One of the things I love most about Thailand is their hawker foods. It is true that they serve excellent tomyam, pad thai, and ladna at just about any corner, but one of my favorite breakfast dishes in the land of smile has gotta be the noodle soup.
noodle soup stall by the road side
On the last day of the trip while off-gassing from diving at Phuket, we went over to a pretty inconspicuous stall right across the street of the budget hotel we’ve been staying at (Baan Suan Place, cheapest room rate at 700 baht/night, next to Phuket International Hospital).
Though there were quite a few eateries of similar set up at the area, but I knew we got the right place soon as I saw those coagulated blood in the jar displayed at the front of the stall. *slurps*
noodle soup with all sorts of ingredients, take your pick!
A few finger pointing gestures and some 10 minutes later, here’s the bowl of goodness that arrived on my table. Big flat rice noodle in subtle yet flavorful clear broth topped with cuttle fish, coagulated blood, liver, pork, a bit of mushroom, vegetable, and even a bit of white fungus.
There’s also a plate of bean sprouts and some basil ala Vietnamese noodle style on the side, and of course plenty of potent chili powder as condiment for those who love it spicy.
when in Thailand, eat like a Thai
The noodle soup costs around 30-40 baht and this place also serves coffee and other drinks at around 10 baht. While this stall is situated at Thanon Bangyai road behind Phuket International Hospital, you can basically find similar stalls at just about anywhere in Southern Thailand (perhaps Central/Northern part too).
Now I wish someone would bring this to our local hawker stalls, Thai food here in Malaysia seems to be limited to tomyam, pineapple fried rice, and the occasional pad Thai only… pity.
Address:
Thanon Bangyai
Wichit, Mueang Phuket,
Phuket 83000, Thailand
GPS: 7.895477,98.365939
Just got back from a trip to the Similan Islands near Phuket/Khao Lak over the past 6 days that includes 4 days and 4 nights spent on the boat without touching dry land. My very first Live On Board experience.
enjoying a piece of grilled chicken at Khao Lak
It was pretty much a last minute thing as I only decided to join when a spot came up for the liveaboard trip. I’ll be writing a lot more about the trip in the next couple days.
mantis shrimp, shot at Similan Islands
The trip was full of unplanned events, but that’s until next post! In the mean time here’s a photo of a mantis shrimp taken at one of the 15 dives we did over the course of the entire trip.
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In the mean time, hope over to MilkADeal.com and check out the lastest deal – RM 6 instead of RM 14 at sbread, the Gardens for a bowl of authentic Penang Asam Laksa and a drink, that’s a good 57% off!
Asam Laksa at SBread, Gardens
While the name sbread is a bit out of the ordinary, the place is run by Penang-born Madam Q S Tan, you can perhaps test her with Penang Hokkien. Redemption period of this deal runs from 25 February – 31 March 2011, 10am – 7pm daily. Don’t miss out
Finally processed the pictures taken from my Krabi and Phuket trip organized by Seetho Holidays some three months ago. Here are some of what I saw through the lens from that 5-day vacation that seems to have happened so long ago.
Krabi beach in reflection
The reflection on Andy the photographer’s sunglasses. The crystal clear water and soft sandy beaches of Krabi is now as much an optical plaything on the lens as they are in my memory. Welcome back to reality 1.0
want a BBQ corn you corny tourists?
There are stalls on the beaches along areas most popular with tourists. The more imaginative locals sell handy crafts, fabrics, cloths, and accessories, while some stick to the simpler offerings such as this one.
Giant of Krabi town
There’s a legend at Krabi about these gentle giants from the surrounding jungle. So far as I know, they only exists at a junction downtown tirelessly carrying the traffic lights these days. I guess they were supposed to be docile cousins of Yeti and Bigfoot.
Am I sweet or do I just look pretty?
The afternoon market at Krabi offers many different types of food, you can find BBQ fish, fresh fruits, juice, roasted chicken wings, and all sorts of other traditional dishes. This colorful plate of candy captured my attention most.
where do you want to go today?
Traditional fishing is very much alive in this part of the world, with custom made propeller shafts and colorfully painted wooden boats floating on crystal clear water. This photo was captured on the last bridge we crossed on the way to Phuket.
the Royal fish farm at Krabi
The Royal fish farm is an attempt in marine conservation, there are many species of salt water fishes from reef sharks, angel fish, to Nemo. I almost felt guilty by thinking how great most of them would taste after a short trip to the kitchen.
the hot spring waterfall
A small waterfall at the end of Klong Thom hot spring where we soaked ourselves in the mineral rich water. The hot stream joins a cold river after the waterfall, you can actually jump between the two completely different water. The hot spring reminds me of the onsen experience in Japan, if only we could do something about the tropical weather…
bustling nightlife at Phuket
The bustling night life at Phuket reminds me of Bangkok‘s red light district. Go-go bars, foreign tourists, peddlers, discos, t-shirt stalls, and plenty of alcohol serving joints. Patpong Patong never sleeps.
a frown and a smile
The street is also populated by many female lookalike beings selling their companionship or peddling for the particular go-go bar they represent. As with anywhere else in Thailand, gender confusion is paramount here.
Fly boy assisted
When the sun rises, Phuket returns to a sort of normalcy expected from any beach vacation spot. Para sailing, jet skiing, and banana boat tours are all available. Kids who slept through the sin city’s night time activities get to do what their parents promised them.
look ma, a shell in my bucket!
Can’t wait to go on another trip.
Just came back from a fabulous trip to Krabi and Phuket in the land of smile. Awesome food, good companions, and absolutely friendly and wonderful guide in Mr. See Tho.
Patong Beach, Phuket
What I did: Island hopping, snorkeling, visiting cloth dying and soap factories, checking out fish farm, soaking in hot spring, admiring fire flies, shopping, partying. Busy, tired, but very satisfied. Plenty of photos to go through, will update very soon!
