Moon Dolpin, Koh Phangan

Our entire time in Koh Phangan, we hardly ventured from the grounds of Tommy Resort, except for our trip to Thong Sala for the night markets.

Conveniently though, at the end of the driveway, was Moon Dolphin. I love the way Brett described this place when we first arrived "It's just like a Thai street vendor with a roof". Sweet!

The larb muu was first on the list. We tried this little spicy gem at the karaoke party a few nights before. The pork version was loaded with all bits pig, mince, intestine, liver, heart and plenty spicy with a plate of crisp vegetables on the side.



The yam sam krop was next. The awesome salad of three crispies, this particular variety with pork rind, squid and prawns packed with cashews, tomato and baby celery in a glistening chilli sauce.



Moon dolphin was also a perfect lunch spot, whipping up a mean khao kru gupi, fried rice with shrimp paste and loads of condiments.



And a breakfast staple, johk, with pork meatballs floating around in rice soup with ginger and white pepper.



We stopped here daily on our time in Koh Phangan, as it was also an excuse to play with the cute little puppies.

Night markets, Thongsala

We had borrowed a jeep from Suti, one of the always accommodating hosts of Tommy's, for the day as we had heard the night markets in Thongsala were quite good. After a hair raising drive around the cliff side road of Phangan we arrived. There's not really much at Thongsala though this means that the likelyhood of great local eats is increased due to the lack of tourists. We had arrived a little to early so spent a little time stocking up on some more gaijin size clothing for our return to Japan. Got some great shirts @ Phanganer. Anyways we headed back to the gathering point for the night markets just in time to see all the carts being wheeled in and stalls set up.



Giving the market the once over we start of with a plate of school prawns marinated in a thin curry and tossed with rice flour before being deep fried into a super crunchy disk of prawny goodness.









It was one of those moments where we were seriously torn between trying more things and satisfying our hunger with more of the deliciousness in our hands right now. As the markets weren't quite set up yet we headed off so Kat could do a quick nail colour change pit stop from the newly aquired rainbow and Kim could have a wee nap. Stopping for a few cute little banana leaf wrapped coconut custards on the way.



On our return we started up with some great pork on a stick and nam so good we went back for more.









After a little more circling we finally shared a plate of beef mussaman and nice and spicy stir fried beef.



On the way out we couldn't help but stop for a rocket fuel filled cup of red sala.



All in all the Thongsala night market is definitely one of the foodie highlights on Phangan and worth tearing yourself away from the beaches at least once for.

Looking for the day markets, Koh Phangan

We were looking for the day market in Haad Rin to find some lunch. We thought we received pretty good directions, but walked right past it .... Nevermind, we found a little Issan place down the end of the road serving up the staples from Eastern Thailand.

We feast on a plate of larb gai. The minced chicken dressed in a tangy lime dressing, with chunks of chilli, sliced shallot and lots of fresh herbs. To the side, a plate of fresh cucumber, snake beans and Thai basil.



Next we share a bowl of the aromatic beef soup, packed full of herbs and vegetables with thin slices of beef and a sprinkling of roasted rice. Yum!



Oh, and of course we found the markets on the walk home ;p and also stopped for a delicious ice-cream.

SAME SAME Burgers, Haad Rin

After a big night, and day at the Full Moon Party we both woke up craving something greasy ...  something homely ...  something like a burger !!  Luckily for us, just a skip down the sand is the SAME SAME burger bar.  



The burgers arrive in a little cardboard box. They are wrapped in some random burger and shawarma paper and a pile of crispy crinkly cut chips sit off to the side.



We both go for a burger with the works. It's piled high with a chunky meat patty, melted cheese, onions, bacon, pickles, shredded lettuce and tomato.



All washed down with some coca-cola, it was just what we were after !!

Full Moon Party, Koh Phangan

We pry ourselves away from the beautiful Koh Samui and take the 30 minute ferry ride to Koh Phangan. We had avoided Koh Phangan on previous occasions, the whole too many tourists thing. But we arrive a few days before the Full Moon Party, and check in to Tommy's, right on Haad Rin Beach. We meet Brett and Takayo here, who like us, after 5 months of snow just need to get away and soak up some sun-rays!



Our first night we end up at a local girls birthday party, eating delicious food, drinking beer and even knocking out a bit of karaoke. (Lucky I had one Thai song under my belt ...... dek me ban haa haa, haa fen mai dai loi ter - boi bai gru purr purr purr tao bai ruk, krai krai)



The night of the party starts with a slice of pizza, to get something in our tummy's!



Then we move onto the also-nourishing buckets of vodka red bull ....



It was an awesome night (well, from what we remember), about 8,000 people there for off-season.



We're allready looking forward to our next trip back to Koh Phangan and another Full Moon Party!

Angela's, again ....

It's our last day in Samui ...... and Jason is kind enough to drive us up to the other end of the island to board the catamaran bound for Koh Phangan. We arrive a bit early, which means only one thing ..... eating to fill in the time!

