Yes!!! Finally!! A good, local street food market in Asia. I tried to hunt down ones in Bangkok and Siem Reap and they were always trying to sell more souvenirs than local food. So finally, when we were least expecting it, we landed upon a local market in Phuket Old Town.
The market takes place every Sunday from 4pm - 10pm on the "walking street" aka Thalang Road. I was extremely impressed by this market, they had everything!!
Do you need some quick and cheap food AND a hair cut? done!
How about random action figures and toys? They got it! And it looks like someone was all too excited about this... I don't event want to tell you how much time we spent here at this table.
But what we were really excited about was... the FOOD! So many different types of cuisines to try!
Tips for visiting the Sunday street food market in Phuket Old Town:
- Bring cash (and small change) - food will be much less expensive than you think
- Get there early/on time! We were there as soon as it opened which meant the food was just put on the grill, and we were getting it as fresh as can be. Later in the night we'd walk by some stalls to see the same food sitting out on the table for the past 2 hours.
- Don't be afraid to try something strange! When will you be at a Thailand street food market again? But with that said... use your best judgement, if it looks uncooked or not safely handled, steer clear.
- Try what the locals are eating. If there is a long line, it must be good.
- Get small portions & share. That way you can try 2x the amount of food.
We took the first 25 minutes to do a full lap around the street market, pointing at different things saying "what IS that?!" or "we're definitely coming back to try that one!" or "I'm a little terrified of what THAT is..."
We finally decided on our FIRST food market find for the night..
Dim Sum! 8 of these guys for only 40 baht (which in total is about $1) money well spent!
And then onto the next one...
The entire night was basically spent walking through streets pointing at odd looking food. I couldn't decide if things looked delicious, or if it would make my stomach turn... sometimes it did both!
We were always intrigued / scared of these odd little circles of seafood, but we finally decided to go for it! they are actually delicious!!
All this walking and food tasting was making us thirsy! Naturally we had to stop for a refreshing beer.
One of the weirdest things we saw while walking through the street food market was the process to make these little green looking crepes. I've never seen anything like it! It was like a green blob that she'd slap on the hot pan. Maybe this is a new and easy way to make french crepes?! haha
After we had our fill of strange - yet - delicious street foods, we made our way back to Tu Kab Khao for one last drink... which turned into another five drinks, desserts, and lots of laughter between us, the bartenders and some new friends we made. Needless to say, the next morning was rough.
If you are ever in Phuket on a Sunday I HIGHLY recommend you check out the Sunday walking market in Phuket Old Town. Looking back on our trip, it was one of my most favorite memories.
