Where to Eat Southern Thai Food in Patong: A Local's Guide

Patong is famous for its beach and nightlife, but it is also one of the easiest places in Phuket to try real Southern Thai cooking. Southern food is bolder than the Thai dishes most visitors know: more turmeric, more fresh herbs, more seafood, and plenty of chilli. Here is how to make the most of it.

What makes Southern Thai food different?

Southern Thai cuisine leans on curry pastes heavy with turmeric and dried chilli, fermented flavours such as tai pla (fish innards) and kapi (shrimp paste), and an abundance of seafood from the Andaman Sea. Phuket adds its own twist: Hokkien Chinese and Peranakan (Baba) recipes like braised pork belly and crispy sausage rolls that you won't easily find elsewhere in Thailand.

Five dishes to order on your first visit

1. Moo Hong – pork belly slow-braised with soy, garlic and black pepper. Sweet, savoury, not spicy. Read more about Moo Hong.
2. Crab meat curry with rice noodles – a rich coconut curry with crab, poured over soft rice vermicelli the Phuket way.
3. Kian Tod – deep-fried Phuket-style sausage wrapped in bean curd skin, perfect with a cold drink.
4. Nam Prik Kung Siap – a chilli dip made with smoked dried prawns, served with fresh vegetables.
5. Oh-aew – Phuket's signature dessert of soft jelly with red syrup and shaved ice.

How spicy is it?

Some Southern dishes, like kua kling or tai pla curry, are genuinely hot. Others – Moo Hong, steamed seafood curry, stir-fried Malindjo leaves with egg – are mild. Just ask your server: most dishes can be made less spicy, and it's completely normal to request it.

Tips for eating like a local

• Share everything. Thai meals are served family-style. For two people, order a dip, a curry, a stir-fry and something fried, plus rice.
• Balance the flavours. Pair a spicy curry with something sweet-savoury like Moo Hong and a fresh salad.
• Leave room for dessert. Local desserts like Oh-aew are light and refreshing after a spicy meal.

Eat at Kaabgluay, Patong

Kaabgluay has been serving Southern Thai and Phuket local food on Phrabaramee Road in Patong since 2000. Our menu lists every dish in Thai and English, with over 200 dishes from fresh seafood to classic curries. We're open daily from 11:00 to 23:00 – browse the menu or find us on the map.