It’s said that the best Thai food Phuket has to offer is found on street food stalls. The accuracy of this is debatable, but eating Thai street food is certainly a unique experience that’s well worth trying. The problem is that street food around the world doesn’t have the best of reputations when it comes to hygiene. Fortunately, we’ve got a few suggestions of tried-and-tested places to get a street snack which you can safely enjoy.
Phuket Town Walking Street
Phuket Old Town’s most colourful street – Thalang Road – comes to life every Sunday evening from about 4pm onwards. Blocked to traffic, it becomes an extremely popular pedestrian market. The western end of the street, in particular, becomes a hub of street snacks. There’s a lot of variety available, including old favourites and unique treats. The market itself is also a great place to pick up souvenirs and generally enjoy a pleasant evening.
Phuket Weekend Market
The largest of the night markets in Phuket, Thai food takes up a large part of the western end of this Phuket Town market every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening. This includes a good four rows of stalls, as well as quite a few semi-permanent restaurants. The market is a little bit of a tourist trap, so some of the flavours may possibly be tailored towards a more western palate, but the quality is still generally good and the prices are ok. As an extra advantage, the entire market is covered, keeping you dry on rainy nights in the low season.
Malin Plaza
This market complex at the southern end of Patong is extremely popular with travellers on a tight budget as you can get a huge range of Thai and international foods at very low prices. As with the Weekend Market, there’s a chance that the flavours are perhaps not 100 per cent Thai, as the main customers in the market are foreign tourists. Also, the amount of available seating is comparatively limited, so you might have to share a table with a stranger or two. None of this prevents the food from being extremely popular, though.
Chillva Market
Of the options in our list of the best places to find Thai street food in Phuket, Chillva is probably the most likely to give you a real taste of Thailand. The market just to the north of Phuket Town is extremely popular with local people, especially for its food offerings. These range from snacks to full meals, with lots of unique and trendy options alongside the more common, traditional options.
Any Pancake Cart
The great thing about banana pancakes is that they are always cooked fresh, right before your eyes. This means that it is always going to be safe, even if they are so sweet that you could never describe them as “healthy”. Among the Thai food Phuket’s street vendors offer, the banana pancake is undoubtedly the most popular, though mostly with tourists. If you want to try something more Thai, look out for vendors peddling skewered meat and seafood. Just make sure that, like with the pancakes, they cook them from fresh in front of you.
