Hong Khao Tom Pla Restaurant — Restaurant in Ratsada

Found this via some youtuber’s recommendation so had it saved in my to visit list. Since the wife was craving for congee tonight we figured will try it out as it’s only open for dinner. Found a parking spot a block and a half away. Walking over I guess is typical Thailand some spots are missing sidewalks around this area. Anyways didn’t have to wait and seated on an empty table. I must say the interior was not that pleasing to the eyes, flies were an abundant. The fans only turned on later but wasn’t that much different, guess the open kitchen concept made it quite warm in addition to the climate. There weren’t any English menu but google was your best friend. Ordered by pointing to the items, figured the 4.4 rating must mean food should be decent. Well I must say other than the wife’s congee everything else was just a dismal at most. Must be a local fav cuz I can’t understand how this could be defined as tasty. Squid was half fresh at most as some pieces you can taste were just soft and mushy so doubt it’s fresh, sauce was overwhelming and felt it’s just a pile of sauce on squid. Figured can’t go wrong with crab fried rice, well the rice wasn’t all cooked at least it’s dry and some lumps were still all white and wasn’t fried thoroughly. Not just that it was just tasteless and crab claw pieces centre shell was not removed. Maybe a local thing cuz I am not use to chewing on crab meat with shell pieces still in it, but sure didn’t taste good. Moving along the stir fried pork belly pieces, hmm what can I say. When I see meat I can just about eat anything. Except I guess when I see my meat pieces still with their hairy fur on it’s a turn down. Anyways need I say more, if you don’t mind the flies, dirty dishes, a dismal atmosphere with bare minimum cleanliness, and want to give the local community eatery a try go for it. But I am confused on how this could be a 4.4 on google. Oddly the coke glass bottles are all worn out, guess they recycle the glass bottle by reusing them here. Don’t see that in other spots maybe another local thing, the cup with ice they gave wasn’t clean either. Would be more cautious on my selection next time, I be happy if I come out tonight...

Found this spot by chance while looking around near my hotel. I got there around 6pm and it was busy.

The menu is in Thai and even with google translate it was hard to tell what the dishes were. I just ended up pointing to pictures posted on google reviews and asking the kind young waiter to make sure what the dishes were (I.e that the dish was stirred fried shrimp, morning glory).

You must be patient when waiting for a table and for your food to be prepared. I wasn’t in any rush and enjoyed people watching while waiting. The food came out eventually and the highlight of the meal was the stirred fried morning glory. There is some kind of thick gravy like sauce that was delicious.

It’s a bit funny because the waiter asked how spicy I wanted the morning glory and I said not spicy. The vegetable came out with some chiles in it so it was a little spicy. It gave the dish a bit of a kick but it still...

My favorite restaurant in the world. A perfection destination for the adventurous eater in Thailand. My friend and I ate four total entrees and two drinks for less than $8 USD. The food was bouncing with flavor and incredibly fresh. You could taste the char of the wok in every bite. This restaurant is the gold standard of typical Thai food. There is a reason they receive Michelin recognition year after year.

In terms of service, expect next to nothing. You eat at metal tables and off plastic plates. If you don’t speak Thai, they will quickly realize and send you the 12 year old waiter. Say generally what you would like, and he will get you what you need. If I’m ever back in Phuket, this will be...