Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [569]
PATONG
Patong comes up trumps in the gastronomy category, offering the island’s widest selection of memorable feasts. We’ve separated the following listings into two separate categories: restaurants and bars, although many of Patong’s establishment exist somewhere in between. Click here for a list of dance-prone joints and nightclubs.
Restaurants
From street shacks to seven-course dinners, Patong’s colourful gamut of eats features all-star options for every taste and wallet. For delicious seafood, try the local market on Th Nanai called Meh U-Bon.
Fried Chicken ( Map; 63/5 Th Phra Barami; dishes from 45B; 10am-7pm) The name on the sign, though it is written in Thai script, doesn’t lie. Three huge fryers are bubbling and splattering with juicy, crispy ‘yard bird’. It’s Muslim owned, so Halal doctrine dictates that this joint is clean. The chicken is served with a tangy hot sauce and sticky rice. It’s impossible to overstate this. If you like fried chicken (all non-veggies raise your hand), this place is a must.
Jung Ceylon Shopping Complex ( Map; Th Rat Uthit; dishes 60-160B; lunch & dinner) When the sweltering beach heat becomes too much to handle, head to air-conditioned paradise in Jung Ceylon for tasty standards.
Ali Baba ( Map; 0 7634 5024; 38 Th Ruamchai; dishes from 70B; lunch & dinner) A favourite with Patong’s resident Indians, Ali Baba serves up delicious subcontinental specialities (the island’s best) to diners swathed in hookah smoke.
Takumi ( Map; 0 7634 1654; Th Thawiwong; dishes from 160B; lunch & dinner) This fantastic find, with a blubbery Sumo mascot, specialises in yakiniku (Japanese barbecue). You’ll sit around granite tables embedded with hibachi broilers and self-cook crab, prawns, eel, squid and tenderloin sliced paper-thin. Wash it down with one of the many varieties of cold sake. It has a sushi menu, but broiling is its thing, so stick to what it does best.
3 Spices ( Map; 0 7634 2100; Impiana Phuket Cabana; dishes 175-600B; lunch & dinner) Welcome to well-dressed Asian fusion on the Patong strip. Enjoy miso and crab-meat soup and wok-fried snapper with coconut curry among other stellar dishes.
Hung Fat’s ( Map; 0 7629 0313; 314 Th Phra Barami; dishes 200-380B; 6.30pm-midnight Tue-Sun) The newest offering from those behind the adjacent Baan Rim Pa restaurant group serves dim sum and southern Szechuan Chinese cuisine garnished with live jazz. Brand new at the time of research, this spot was generating a ton of buzz.
Baan Rim Pa ( Map; 0 7634 4079; dishes 215-475B; lunch & dinner) Soft piano music sets the mood for a romantic evening at this restaurant built high above a thicket of mangrove trees. It offers stunning ocean-view tables and specialises in Thai cuisine that’s only slightly toned down for foreign palates. Book ahead, and consider ironing your shirt.
Floyd’s Brasserie ( Map; 0 7637 0000; 18/110 Th Ruamchai; dishes 220-410B; dinner) Keith Floyd, one of England’s favourite celebrity chefs, is the man behind the Burasari resort’s popular restaurant. If duck breast braised in champagne, eggs poached in red wine and Phuket lobster thermidor gets you salivating, then this is your place.
White Box ( Map; 0 7634 6271; 247/5 Th Phra Barami; dishes 280-480B; lunch & dinner) Who cares if the food at White Box is good or not (although if you are wondering, it is delish); dining at this high-energy supper club is like spending an evening on the starship Enterprise. This chic realm is housed in, quite literally, a white box, which teeters on the rocky shoreline.
Ninth Floor ( Map; 0 7634 4311;; 47 Th Rat Uthit; dishes from 300B; dinner) To get some perspective on just how massive