We find ourselves back at Angela's. Jason goes for a good ol' pastrami sandwich. Of course, it's not a Katz Deli pastrami, but Jason declares it the best he's had on the island ...



Kim has the choice of the day! The poor boy sandwich. Egg salad with ham, tomato & cucumber on a baguette. Yum!



The club sandwich is my choice today. It's nicely done. There's bacon, egg, chicken, tomato, lettuce and some crispy fries.



And now we're back to the Lomphraya pier as we head for Koh Phangan ....

Hot Pan Mae Nam

Recipe for a great time; first take a bunch of friends, then some how find yourself at the northern end of Koh Samui in Mae Nam, now find the restaurant with "We are number 1" plastered across the front, the great time is sure to follow......





Hot pan Man Nam is a Chinese BBQ restaurant, the Chinese BBQ some times called hot pan is like a cross of a steamboat and a BBQ plate, with a vented dome where the funnel is usually located on a steamboat, placed on top of a charcoal pit full of glowing coals the moat is filled with soup and a good whack of pork back fat is placed on the center of the dome



while this is heating up you can then take a stroll over to the (in this case) expansive array of sliced meats and prepared vegetables, oh and don't forget the dumplings and eggs as well.











Once you've filled your plate with tasties you bring it back to the BBQ, now hot and the plate nicely lubricated with the rendering pork fat, which once it has flowed down the domed plate slides across the surface of the soup in shiny rivulets. Now you can grill the meats to your liking while cooking the veges and dumplings in the ever increasing flavor soup. Some prefer to baste the meat with the soup to encourage the meaty flavor back into the soup, we just like to let the natural juices flow.



You can repeat these last few steps until you feel like the reason your not going back for more is your unable you move under your own power, it's ok, if you look around you'll see most of the people at the other tables in the same state. Of course even after all this some how when ice cream is mentioned the ladies will magically have found room. All this can be yours for the princely sum of 100 baht, that's right for hours of belly busting taste bud tantalising fun just 100 baht. How sweet is that!  Add it to you list.

Angela's Bakery, Mae Nam, Koh Samui

We started reading up about bakeries in Samui on a mission to find some bread for the pig. Angela's was a name that often popped up ..... We did end up getting the bread from Angela's for the birthday pig. It was a farely decent baguette like bread. So we ventured back to see what else was on offer.

Our first visit we share a plate of prosciutto, which comes with a slice of cheese, a few black olives and some little sliced of tomato. There's a basket of toasted bread on the side and we proceed to make little prosciutty sandwiches.



The second thing we've ordered, which we both immediately noticed on the menu, was the Hot Bandanna. It's described as cheese, tomato, olive, garlic and herbs baked inside bread. But what arrives is indeed a hot bandanna ..... it's wrapped up like a little parcel, the red bandanna bunched up and tied at the top.



We open it ..... and a little round bread, that is crispy and oozing with melted cheese is revealed.



We then remove the lid, to reveal the hidden treasures. We break away pieces of the bread-shell and scoop up the gooey goodness. It's okay ... nothing to exciting, but something a little novel.



We both resist the delicious sausage rolls that look ever-so-tempting on the front counter when we pay ..... there's so much more eating to be had!



Route 4169, Mae Nam
Koh Samui, Thailand
Open 8am ~ 6pm
Ph: 077427396

Samui's famous Khao Mon Gai

At Mike's birthday bash the end of the evening evolved into drinking games and magic tricks and all 'round craziness. Despite this Kim and I both recalled talking to some locals about an amazing khao mon gai stall that was supposed to be within walking distance of Kelli & Glenn's place. This is supposed to be 'the' place the locals travel to, from all over the island, for their fix of khao mon gai, or chicken rice.



On several occasions we tried to find it ..... the directions were a bit hazy (or at least our heads were) and we weren't having luck from the beach side or the road side. But one day, scooting through Bang Po beach, from the Na Thon side we spot an unassuming little place that had about 6 cars and a pile of scooters outside. We wanted to check it out regardless ..... but turns out this was the spot!



We walk in, there's some glass cabinets with the chickens hanging in all their glory, and some plastic tables down on the sand.



There's a cute little jar of firey vinegar / chilli sauce with a little dish of fresh chilli's and tiny garlic cloves acting as a lid.



There's also a stack of little ramekins, piled high, in a little wooden stand that intrigues us both.



2 plates of chicken rice soon distract us from the little tower and we dig in. The chicken is plump and juicy, sitting on top a beautifully fragrant rice, with a few slices of cucumber and a little dish of soy and ginger sauce. A small bowl of the chicken soup and it's a chicken-licious trifecta! I add a touch of the chilli vinegar to both my chicken and the soup. Mmm.



We notice everyone around seems to be enjoying a few of the little dishes that are piled up on the tables so we dive on in ....... on first glance it appears to be a cute little coconut custard.



Once we scoop in, it's apparant there is a layer of gooey pandanus custard underneath.



A fantastic finish to an incredible lunch. And all this, including 2 drinks, for under 100B.

Siripoca Khao Mon Gai
Bang Po Beach
Koh Samui, Thailand


View Big Food Big World in a larger map