Sawasdee — Restaurant in Wichit

Visited Sawasdee with my partner on our first day in Phuket, for lunch. The food was absolutely amazing - we ordered the green curry, tom yam soup, morning glory, and pineapple fried rice. More than that, the staff are just the kindest and friendliest people who would go the extra mile for you and make you comfortable even in the sweltering tropical heat.

We loved it so much that we went back again for dinner, and we were blown away all over again by the pad thai, basil minced meat, crab omelette, and fried wings platter. The vibe at night was entirely different, and yet still welcoming all the same; there was a live band performing called "The Old Friends", and they sang for us, sang with us, and we just had a genuinely wholesome time with them. After dinner, Sobri from The Old Friends shared some tips for exploring the area (Cape Panwa), and even offered us a ride all the way back to our hotel, free of charge. He also offered drinks on the house for a few young men who didn't have enough money to buy drinks, and that to me really says a lot about the virtues this restaurant runs on.

Our dinner experience with Sawasdee and The Old Friends were among the top 3 highlights of our trip in Phuket for both my partner and I. We loved the place so much we went back for a third (and sadly final) time before we left Cape Panwa. On our third time there, we ordered the same dishes with the exception of the sweet chilli fried fish, and let me tell you, the handmade sweet chilli sauce is hands down the best sweet chilli sauce I've ever had. And I'm Asian!

Cape Panwa is not the most frequented area of Phuket (which is also why we chose to stay there for half our trip), but if you're in the area, or if you're on your phone deciding where to go for your lunch / dinner and you're reading this right now, this is your sign to head over to Sawasdee! I promise you won't be disappointed. And if you're there, say hi to Sobri for us. :)

P.S. Give their Thai milk tea a go, in fact, give everyone's Thai milk tea a go, it's always such...

ENGLISH

The Sawasdee1 - just over half a kilometer away from the Pullman Panwa – it obviously benefits from former times recommendation. We were highly recommended this restaurant, whereupon we have reserved a table for the evening.

The number "1" is due to the fact that there is now even closer to the Pullman a number "2" to manage the onslaught of potential guests, because frankly, the Sawasdee1 is very small. It is opposite the pier, respectively a promenade separated only by a street - but this street got “issues”.

We sat for about an hour in the outdoor area to the street and after ten tanker trucks have always turned right next to the restaurant stopped counting the many vehicles. Why turn trucks here constantly was not to be found out even not by asking the staff of the restaurant.

The food, both the Thai dishes - there was plenty of vegetables and they saved meat - as well as western such. a Tuna salad - almost without Tuna - were unfortunately more than average. The service was very slow and several times in sight even though the guest room was not larger than a room in a Berlin apartment.

It was a pity that there were no dishes with pork, apparently because the chef cook no pig from religious issues - with the many Thai specialties are prepared with pork a great pity.

Unfortunately, the price / what you get ratio is not right - the only bright spot was the excellent homemade lemon soda.

You can eat here - but you do not have to, authentic is definitely different.

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DEUTSCH

Das Sawasdee1 - etwas über einen halben Kilometer vom Pullman Panwa entfernt – profitiert offenbar noch von „alten Lorbeeren“. Uns wurde dieses Restaurant wärmstens empfohlen, woraufhin wir für den Abend einen Tisch dort reserviert haben.

Die Nummer “1“ ist dem Umstand geschuldet, dass es mittlerweile noch näher am Pullman eine Nummer “2“ geben soll um den Ansturm von potentiellen Gästen gerecht werden zu können, denn ehrlich gesagt ist das Sawasdee1 doch sehr klein. Es liegt gegenüber dem Pier, respektive einer Promenade nur durch eine Straße getrennt – diese hat es jedoch in sich.

Wir saßen ca. eine Stunde im Außenbereich zur Straße und haben nach zehn Tanklastern die stets direkt neben dem Restaurant gewendet haben aufgehört die vielen Fahrzeuge zu zählen. Warum hier ständig LKWs wenden war vom Personal des Restaurants nicht in Erfahrung zu bringen.

Die Speisen, sowohl die Thailändischen Gerichte – hier gab es viel Gemüse und am Fleisch wurde gespart - als auch westliches wie z.B. eine Tuna Salat – nahezu ohne Tuna - waren leider mehr als durchschnittlich.

Der Service war zudem sehr langsam und mehrfach nicht in Sichtweite obwohl der Gastraum nicht größer als ein Zimmer einer Berliner Altbauwohnung war.

Schade war es auch das es hier keinerlei Gerichte mit Schweinefleisch gab, offenbar da der Koch aus Glaubensfragen heraus kein Schwein zubereitet – bei den vielen thailändischen Spezialitäten die mit Schwein zubereitet werden sehr Schade.

Das Preis/Leistung Verhältnis stimmt hier leider auch nicht – einziger Lichtblick war das hervorragende hausgemachte Lemon-Soda.

Man kann hier Essen gehen – muss man aber nicht, authentisch ist jedenfalls anders.

Folgt gerne meinem Google Maps Profil, schaut Euch auch meine weiteren Rezessionen an und besucht auf jeden Fall...

Came here to try this restaurant based on the recommendation of the hotel reception staff at Pullman Panwa. Restaurant is located near the Naval base which is about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. We came here for dinner around 8pm and it was pretty crowded. It appeared to be a solid choice for our dinner. We ordered the Chicken Wings, Morning Glory veggie (Kang Kung), and the Butter Shrimp. They gave us about 9 chicken wings which were deep fried and crispy. Even though the wings were a little on the small side it was tasty and not too greasy. Morning glory was very wet unlike how it’s prepared Malaysian style which is with dry belachan shrimp paste and chili making it very delicious. This dish was ok. The deep fried Butter Shrimp however ruined our meal. Not only did they put too much batter on the shrimp, the shrimp wasn’t fresh and tasted funny and rubbery. So we both ate one only and couldn’t continue. I’m pretty sure the shrimp was stale because I’ve never tasted shrimp like that before. So based on our experience from the fried shrimp we will not be returning to...