Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Restaurant Tips: Pak Nam Seafood

I admit that life sometimes becomes a bit repetitive, mostly governed by work and school, and we tend to sink into regular patterns. We eat at home much of the time (see Home Cooking), and when we eat out we tend to head for regular hangouts, places we know, places that are safe for the kids, places where we know we can get good food. I vowed to try some new restaurants this year, and finally last week, when I had a holiday and both kids were at school, we found a new restaurant which we liked and indeed went back a few days later with the kids.

Pak Nam Seafood Sign Entrance to Pak Nam Seafood

Pak Nam Seafood is right on the northern edge of Phuket Town on Ratsadanuson Road which winds around the edge of "Monkey Hill" from the government offices in the extreme northeast of town to just north of the Mission hospital which is on the main road out of town to the airport. They said it only opened last year, but seems to be popular, and I think the answer may be the food.

Pak Nam Seafood had been recommended to us by friends. You may have trouble finding it. Best way to get there - take main road out of Phuket Town and turn right at lights after the Mission hospital, then drive about 2km, and you'll see the restaurant on the left. I have added a Google Earth location here. Views to the sea, you can see Koh Maphrao and also Koh Yao Yai in the distance, also views of a building site and the edge of Phuket Town. The view below is also from the restaurant. Try to get a balcony table looking in this direction.

View from Pak Nam Seafood

Yes I do put ice in my beer

Cold beer ordered. Now for food. One of my favourite dishes in any restaurant, if it's available, is "Yam Gung Seab", a spicy yet sweet dried shrimp salad. Until now the best I have had was at Laem Hin Seafood, but I think this one at Pak Nam Seafood wins.

Yam Gung Seab

Yam Gung Seab

Even the fried rice was good. You know sometimes fried rice can be very bland. This had flavour and accompanied the salad well.

Fried Rice

Then we had the "mystery dish". We ordered Gung Cream Salad. Sounded interesting. Was very tasty. Some fried breaded prawns and a mountain of fresh salad covered in dressing....

Gung Cream Salad at Pak Nam Seafood

We will be back again. And we do vow to try some more new restaurants in the near future. I'm sure there are more that suit "our style". If you can find Pak Nam Seafood, give it a try!

More of our Favourite Phuket Restaurants:

Dairy Hut
Kan Eang Seafood
Ninth Floor

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Wat Kosit Wiharn (Phuket Town)

It's temple time again! You'll find a lot of information about Phuket's Temples on the blog, and that's because I like temples! I have a vague plan to blog all the temples in Phuket including mosques and Chinese shrines too. Every temple has something special, but they all share a certain spiritual peace and are somewhat removed from the hustle and bustle of daily life.

Wat Kosit Wiharn Entrance

Wat Kosit Wiharn

We happened to be passing Wat Kosit Wiharn (or Wihan, or indeed Viharn), which is a little north of Phuket City center on the road towards the airport (route 402) - see location on Google Earth. It's quite an important temple, mainly due to it's large Buddhist cemetery (which I might revisit soon). Near the main temple is a crematorium, and around the main temple you find small recesses in the wall containing ashes along with a photo of the deceased and money for the afterlife.

Wat Kosit Wihan Cemetery

Ashes at Wat Kosit Wiharn

Wat Kosit Wiharn Wat Kosit Wihan

Flowers from a recent funeral at Kosit Wiharn Temple

You have to climb a fair number of steps to reach the temple, which is built into the jungly hillside. You have views to the west across the north of Phuket town. Just another temple? Not for the people in that part of Phuket town, this is their local temple, part of daily life. Sure you can visit a more "touristy" temple such as Wat Chalong or Wat Phra Tong, but if you have a few spare minutes, a smaller temple is certainly worth a look.

Reflection of Mr Jamie Monk in the temple wall

Monday, May 19, 2008

Views from Rang Hill (Phuket Town)

Rang Hill (Khao Rang) is located on the north side of Phuket town and is a popular gathering place in the evenings and a fairly commonly visited viewpoint, on the itineraries of tours. There's a well known cafe (Tunk Ka Cafe) on the top, which does food and great iced coffee. There are views over parts of Phuket City and also across to Chalong Bay and Buddha Mountain. We go up there now and then for a little walk and a bit of fresh air. There are several access roads, one of which is just behind one of our favourite restaurants - Dairy Hut, on a side road next to the Phuket Bangkok Hospital.

Rang Hill location on Google Earth

Romantic viewpoint, Khao Rang

View from Rang Hill

(above) Romance on Rang Hill. Couples sit and enjoy the views in the evening.

