wine

M M Wine, on Thepkasattri Road, about 5 minutes out of Phuket town are importers of fine wines to Phuket's premier restaurants and hotels. Selling on-line or direct to the public from their location in Phuket Town, Friday evenings they host drinks from 5:30 to 10:30pm. Heineken 60b, wine by the glass 80b, free nibbles plus selection of cheese at wholesale prices are also available.

Food Markets

Supermarkets
Patong has 3 large supermarkets. In the basement of Ocean Department Store, one in Soi Bangla, and the other on Beach Road past the Holiday Inn, are Big 1 Supermarkets selling toiletries, bakery items, fresh fruit and vegetables and snacks. Patong Shopping Centre, also on Beach Road near Molly Malones and KFC, is the other department store with a supermarket in the basement. Robinson's Department Store on Ong Sim Phai Road in Phuket and Lotus Supercentre on Chalerm Pakiat Road heading out of Phuket Town towards Patong, both house a Tops Supermarket, and on the top floors of both these stores are cafeteria style foodhalls featuring a selection of noodles, rice dishes, Thai snacks and sweets.
The Deli Supermarket, along Rat-U-Thit Road at Patong Beach is where you'll find the largest selection of imported foods on the island, and a good selection of imported wines. Also available are fresh bakery items including baguettes, whole wheat loaves, croissants and pastries

Night Markets
For a good view of what Thai hawker food is all about, a visit to the night markets held next door to Robinson's Department Store on Ong Sim Phai Road, is a must. Vendors set up their mobile cooking units, tables and chairs, and display their fresh ingredients for passing customers to view. This colourful market offers a wealth of Muslim, Thai and Chinese cooked meals and sweets. Simply point at what you want to take away or eat right there -- most vendors are perfectly happy to share the business with other vendors. What they don't have, they'll get for you from another vendor.

Fresh Markets
In Phuket town, there are fresh markets held every morning. The largest is the central market behind Ranong Road, which goes from the early hours until 9-10am. During the day, some vegetables and dry produce is still available, but the colour and bustle is missing. The other fresh market is held next door to Robinson's Department Store on Ong Sim Phai Road at a similar time. During the day there is nothing to be seen until late afternoon when food vendors start gathering for the night market.

Elsewhere on the island, fresh morning markets are held in Chalong, Talang and Choeng Talay. Fish markets are held daily in the morning at Rawai.

Village Markets
On any afternoon through the week, village markets are held at various locations around the island. On Wednesday and Saturday afternoons visit Kamala Beach, on Tuesdays and Sundays at Bang Tao Village, Sundays at Choeng Talay and Chalong, Tuesdays at Sam Gong in Phuket Town, Wednesday and Sunday afternoons at Kathu village, Thursday afternoons at Kathu crossroads, Tuesday and Fridays at Rawai. At any of these locations you can buy fresh fruit and veggies, herbs, spices, fish, fresh meat, and all the accompaniments to cooking of this region. Sample the snack food on offer - freshly cooked spring rolls, deep fried sweet potato, banana and jack fruit, steamed corn, Thai style pancakes, steamed ground nuts, natural ice-cream flavoured with durian, corn, coconut or taro, coconut and sticky rice steamed in bamboo, freshly cut fruit and much much more.