During our trip to Thailand, we took an all-day food tour through Phuket, which was recently named as the fifth ‘City of Gastronomy.’ Since we love food and wine tours, as well as cooking classes in other cities, we thought a food tour of Old Town Phuket would be a fun way to get to know Old Phuket Town.
Our local tour guide, Pema, took us to over a dozen restaurants and food stalls for breakfast, lunch, and snacks.
Arriving a little early to the Central Market area in Old Phuket Town, we strolled through as vendors sold the last of their seafood and meat for the morning. Stall after stall of fish and chicken were in the open air. The stench was almost unbearable and the floor covered with bloody water–it wasn’t the best of impressions to begin a food tour.
After meeting up with our group (and very brief introductions), we made our way to the first stop. Breakfast. Unfortunately, we had a momentary lapse in judgement and ate breakfast before heading out for the day. I think the idea of giant international breakfast buffet got the best of us.
Sampling Burmese Food in Thailand
Our first stop was a Myanmar/Burmese coffee shop, called Mingalar Coffee Shop. They served delicious breakfast specialties including naan bread, samosas, lamb, curry, and fried things that looked like churros. This is what I love about taking tours. We would have never ever stopped into this particular shop because it just seemed a bit intimidating for us.
Note: Because we were there during the beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak, we were advised to thoroughly disinfect our hands before eating since we would all be sharing food.
We all sipped Myanmar’s famous tea and munched on a mix of fried, steamed and spicy bites. Already full from this breakfast, our guide whipped out of her bag traditional Phuket breakfast samples to try.
Tour of Old Phuket Town
With cold water bottles in hand (provided by the restaurant), we moved along to visit the market. Pema walked us through the basement to explain some of the main flavors of Thai cooking–chili, lemongrass, ginger, tamarind, lime leaf, shallots, and squash (including one called Fuk, which she found hilarious). Clearly the vendors knew her and were happy to play along for the eight Western tourists. It was interesting to take in all the smells and understand a bit more about how ingredients are used.
After leaving the market, we wandered through a nearby temple where a funeral was occurring. She just happened to know the family.
Next stop was the Blue Elephant Governor’s Mansion, one of Thailand’s most famous restaurants. This place, set back from the road, clearly isn’t your typical Thai building. With a little Hindu temple in front, we watched a worker bring a few offerings then we followed the roosters up to the restaurant. This was merely a potty stop for us, but I could tell this restaurant was one to really explore. The nice little shop inside sold souvenir treats and treasures. Before heading off, we had a lovely, cold drink of purple hibiscus tea before venturing out again into the heat.
The Best Handmade Noodles in Town: Yen Ta Fo Sam Pee Nong
Next up was lunch, though none of us were really hungry yet. We stopped into Yen Ta Fo Sam Pee Nong, which is a family-run business where the noodles are made by hand. They are best known for a dish of noodle with a deep pink sauce. I wasn’t a fan, but their regular noodles were delicious.
Right next door was a coffee place, where we made our next stop. We each ordered a coffee, some sweet and some not so sweet to power up for the rest of the food tour. Pema ran out to pick up a few Thai sweet treats from the vendor down the street. She returned with an assortment of candy and desserts which we all tasted. Can you tell our bellies are getting so full?
Watching Spring Rolls Made to Order
We walked less than a block to the next food stop — Lock Tien — which is know for the best spring rolls in town. Still barely digested from lunch (and breakfast), we watched an older gentleman roll up an assortment of spring rolls. Pema presented us the spring rolls and a variety of “meats.” Most meats we didn’t recognize and came from parts of the animal that Americans normally don’t consume. Good thing I was full. However, within a few minutes Pema popped from around the corner with a handful of crepes from the nearby vendor. These were good. Something recognizable, and lightly dusted with sugar in comparison with the skewers of mystery meat.
After leaving Lock Tien, we stopped to see two locals making the crepes we just ate. Their crepe cooking system involved a series of small metal pans over coals, and they moved and rotated them along the assembly line with great precision.
Touring an Empty Thalang Road
Realizing we were sufficiently full by this point, we began a little tour along Thalang Road. Thalang Road is the most famous street in the historic part of Old Phuket Town. The municipality and owners managed to revive most of the old Sino-Portuguese shops. It’s a great area to check out all the murals painted to commemorate the City of Gastronomie. We walked through Vanich Walking Street, which connects Thalang and Dibuk Road. The shops were completely empty, but my guess is when there isn’t Coronavirus, this place is bustling with tourists.
Without walking very far and quick potty break at a hotel, Pema stopped at another local food stall for satay and dessert. By now, it was a challenge to eat, and the heat was getting to a few of our fellow tourists. We sat in the shade with a fresh bottle of ice-cold water. Without too much time to linger, we were on our way again. Like an arranged meeting, Pema spotted her favorite ice cream vendor in a decked out tuk-tuk, and she called out to him. We finished up the tour with four mystery flavors of ice cream and then fresh coconut water before saying goodbye.
