phuket...through an almost local lens!

with three trips in the span of 4 years to phuket already, one would think we would consider venturing to newer destinations...but g and i still decided to head to the pearl of the andaman sea for a quick four day getaway. the big difference this time was that we stayed away from the usual touristy things, got ourselves a set of wheels and truly lived the 4 days like a phuket local!

base camp this time around was phuket town. to be honest, this girl was a little hesitant and actually would have preferred to stay at the edge of patong (after the nice experience at the baipho) but staying in town was a nice change. smack in the middle of the city centre, the bhukitta hotel and spa was a quiet boutique hotel tucked sufficiently away from the bustle but close enough to the small maze of streets, housing hidden gastronomic delights and stores of every kind. at 1250 baht a night plus daily brekkie, the stay at bhukitta was extremely good bang for the buck. it was clean, quiet and had helpful service staff...while the breakfast really wasn't anything to shout about, it was enough to stifle the morning growls enough for one to tahan until venturing out to hunt down the dim sum and banana rotis located about town!

after reading the review and recommendations on must eats off the tatnews.org website, g and i were on a mission to hunt down locale number one - aroon restaurant, which apparently has been serving up 10 years and more of yummy halal fare and mouthwatering rotis.

located near the head of thalang road, aroon was not that hard to miss with a lady working the rotis in a freshly greased wok at the front of the shop. run by a malay pak chi who was thrilled that g could speak to him in malay, we were treated to authentic banana roti, drizzled with condensed milk (with the option to indulge and coat each bite with sugar) ...the authentic thai way. crispy on the outside, soft, sweet and creamy on the inside, this thai prata version didn't seem as greasy as the singapore version so we definitely didn't have any trouble polishing it off, even after having eggs at the hotel!

aroon restaurant

124 (i think!) thalang road

(66) 076 212187

locale number two was a dim sum joint called boon yarat. we actually had brunch there twice just because the first time around we got there so late that the only dishes left were the siew mais and chicken feet! operating as early as six in the morning, they literally sell out by ten so g and i dragged ourselves out of bed and got to boon yarat at 8 on our last day in phuket. the place was a buzz and popular items like the rice rolls and carrot cake were all already sold out! but it was all good, we had a good sample of pretty much everything else on the menu, even had a serving of yummy bah kut teh. everything was freshly made and freshly steamed so one could really taste the home cooked goodness in each 10 baht plate of dim sum. a definite must try for something familiar yet different from your usual thai fare.

boon yarat

phang nga road (behind the royal phuket city hotel)

(66) 076 210 897

the trip would definitely not have been complete without meals of traditional thai fare. g and i were looking to have our rad na and pad thai cravings satisfied so we drove to patong in search of the happy restaurant we've been to before. the bad news was the restaurant wasn't open for lunch which led us to eating at the neighbouring famous old dutch. turned out to be blessing in disguise of sorts as the rad na and the phad thai were both awesome and most definitely hit the spots in both of our tummies! huge portions though but we polished both dishes off much to the happiness of the thai lady cook who initially didn't seem to happy to cook up the rad na (as it wasn't on the menu!).

the famous old dutch

108/8 taweewong road

patong

our first thai dinner was in a suburb called sam kong, at a really nice al fresco cafe called lullaby. thanks to our friend toon who brought us there (we really won't know how to find such places!) this was like a holland v or dempsey village of sorts, with the beginnings of a splutter of little locally run cafes. we were treated to an assortment of thai finger foods - the deep fried pork ribs (winner with g!), fried chicken, fried prawn cakes, deep fried chicken joints and of course the classic tom yum soup. served fresh out of the kitchen, with specifically matched thai spicy chilli and sweet sauces, they were all really good. of all though, if you like munching and crunching on soft bone and cartilage, my favorite and recommendation would be the chicken joints...think lightly battered, slightly salty slightly peppery, little packets of soft bone. dipped in sweet thai chilli sauce, this is one truly addictive dish! apparently it is a local fav as well so it should be readily available at most thai places so this girl's already made a mental note for the next trip to phuket!

lullaby (apparently one of phuket's hippest restaurants!)

off yaowarat road

dinner on the last day was at je'taime, a vietnamese thai place just outside bhukitta. we did originally have plans to head to natural restuarant, just for old times sake...but decided to give this place a go as it seemed crowded with locals. it was meant to be a simple smallish dinner..but as you can tell, we somehow manage to out do ourselves once again! i guess with the variety from both the vietnamese and thai menus, narrowing down the choices (and calories!) proved to be quite a challenge. we settled for a good mix of both..with classic vietnamese rice rolls and interesting sesame pancakes to kick start the meal, transitioning over to traditional thai with yes, a fiery tom yum talay, a serving of morning glory stir fried and a claypot full of pineapple rice. the highlight i think was the vietnamese grilled pork, well seasoned and smothered with freshly minced garlic and chilli padi, this was so spicy but so good at the same time! dipped in a sweet sour tangy chilli sauce, each bite of the thinly sliced tender pork would immediately send you reaching out for more!

je t'aime vietnamese & thai restaurant

83/93 phang nga road

taladyai, muang

phuket

(66) 076 219 103

just one quick final note, phuket still rocks..i mean, aside from the food, the thai massages are still fantastic (we headed to let's relax again and thanks to toon, managed to experience an awesome afternoon at the spa, complete with jacuzzi, steam room, sauna and a 2 hour thai massage!) and there is the newly upgraded phuket cable park for all the water dancing junkies! prices have gone up slightly but hey, for a day of flat water, cool obstacles, home cooked food (phad thai there rocks too!) and awesome company, the cable park is a definite must go if you do head to phuket!

cheriam spa village

16 wichitsongkram road (opposite central festival mall)

wichit, muang

phuket

www.cheraimspavillage.com

let's relax

209/22-24 raj-u-thid road

patong

www.bloomingspa.com

phuket cableski

86/3 moo 6 vichitsongkram road

kathu

www.phuketcableski.com