Statue of Ratsada Korsimbi Na Ranong on Rang Hill

The statue above shows Ratsada Korsimbi Na Ranong, who was governor of Phuket around the turn of the 20th century. He came from a political family (his dad was governor of Ranong), and did a lot to put Phuket on the map, especially modernising the tin mining industry, overseeing the building of Bang Yai canal through Phuket Town, and he is also credited with bringing the rubber industry into Phuket from Malaysia.

My family enjoying the view from Rang Hill

Rang Hill sunset view

More Hills and Viewpoints in Phuket

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Thai Food - Good Ol' Home Cooking

I just cannot get bored with Thai food. The variety is endless, the tastes sometimes surprising, odd mixtures of sour, sweet and spicy, flavours to ensnare the senses. I have to say the food was one of the reasons I stayed in Thailand longer than originally intended. I don't like all Thai food - for example, I have never been a fan of Som Tam, and some of the curries are too spicy for me - though over the years I have gotten used to the spicy food. Not all Thai food is spicy of course. There are plenty of simple dishes like fried rice or mixed vegetables or egg dishes. And I don't exclusively eat Thai food, I don't pretend to be a local! I do like the occasional pizza or spaghetti or English breakfast or just a sandwich. Of course in Phuket you can get pretty much anything you fancy.

At home we eat mostly Thai food, mainly because my wife is Thai and when she's in the mood, she does like to cook. We go out to eat quite often because eating out here (if avoiding tourist restaurants) is cheap. Now, my wifes cooking is very good, though when we first met about 8 years ago, she barely knew how to cook apart from basic things like omelette and fried veg. That's because her mum is the ultimate mum, always looking after the kids, the house, the cooking etc... Her mum's Massaman curry is one of the best meals in Thailand!

Over the years, my wife has experimented with cooking and always seems to come up trumps. We are just chatting now and realise she's not done her "Indian Curry" for ages... We'll go and get the ingredients tomorrow!

The photos below show some of our favourite home cooked meals. I will add more as time goes by. Thai food rocks!

Green Curry - Best in Thailand
Green Curry (Gaeng Khiaw Wan)

Kai Yat Sai - basically just a stuffed omelette
Kai Yat Sai, omelette stuffed with minced pork and veg

Fried Mixed vegetables
Fried Mixed Vegetables (Phad Phak Ruam)

Spicy Beef Salad
Yam Neua - Spicy Beef Salad

Tom Yum Gung - the classic spicy Thai soup with prawns
Tom Yum - a classic dish, I love it.

Phad Pet Moo (very spicy fried pork)
Spicy Fried Pork - Phad Pet Moo

Tom Kha Gai, absolutely delicious!
Tom Kha Gai - Chicken/Coconut soup

Hope that makes you hungry! There are many reasons to visit Phuket, and the food is certainly one of those reasons. Yes, you can get foreign food too, anything from tacos to fish 'n' chips (and I like it!), but let me say again... Thai food rocks!

Ah, that Indian Curry... We had it a few days later.. Here's the curry cooking...



My wife was happy to see me drain the dish, tipping all the sauce over my rice.. a sure sign of delicious food! Aroy Mak!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Not in Phuket - Prachuap Khiri Khan

The province of Prachuap Khiri Khan is between Phuket and Bangkok, to the North of Chumphon province and south of Phetchaburi province. Officially, it's part of Central Thailand - Chumphon is the first of the southern provinces, and is called the Gateway to the South. My wife's family is from Chumphon, and she has some family in Prachuap Khiri Khan too. Her cousin who lives in Prachuap Khiri Khan town had just had a baby, so on our recent trip to Chumphon we decided to take a couple of days in the next province to explore and visit the family.

Yes, I know this is a Phuket blog, but I've been out of Phuket for the last week, and I think Prachuap Khiri Khan is worth a visit. It's around 570km from Phuket to the provincial capital. We will visit again as we liked the area, and the weather was not that great as we caught the edge of Cyclone Nargis, so we'd like another look sometime. I hope you enjoy reading about something out of Phuket!

Our first stop was Bang Saphan, to visit an auntie, a cousin, and more extended family. They live near the beach, live mostly on fishing, own about 30 rai of land (1 rai is 1600 square meters). The way of life is kind of simple to us, but I can assure you they have money in the bank! Bang Saphan is right in the south of Prachuap Khiri Khan province. From there it was not far to Ban Krut, which has hotels and a beach. We had thought to stay there, but after asking prices at a couple of resorts, we changed our mind. OK, the weather was not great, but bear in mind that we live in Phuket, so we are used to nice beaches and I have a fair amount of savvy when it comes to hotel standards and prices. Enough said. We did have a nice lunch by the beach at Ban Krut (aka Ban Krood).

