Night Markets

For a good view of what Thai hawker food is all about, a visit to the night markets held next door to Robinson's Department Store on Ong Sim Phai Road, is a must. Vendors set up their mobile cooking units, tables and chairs, and display their fresh ingredients for passing customers to view. This colourful market offers a wealth of Muslim, Thai and Chinese cooked meals and sweets. Simply point at what you want to take away or eat right there -- most vendors are perfectly happy to share the business with other vendors. What they don't have, they'll get for you from another vendor.

Fresh Markets

In Phuket town, there are fresh markets held every morning. The largest is the central market behind Ranong Road, which goes from the early hours until 9-10am. During the day, some vegetables and dry produce is still available, but the colour and bustle is missing. The other fresh market is held next door to Robinson's Department Store on Ong Sim Phai Road at a similar time. During the day there is nothing to be seen until late afternoon when food vendors start gathering for the night market.

Elsewhere on the island, fresh morning markets are held in Chalong, Talang and Choeng Talay. Fish markets are held daily in the morning at Rawai.

Village Markets

On any afternoon through the week, village markets are held at various locations around the island. On Wednesday and Saturday afternoons visit Kamala Beach, on Tuesdays and Sundays at Bang Tao Village, Sundays at Choeng Talay and Chalong, Tuesdays at Sam Gong in Phuket Town, Wednesday and Sunday afternoons at Kathu village, Thursday afternoons at Kathu crossroads, Tuesday and Fridays at Rawai.

At any of these locations you can buy fresh fruit and veggies, herbs, spices, fish, fresh meat, and all the accompaniments to cooking of this region. Sample the snack food on offer - freshly cooked spring rolls, deep fried sweet potato, banana and jack fruit, steamed corn, Thai style pancakes, steamed ground nuts, natural ice-cream flavoured with durian, corn, coconut or taro, coconut and sticky rice steamed in bamboo, freshly cut fruit and much much more.

Vegetarian

Ranong Road in Phuket Town features one of the most popular vegetarian restaurants on the Island. Open from mid-morning until 9.00pm daily, this canteen style restaurant serves entirely vegetarian Thai food. You can sample the most incredible array of tastes using vegetables, herbs, spices and soyabean protein, served with either brown or white rice, thick flat white rice noodles, yellow egg noodles or Chinese rice noodles.

One of the best value, most nutritious and delicious meals you'll ever have. During the vegetarian festival of late September early October, a number of other shop houses open up vegetarian eateries in the vicinity of the Chinese Temple on Ranong Road and at other sites, where you can sample all sorts of dishes created to imitate non-vegetarian dishes using soy protein.

Western Food Markets

Central Marketplace in Central Festival Mall has a wide selection of western snacks, ingredients and other foods if you feel like cooking up something from home. You'd be surprised how much you crave macaroni and cheese after a while in Thailand. The deli section has a good variety of meats and cheeses but, as with all western food, the prices will be a bit higher than they would be for Thai food.

Tesco Lotus and Big C also have some western foods but the selection is not as varied. Tops Supermarket on theground floor of Robinsons Department Store is another option for a western style supermaket. Don's Mall in Nai Harn also has western foods and spices as well as some hand crafted cheese and excellent aged meats. Deli Supermarket on Rat-U-Thit Rd is the place in Patong for salami and brie. Near the Laguna Phuket Entrance you'll see Siam Deli, the choice stop for choice cuts in the Laguna area.

Wine Shops

Casual wine drinkers will find some decent buys at many of the smaller markets around the island but the connoscenti will find these shops lacking. The best bet for fine wines and imported spirits is Wine Connection on Chao Fa East road, near Chalong. This excellent dealer also has a location at Plaza Del Mar in Laguna Phuket.

Central Marketplace also has a fine wine section and the selection at Tesco Lotus is surprisingly good. M M Wine, on Thepkasattri Road, about 5 minutes out of Phuket town are importers of fine wines to Phuket's premier restaurants and hotels. Selling online or direct to the public from their location in Phuket Town, Friday evenings they host drinks from 17:30 to 22:30.

Wine and Taste, near the entrance to Laguna Phuket, has a great selection of international wines if you want something to have laying around your hotel room. In Surin look for Wine Envision in the strip of fashionable restaurants set back slightly from the beach.