Ta Khai, Phuket
The restaurant is next to a quiet beach, possibly a private beach to a 5-star hotel. I arrived by taxi around 10 minutes early, to the middle of “nowhere”, yet I could see it is a restaurant next to a very posh hotel indeed. It is a very nice restaurant mostly outside, as there is a large open kitchen with dining tables organised around it. I got an impressive table next to a nice garden and by the beach.
Outside table and beach view
There was surprisingly no dress code, so I was in my flip-flop (my only time in flip-flop as I really hate them.) and short trousers, because I was enjoying the beach in the afternoon. The restaurant provided some mosquito spray since we were literally outside next to many plants. However, I have to say it did not work very well on me; some insects fed on my legs, while I was enjoying the dinner. The menu was not long. This place mostly focuses on the local ingredients, fruit, herbs and seafood, and local cooking style.
Menu
The first two plates in the menu actually came together. I found the spring roll “Poh Pia Sod” very interesting. It is soft and relatively solid skin like a “pancake” roll compared to crispy deep-fried skin, which are very common in many places. The fill was basically a fresh salad, but it suited very well in a hot beachside outside environment. Despite the spring roll was paired with the sweet tamarind dip (in brown), the sweet plum sauce with onion and chilli was also very nice, because the sweetness and chilli kick contrasted very well with the fresh vegetable filling.
Poh Pia Sod - fresh Phuket spring rolls, pork, yam bean, bean sprouts, chili, tamarind dip; Tod Mun Goong - fried shrimp cakes, pickled vegetables, sweet plum sauce
The next soup looked simply but tasted really nice. I liked the clean and almost transparent soup base, with drizzle of chilli oil, coriander, and spring onion. I could see through all the ingredients, which were visually appealing. The soup was, in fact, very spicy; however, I could still taste the subtle herb and strong umami flavour. There are a few types of mushrooms. Their fresh and earthen tone popped up nicely in the spicy soup. There was also a snapper (Pla Kapong) fillet, though I could mostly taste the texture than the flavour in the spicy soup. In general, this was a really nicely seasoned and sophisticated Tom Yum soup.
Tom Yum Pla Kapong - spicy & sour snapper, Thai herbs, chili, fresh lime juice
The main was a set. I believe it is a traditional way to serve food in Thailand. I enjoyed, surprisingly, “Bai Liang Phao Kai” (top right in the picture), especially the native melinjo leaves. It was my first time to try them. The leaves were thicker than I expected, almost a bit chewy. They had slightly bitter taste but light sweet was kicked in after biting. The second part I liked was “yum Pak Kood Goong Sod” (left in the picture), particularly the chilli & lime dressing. I had to say that the prawns, chicken mince and shallots were simply cooked, nothing really special, however the dressing mixing of sweet, sour and chilli made everything amazing. The entire main set was really large, and I could not even finish.
Bai Liang Phad Kai - stir-fried native melinjo leaves, eggs, garlic, dried shrimps;
Moo Hong - soy braised pork, black pepper, garlic;
Chu Chee Goong- shrimps red curry, kaffir lime, red chili, coconut milk;
Yum Pak Kood Goong Sod - fiddlehead ferns salad, shrimps, minced chicken, crispy shallot, chili & lime dressing
This was a really nice restaurant close to Pa Tong beach in Phuket with 30 minutes taxi from the main tourism area in Pa Tong. It provided a great and relaxing dining environment. Although it is not a very posh place that gave me very fancy and artistic plates, yet the food suited the local climate and provide a great feeling of home.
🐼 Score: 3/5
