Friday, July 8, 2011

Cheapest Place to Eat in Phuket - 30 Baht Buffet (That's $1US homie!)

Some people complain that food is more expensive in Phuket than in Bangkok or Chiang Mai, and it's true if you only eat at the western friendly restaurants and not the local thai spots.  My go to restaurants are Tony's and Ja Ja house on the street where Tiger Muay Thai and Phuket Top Team are located.  Mama's used to be the place to go a few years ago but it seems that Tony's is definetely the more social place to gather now a days.  I'll do a full breakdown of prices at Tony's in another post but Thai dishes start at 40 baht for Chicken Fried Rice or Stir Fried Chicken and Basil over rice.  Water is another 10 baht, making the cheapest possible lunch there 50 baht or $1.66 which isn't bad.  However, most people spend closer to 100 baht per meal on average to get full.

This place however, is 30 baht all inclusive, including free water.  That's one US dollar homie!


The owner is a guy named Khan and he's a cool guy with decent English.  He used to work on cruise ships as a chef so he's used to keeping everything spotless and super clean because of US food inspectors at ports.  

The way it works is you get a bowl for soup, there are usually two choices a day. Plus a plate of rice.  It's technically buffet style as in you can go back and get more if you want, but if for 30 baht I try not to make him go bankrupt, so be respectful and only take as much as you're going to eat.  If you want another plate of rice, it'll be another 30baht for the plate.


The four on the left are always some type of super spicy thai style curry.  Usually one pork or chicken, one seafood, and one fish.  Sometimes he even fillets a fish and makes his own fish balls with it.  The one of the far right is always mixed veggies, and there are always two soups.  The final two are the non-spicy ones and change from day to day.

Kale and Pork

Green Curry with Fresh Fish Balls

What I got one day - typical day

Another typical day's meal

Opening Hours: 
It's open everyday expect Sundays, and it's open from 7:00am - 2:00pm but it's best to come early in the day as he cooks everything in the morning and it's cold by lunch time.  What I normally do is wake up at 7:00am and have a protein shake for breakfast, then go to this place after morning Muay Thai around 9:30 when all the food just comes out and is hot.  It takes some getting used to, eating thai food and rice that early in the morning, but it's what Thai's do and I've learned to love it.

Directions:
From Phuket Top Team, drive towards Tiger Muay Thai and make a left on the main road going towards Wat Chalong and away from Central Festival.  Drive around 5 minutes and make a right on the first street that takes you to the Big Buddah.  The easiest way to know when to make that right is to look for the yellow "Mata Pita" sign.  The restaurant is just past the Chafong West Suites on the right hand side about half a minute away from the main road.  Total drive time from Tiger Muay Thai, 6 minutes.  

The Owner/Chef Khan and Myself.

Enjoy some good, cheap, and clean food!  If you budget yourself right you can live and eat in Phuket on the super cheap.  Plus my favorite thing about eating here is that the menu changes everyday and Khan seems like he truly enjoys cooking and he definetely doesn't do it for the money.  Some days there are things like liver, pork blood, pork fat or seafood all which I don't eat, but I'm always able to find something, even if it involves me picking around it.  

Do yourself a favor and check this place out while you're training in Phuket.  It's as authentic as you're going to get.

Warm Regards,

My Fight Camp


9 comments:

  1. hi
    is there any Halaal food near PTT?
    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  2. hey johnny,

    just wondering if you can do the breakdown of food at Tony's as soon as possible and maybe some pictures of the dishes as well, so we can see the sizes, would be much appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey Lawrence, I'm not in Phuket right now but from what I remember, any normal thai dish such as Chicken Fried Rice, Chicken Basil, or basically anything with Chicken or Pork ontop of rice is 60-70 baht, which is $2US. For lunch most people are decently full just with one portion but for dinner most people opt for two portions. You can also add a single fried egg to any dish for 10 baht (30cents)

    Things like grilled chicken breast for a cheap steak with a salad or baked potatoe is 180 baht for a dinner portion about $6US

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Johnny, quick question is there any halal food places around there?

    Appreciate it bro

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ali - There are a lot of Halal restaurants in Phuket Town which is 10 minutes away. I had a Muslim friend train at PTT and he never had a problem finding a place to eat.

      Jon R. - Oh cool man, tell Khan I said what's up. I miss eating at that place!

      Delete
  5. Jon RamirezAugust 04, 2012

    Hey man. So I just got done training at PTT for 3 months and ended up staying at the apartments down the street for my last. I ate here a lot and they were super nice. Today I showed them this page and the picture.They remember you. They wanted me to say hello to you and to come back soon. They also wish you luck with you fighting.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey, heading to TMT in February 2013 will try this out for sure :). cant find the tony's restaurant wright up you said you were going to do? :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey I ended up not writing about Tony's restaurant because I didn't want to offend anyone. But basically it would be:

      Tony's is a fantatic resource if you are staying for less than 2 weeks. The food is good, it is relatively cheap, he's a good guy, the social atmosphere is fantastic. The downsides is you feel like you have to keep going there 3 meals a day or you are cheating on him. You won't explore other local thai restaurants or eat anywhere else and if you decide to, your friends won't want to go anywhere else.

      Delete
    2. Hey, I ended up going in February 2013 for just over 5 weeks, you couldn't be more right about feeling like you have to eat there every meal, I did try a couple of other local places but also as you said nobody else wanted to go anywhere else with me, I regret no trying any more places but looking to get back over ASAP this time I will be doing it my way and exploring a lot more without following the masses and regretting it again , Thanks for the reply and it couldn't be closer to the truth, Although you posted after I returned thank you for the reply. Sincerely one avid blog reader :)

      Delete

Hey if you've read this far, you might as well at least leave a comment. Even just to say what's up! If you have any questions about training in Thailand just ask it here in the comments and I'll answer so everyone can benefit from it.