Fah Thai Magazine Sep/Oct 2017

FOOD MECCA
Even for a hard-core foodie like
myself, stalking miles of super
scrumptious local foods in Phuket
still feels like running a full-blown
marathon. It is exhilarating, euphoric and
seems never-ending.
Top
A morning treat of
fluffy flat bread roti
and a side of fried
eggs and curries.
Right
Crabmeat curry with
wild betel leaves
served with rice
vermicelli.
Bottom
A clear Tom Yum
soup with fish and
enoki mushrooms.
Allow me to clarify that this is
not the first time my husband and I
visited Phuket and stuffed ourselves
full. Phuket is our top-listed
favourite town. We come for the
gorgeous beaches, the superlative
resorts, the famous annual
marathons and always, the delicious
foods. However each time we leave,
Phuket never lets us do it in peace.
There is always something left to
come back for and rediscover and
most especially, the food. Because,
the more we eat, the more we think
we missed out (on other potential
good eats). Foods in Phuket are
abundant, tasty and great in variety
that you will have to consider
dedicating a trip here along with a
willing tummy for the real treats this
city offers.
But then again, Phuket foods are
no longer merely just a favourite
among locals. In December 2015,
Phuket was named a ‘City of
Gastronomy’ by UNESCO – an
accolade that makes Phuket on par
with 17 other selected cities around
the world with the same significant
international recognition. This is
a big deal not just for Phuket, but
also for Thailand as a whole. The
award recognises what many of
us might have taken for granted:
the long list of legacies and unique
cultural mix so prominent in the
local foods of Phuket.
“Phuket is relatively a much
younger city when compared to
others that have been awarded the
‘City of Gastronomy’ by UNESCO,”
says Dr. Kosol Taengutai, President
of the Thai Peranakan Association.
Also a former Deputy Mayor of
Phuket City Municipality and the
former Coordinator in charge of
the City of Gastronomy, UNESCO,
he states that, “Phuket is about 150
years old, whereas other listed cities
have histories harking back as long
as thousands of years.”
“The foods of Phuket are so
unique because they are the result
of Phuket being formed as a trading
hub in the Malay Peninsula, the
place where people from the region
converged, merged and created a
series of unique eats from their own
kitchens. These foods have become
Phuket’s own foods, unlike others.
And still today, we have these rich
legacies of the food we eat daily. It is
authentic, flavourful, and delicious,”
Dr. Kosol adds.
For those who travel the world,
one thing agreed hands down is
that food is never merely something
just eaten but always a colourful
reflection of life with real stories of
people. Food is the edible culture
and it encompasses so much more
than the space of one’s kitchen, the
local markets or beautiful plating
one yearns to capture on Instagram.
For Phuket, the best place to observe
Foods in Phuket are abundant, tasty
and great in variety – you will have to
consider dedicating a trip here along
with a willing tummy for the real treats
this city offers.
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