From sporting famous beaches, splendid resorts, water adventure sports like scuba diving, surfing and swimming, etc., Koh Samui has it all. But taking a deep dive into this island’s culture, you would assuredly find that the people here take pride in their exquisite and exotic food in Koh Samui and have a ton of delicacies in store for you. So, in this article, let’s go on a food tour searching for the best food in Koh Samui.
1. Pad Thai
SourceIt’s a stir-fried noodle dish which is a perfect inexpensive street food alternative while in Thailand. Almost every restaurant, hotels and food shops have Pad Thai on their menu. Though we would strongly recommend you to try the inexpensive one which costs around THB 50 and can be found in any night markets. Street vendors add rich spices and deep fry the noodles which give it a soft, as well as crunchy texture and the quantity per serving, is also decent. A small serving would cost you around TBH 20.
Best Places to Try it: Pad Thai Thip Samai, Baan Phadthai, Pad Thai Ekamai. Approximate Cost: THB 20 - THB 50
2. Thai Milk Tea
SourceThailand is famous for its tea delicacies and this one is no exception. The Thai Milk tea is just next level when compared to any other milk tea. Western parts of the island sports lavish restaurants and shops which specializes in Thai Milk Tea but it too expensive and costs around TBH 100. Instead, look out for a street shop or store making the Tea like the one at Chaweng night market. You could enjoy the exact same lip-smacking taste at an affordable price of TBH 30 and could even get the spices and sugar levels twisted as per your desire.
Best Places to Try it: Cha Tra Mue, Audrey Café des Fleurs, Greyhound Café Approximate Cost: THB 30 - THB 100
3. Mango Sticky Rice
SourceIt is a traditional Thai dessert which comprises of glutinous rice and is topped with slices of fresh mango and coconut milk. This food in Koh Samui is surely one of the many Thai exotic desserts that Koh Samui has to offer. The ones found in the weekend night markets are topped with some sugar substance and thus lack that exotic taste of coconut milk. Although, the mango sticky rice could be spotted on the menu in any dessert’s shop.
Best Places to try it: Mae Varee Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango, Mango Sticky Rice Lady 50b. Approximate Cost: THB 50 - THB 150
4. Grilled Coconut Rice wrapped in Banana Leaf
SourceThe Grilled Coconut Rice is another delicious dessert which can’t be missed while in Koh Samui. The dish is prepared by taking sticky steamed rice and getting it savored with rich coconut milk which is then wrapped in banana leaves and is finally grilled. The street vendors never get a thing wrong with this delicacy and hence would always be able to serve you with the exact same addictive flavours and exotic taste.
Best Places to Try it: Kanom Krok. Approximate Cost: THB 30 - THB 100
5. The Spicy Papaya Salad
SourceThis food in Koh Samui is surely not for the faint-hearted. The spicy blend of herbs, sauces and chillies are ready to burn out your taste buds. Taken as a healthy and refreshing snack or a starter before a heavy meal, the papaya salad would surprise you every time you taste it. You can have it in the starters menu in almost every restaurants and shops in Koh Samui.
Best Places to Try it: Wannai Approximate Cost: 50 - 120 TBH
6. Coconut Ice Cream
SourceThe best-suited delicacy to showcase on your Instagram feed, this fresh coconut ice-cream is surely not a joke. Made from iced- coconut shavings and topped with dry-fruits, peanuts or mochi, this dessert is surely a jaw-breaker at an affordable TBH50. For TBH50, usually, you would get around3-4 scoops of coconut ice-cream which is a decent serving. Find yourself a good restaurant or a dessert shop and you would surely find that sucker on the menu.
Best Places to try it: 151 Kamphaeng Phet 2 Rd Approximate Cost: THB 12 - THB 20.
7. Silk Worms
SourceHow could we proceed with our tour of the food in Koh Samui without featuring any insects or bugs. Believe us, tourists who try silkworms for the first time get really addicted to its savoury taste. The worms are deep-fried with some salt and spices sprinkled on it that completely detaches the otherwise unlikely aroma. The texture on this works feels like chickpeas to some extent. Being an inexpensive yet yum snack we would surely recommend silkworms are worth every penny of yours. Visit a night market or the shops near the beach to grab your first bite on these tiny worms.
Best Places to try it: Klong Toey Market (on Rama IV road), Banglamphu (near Phra Athit Pier) Approximate Cost: THB 30 - THB 90.
