Choosing a restaurant abroad is never easy, especially in a place like Phuket, where every street corner is a place where people can whisper to each other about delicious "hidden" places. There are many reviews online, and there is no shortage of advice, making many tourists confused between the choices.
Standing among hundreds of praise articles online, Michelin is like a friend who has gone before, tasted, and filtered to guide tourists. Above all, Michelin is not only about expensive fine dining restaurants but also includes Bib Gourmand, delicious restaurants with reasonable prices and Michelin Selected, a list that recognizes restaurants that are worth trying, whether they are street vendors or ordinary restaurants hidden in the streets. And that is how Phan's Michelin journey in Phuket began.
Phan and his friends' journey to enjoy Michelin-starred cuisine in Phuket, Thailand
Phan’s first stop on the trip was One Chun, a restaurant housed in a century-old house in central Phuket. The space retains the classic Hokkien architecture, with wooden roofs, high ceilings, faded paint, and objects reminiscent of the past decade. The restaurant has been on the Michelin list since 2019 and has been recommended consistently for the past six years, and is famous for its Mu Hong, a traditional southern Thai-style peppered pork dish. However, having already tried Mu Hong during a meal at Keemala, Phan decided to order other dishes.
One Chun Restaurant is located in a century-old house in the center of Phuket.
He chose Pad Thai with shrimp and spicy and sour fish soup. The Pad Thai had a distinct sweet and salty taste, fresh and plentiful shrimp, stir-fried with not-too-dry rice noodles. The fish soup had a typical Southern Thai flavor, with a strong fish sauce smell but not too harsh, a spicy taste but not burning the throat, but gradually permeating like the Southern Thai way of conquering the taste buds of diners. This is the dish that Phan often uses to feel the depth of the kitchen, and this time he felt satisfied. The restaurant's portions are very generous, suitable for those who go in groups to enjoy many other dishes.
Phan ordered Pad Thai shrimp and spicy fish soup to enjoy at the restaurant.
The second restaurant is Kruvit Raft - an interesting experience right from the approach. From the mainland, Phan takes a wooden boat for about five minutes to reach the restaurant. Where Phan sits to enjoy the food is a wooden floor floating in the middle of the river, able to catch the cool breeze blowing through.
Kruvit Raft has been recognized by Michelin since 2021, featuring a menu of fresh seafood, caught and prepared on the spot. Phan chose to enjoy grouper soup with soy sauce, a dish recommended by Michelin. The broth is clear, with a distinct richness, the soy sauce flavor permeating the fish without overpowering the original sweetness.
Kruvit Raft features a fresh seafood menu
Lobster stir-fried with salt and chili is also a very popular choice with diners, the shrimp is sweet, the spices are just right. But for Phan, the dish that she remembers the most is Nam Prik, a type of shrimp and fish sauce served with raw vegetables. Perhaps because he ate it in the setting of slowly flowing water and gray clouds covering his head, the salty, rich taste suddenly became a profound local experience, something that tourists often miss when they only go to fancy restaurants. The fish sauce here does not make people hesitate, but on the contrary, makes people want to eat more vegetables, more rice, and put it in their mouths once more.
The restaurant offers the experience of sitting on a wooden boat and enjoying cuisine on a floating raft in the middle of the river.
Another rainy afternoon, Phan wandered through the Old Town and stopped in front of A Pong Mae Sunee’s small cake cart – a humble address located on Yaowarat Road. There was no big, eye-catching sign, just a brown wooden cart with a few cake molds neatly placed on a charcoal stove, but it was listed on the Bib Gourmand list. The only dish here was Khanom A Pong, a thin and crispy coconut crepe, with the rich aroma of coconut milk and fermented rice flour. The cake was crispy on the edges, soft on the inside, moderately sweet and vividly reminiscent of childhood. “The taste of the cake was very similar to the dishes I ate at home when I was young, so it was a bit familiar and far away,” he recalled with emotion.
A Pong Mae Sunee, a humble wooden cart located on Yaowarat Road
Not wanting to end the afternoon with just one dish, Phan went for O-Aew, a cool dessert familiar to the Hokkien people in Phuket. In the small bowl were shaved ice, grass jelly, red beans, sugar water and a little cocoa. The sweet, cool taste soothed the feeling of disappointment on a rainy afternoon when he had not yet explored every corner of Southern Thai cuisine.
O-Aew, a cool Hokkien dessert in Phuket
Right next door is O Cha Rot - a beef ball noodle shop that just made it into the Michelin Guide 2025, standing out with its red sign written in Thai and printed in gold on the main white color of the shop.
O Cha Rot is famous for serving plump, flavorful beef meatballs, tender slices of beef soaked in aromatic bone broth and soft, well-cooked noodles.
Through the places he has visited, Phan has found that Southern Thai cuisine has its own unique characteristics. Dishes such as yellow soup, crab fried rice, papaya salad or fish sauce all have more than average spice levels, far beyond the imagination of many people. The spiciness and saltiness are not something everyone can handle, even those who are used to strong food. “If you are not used to it, ask the restaurant to reduce the spiciness or ask about the ingredients in advance so as not to ruin the experience because of a small mistake,” Phan shares his experience.
Phan came to Phuket not to pursue luxury but to better understand why a street cake can stand on the same list as top restaurants. After all, what he remembers most is not just the dishes, but the feeling of being guided through each layer of Phuket's flavors.
Michelin not only acts as a guide, selecting restaurants based on delicious food or good service, but also pays attention to the context, history and local spirit. An old cart, a bowl of rustic fish soup, or a dish of fish sauce eaten in the middle of a windy river, all contain the spirit of the land that can only be recognized when slowly enjoyed. Popular dishes can also be ranked on par with delicacies. It is this equality that makes Thai cuisine appear both diverse and close to the people.
Phuket, in the eyes of many, is a place of light, blue sea and parties. But for Nguyen Do La Phan, in the rainy season of June, that pearl island is a place that preserves layers of spicy, salty, strong, deep flavors - things that Michelin calls special, and that he remembers forever.