Ban Krud Beach
Restaurant at Ban krud

However, maybe on a sunny day the beach would look nicer and if you want a place to get away from the crowds - this might be it! I can recommend a visit to Ban Krud for another reason. On a hill overlooking the beaches there is an incredible temple, called Wat Tang Sai (I have also seen it called Wat Thongchai). Even my wife's mum was impressed and I can assure you she's seen a few temples! This impressive structure was built in 1996 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the King's ascencion to the throne.

You can drive up the hill and park near a big Buddha image.

Big Buddha at Wat Tang Sai, Ban Krud

Prayers at the Big Buddha, Wat Tang Sai, Ban Krud

The views from the Buddha are impressive, but you have to climb higher to reach the temple. There's a short walk up the road before reaching the staircase to the temple, guarded by fierce Nagas (multi headed serpents who are said to have sheltered the Buddha from heavy rains as he meditated).

Stairway to Wat Tang Sai

Naga at Wat Tang Sai

Views are great, the temple is hugely impressive with multiple levels, murals, buddha images and even a golden urn containing bones from the cremated body of the lord Buddha.

View from Wat Tang Sai

Inside Wat Tang Sai

We continued North to Prachuap Khiri Khan town, where we visited my wife's cousin and checked on accommodation options. The quite nice beach at Ao Manao has accommodation - seaview rooms for about 900 Baht, but they were full - it's a popular spot for Thai tourists at the weekend. I reckon we only saw a few other foreign visitors. No worries, just a few doors from my cousin in law's house was a hotel (Prachuab Place Hotel) with decent enough rooms for 650 Baht, a few minutes walk to the seafront. The hotel had a small restaurant (where we got coffee and breakfast next morning) and did not allow Durian!

No Durian!

After saying "Aaah!" to the baby, we checked in and ate some dinner at a seafront restaurant called Pleun Samut. Like the hotel at Ao Manao, it was packed, so service was slow, which annoyed my dear wife. Food was tasty though. If we go back it will be in midweek! We then found a nice little hotel called Sun Beach Guesthouse with seaview rooms and a pool, price just 900 Baht. That's where we'll stay next time!

Prachuap Khiri Khan town is quite small, just a few streets really. It's right on the ocean and is a fishing town. It took me just a few minutes to decide to like the town. Small and friendly, and not much in the way of foreign tourism, though as I said, it is very popular with Thai tourists at the weekend. On Saturday morning I woke early, as did my little boy, so we both took a walk down to the ocean. Fishermen were bringing in the catch, nobody seemed to be in a hurry, half the town was still sleeping. We enjoyed a walk along the beach road.

Fishing boat at the beach, Prachuap Khiri Khan town

Fisherman, Prachuap Khiri Khan Fresh Fish, Prachuap Khiri Khan

Prachuap beachfront houses

Squid - lots of squid

Noodle Stall, Prachuap Khiri Khan

Well, we had to head back to Chumphon 180km south, but went back to Ao Manao, as the sun was shining that morning. The Bay is home to the Thai Airforce Wing 5.

Ao Manao, home to Wing 5

We had to cross the runway to reach the beach. Can't say we saw any new airforce planes, but quite a few old ones...

Old Thai airforce plane

At the far south end of the bay is a mountain called Kao Lom Muak. Here is a chance to see and feed Dusky Langurs, as there is a Dusky Langur conservation center. There's also a shrine here.

Shrine at Kao Lom Muak (Ao Manao)

Shrine at Kao Lom Muak (Ao Manao)

Dusky Langur

Me and the boy feeding a dusky langur

A quick word about history. Ao Manao was the site of fierce fighting between the Thai airforce and the invading Japanese on December 8th 1941. The Thai role in World War 2 is rather cloudy. Initially Thai forces resisted the invasion at multiple points along the east coast, but within a day an armistice had been signed. You can read more here: Battle of Prachuap Khiri Khan.

Ao Manao is popular with Thai visitors. The beach looked pretty nice, and there were a bunch of small restaurants to choose from. We had an early lunch here before heading home. It was a sunny morning, but clouds were building so we were keen to start back to Chumphon. Part of the bay has fishing boats and hat shaped rocks, the other end has the nicer beach and the tourists. We liked it. We'll be back!

Ao Manao fisherman Fisherman at Ao Mano

Ao Manao beach, 4th May 2008

Sleeping tuk tuk driver, Ao Manao

There was still time for a visit to the impressive aquarium at Waghor, about 10km south of Prachuap Khiri Khan town. Certainly a match for the Phuket Aquarium and only 20 Baht to get in! Prachuap Khiri Khan province has more too - there is the Khao Sam Roy Yod national park, and the beach resort town of Hua Hin. We will explore more! Meanwhile, we're back in Phuket, ready for work (me) and the start of the school year (for the kids). So no more holidays for a while. Hope you enjoyed the trip out of Phuket. Next post on this blog will be all about Phuket!