8. The Thai Noodle Soup
SourceThe Thai Noodle Soup is a mouth-watering yet simple noodle recipe which comprises of dried noodles, stir-fried eggs, tofu, shrimps, shallots, heavy spices and chopped roasted peanuts as a topping. It is a perfect cuisine alternative for breakfast, lunch or dinner at an affordable cost of TBH30 only. Again, this one is another deal-breaker on the list as you get to choose your spice variations, toppings and the ingredients like egg, fish or pork for such rock-bottom prices. Wandering in Koh Samui night markets could surely get you your bowl of Thai Noodle Soup.
Best Places to try it: Wuanood, Rung Reung Pork Noodle Approximate Cost: THB 30
9. Different Varieties of Skewers
SourceDwelling in the night market of Koh Samui would get you through different shops selling different varieties of this delicious hand food in Koh Samui. Take a bite to experience the crunchy exterior of this delicious meat with a soft sauce-soaked core. Though it might be a little difficult to identify the meat used as each one of them looks like (it's nothing mysterious, trust us on that), it should be quite an adventure to take your first bite on any one of these and identify the meat yourself.
Best Places to try it: Urban food, Skewered Thai Approximate Cost: THB 50 - THB 90
10. Grilled Sticky Rice
SourceSoft Rice core on the inside and crunchy egg covering on the outside, the grilled sticky rice is a hell of a snack available at the night markets of Koh Samui. The recipe is prepared by taking sticky rice and flattening it into a circular disk and then being bathed in egg yolk and finally grilled. The Grilled Sticky Rice tastes tremendously amazing and is a perfect snack alternative.
Best Places to try it: Lert Ros, Cherng Doi Grilled Chicken Approximate Cost: THB 40 - THB 90
11. Kway Tiao
SourceThis is another food in Koh Samui which is noodles served with a meat broth. You can mix up this delicacy as per your requisites. Noodles are offered in two variations which are flat and wired. To go with flat or wiry noodles, there are four diversities of meat which include pork, beef, chicken or seafood. The broth is seasoned with fish sauce, vinegar, and chilli. Also, some greenies are added to add up to the lip-smacking taste. A decent serving of a bowl of Kway Tiao would cost you around 30TBH.
Best Places to try it: Lung Nan Noodle, Kway Teow Sam Baht Approximate Cost: THB 30
12. Chicken Satay
SourceA sinful addictive snack alternative, the flavours of this skewer can drive you really crazy. Starting from as low as THB 10 per skewer, there are wide varieties of meat to choose from pork, fish, chicken or beef. The meat is seasoned with turmeric and then grilled which gives it a rich aroma. To further enrich this tasty skewer, it is further soaked in peanut sauce. It's surely one of those dishes, which after trying once you would have a craving for it forever.
Best Places to try it: Kurissara Thai Cuisine, Poo Nurntong Restaurant Approximate Cost: THB 10 - THB 50
13. Chicken Rice (Khao Mok Kai)
SourceKhao Mok Kai is the perfect food in Koh Samui that is a killer combinations of adequately cooked rice soaked in the flavoured blend of spices and herbs with an uncomplicated yet delicious chicken broth. This recipe is prepared by soaking the rice in a perfect blend of curry powder, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and chilli powder and cooking it slowly with oil, turmeric and garlic powder to ensure that the rice completely acquires the taste of the spices which will entirely give it a unique aroma. It is then topped with veggies, chilli sauce, and chicken broth. A plate of chicken rice costs around TBH 50 and is a nice offering for breakfast or lunch.
Best Places to try it: Go-Ang Pratunam Chicken Rice, Briley Chicken, and Rice. Approximate Cost: THB 50
14. The Thai Pancake
SourceHaving a unique proportion of egg, condensed milk, sliced banana, jam, sugar, coconut, the Thai Pancake is undoubtedly a must-try while wandering the streets of Koh Samui. The Thai pancake costs just around TBH30 and hence is a snack alternative to many locals.
Best Places to try it: Thai Lady Pancake, madame Yoo Hoo " The Restaurant" Approximate Cost: THB 30
15. Tropical Fruits
SourceFrom mangoes to pineapples to watermelon, rambutan, dragonfruit, and pomelo, Koh Samui is enriched with colourful tropical fruits all season round. So while on a tour to this adventurous island, these delicious fruits are a must-try.
Best Places to try it: Amphawa Floating Market, Bang Nam Pheung Floating Market Approximate Cost: THB 50
16. Cocktails and Mojitos
SourceYou could get a perfect blend of cocktail shots, mojitos or tequila at any of the night street markets at extremely low bets of TBH30. The only difference, though not a ground-breaking one for many, is that the shots would be offered in plastic cups.
Best Places to try it: Ben's Cocktail Bar, Max Cocktails Approximate Cost: THB 30 - THB 200
So here we end our food tour showcasing the 16 delicious food in Koh Samui when travelling to this beautiful Thai island. Hope you enjoyed the tour with us!
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