It is always a mystery to me as to why there are so many people who insists on eating the things they are used to eating at home while traveling to another country. The phenomenon must be very prevalent, so much so that at most touristy places, there are more Western restaurants than there are local Thai places.

Khao Lak is more of the same, the small resort town (approximately 100 km north of Phuket) where we spent the day after liveaboard to Similan islands for degassing purposes. For us, that was of course a perfect opportunity to eat everything Thai.

Fire in the hole!

motorbike is the best way to get around
motorbike is the best way to get around

While Khao Lak is relatively small and there are cabs available pretty much everywhere, the best mode of transportation is a scooter. You probably don’t even need a license to rent one, but do make sure you know what you’re doing.

Our scooter cost 200 baht per day, and you can refuel from plenty of places by buying bottled gasoline for 40 baht per liter. If you value your life, ask for helmets, they provide them without extra charge.

som tam by the roadside, I had it last year too
som tam by the roadside, I had it last year too

If you love sour & spicy stuff, som tam is a must try. Made of unripe papaya or green mango, bean sprout, peanut, chili, dried shrimps and more. Comes with a kick, we paid 40 bath, would be cheaper if this stall wasn’t parked right outside hot tourist spots.

breakfast was this rice/noodle with extremely spicy broths
breakfast was this rice/noodle with extremely spicy broths

On the day of departure, we decided to forgo hotel breakfast and try something a Thai would have. After riding around a bit we arrived at this kopitiam with a couple Thai ladies operating a stall that offers rice or noodle with a selection of dishes with broth.

Thai: spicy haa!
Me: we kon Malay, spicy no problem!

I was mistaken. These shit was tasty, and really, really hot. Lucky for us there were fresh cucumbers & a variety of vegetables on the table to cool things down. It was a good meal, what do you call them anyway?

noodle soup is the yums, choices of beef, chicken, or pork
noodle soup is the yums, choices of beef, chicken, or pork

A day prior to departure, just before dinner, we stopped by one of the road side stalls right on the main street at Khao Lak for some “snacks” that turned out to be really delicious noodle soup.

Here you get to choose any combination of 3 ingredients: pork, chicken, and beef. I had mine with chicken & beef while Haze opted for pork and beef. This reminded me of Vietnamese pho, and had the same basil/bean sprout on the side too, but as with anything Thai, the flavors were stronger. Yums.

50 baht for each, water was free. 100 baht well spent.

pad thai was not bad, but the fried oyster was a disappointment
pad thai wasn’t bad, the fried oyster tho, disappointing

Our last meal there was at this little restaurant a couple kilometers away from Khao Lak (scooter brings you places!). We had pad thai with prawns & squid, and another plate of fried oyster to share.

The pad thai was rather average, and the fried oyster.. well, after the experience at Penang’s version, this was a complete disappointment. Each plate was 50 baht, with 15 baht each for coca-cola t hat comes in those classic glass bottle.

Yes, my stomach is still recovering from all those chili overload, but of course it was worth it. 😀

When in Thailand, Eat Like a Thai!
Tagged on:                     

18 thoughts on “When in Thailand, Eat Like a Thai!

  • February 10, 2012 at 2:37 pm
    Permalink

    sounds like the thais would defeat the malaysians in a spicy-food-eating tournament! 😀

    Reply
    • February 10, 2012 at 2:51 pm
      Permalink

      Sean: the Mexicans might have something to say

      Reply
  • February 10, 2012 at 4:22 pm
    Permalink

    som tam is my favorite. that’s because i love all things sweet, sour, salty and spicy in one go!

    Reply
    • February 13, 2012 at 8:50 am
      Permalink

      Michelle: ya, all the best in one bowl!

      Reply
  • February 10, 2012 at 4:50 pm
    Permalink

    gas in a bottle sounds scary
    but then it’s not your own bike so nevermind i guess

    Reply
    • February 13, 2012 at 8:50 am
      Permalink

      suertes: smells like gasoline, looks like gasoline!

      Reply
  • February 10, 2012 at 9:40 pm
    Permalink

    the picture quality is very awesome leh!

    Reply
    • February 13, 2012 at 8:51 am
      Permalink

      eiling: thanks thanks 😀

      Reply
    • February 13, 2012 at 8:51 am
      Permalink

      ShaolinTiger: SUCH A PLEASURE!

      Reply
  • February 11, 2012 at 11:54 am
    Permalink

    KY, Glad you visited Thailand again. Hope you enjoy the authentic Thai Food.

    Reply
    • February 13, 2012 at 8:52 am
      Permalink

      Nice: Always a pleasure 😉

      Reply
  • February 19, 2012 at 7:36 pm
    Permalink

    Problem is, many Thais now eat like westerners, they LOVE western food 🙂

    I eat a good mix. I’ve lived in Bangkok for 10 years and, like any westerner here, I just sometimes can’t stomach one MORE Thai meal, so I head to Sizzler, Au Bon Pain or Outback Steakhouse for western food.

    There’s so much choice though in Bangkok, you can pretty much eat anything. (Although weirdly, there’s not many Malaysian restaurants here, and I LOVE Malaysian food!! – I always get my fix in KL 🙂

    Reply
    • February 20, 2012 at 8:02 am
      Permalink

      Rachel: haha, i guess that’s part of modernization.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to eiling Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *