WalkAbout : My epic Thailand adventure STREET FOOD

Many of you know how long I was counting down to my incredible trip to Thailand.
I had been planning this trip for months… getting ready to travel 35 hours around the world to Phuket (Karon and Patong) to witness my childhood best friend’s wedding!
I was so excited to see my childhood friends Kass and Megan and spent time on this tropical adventure.
Anyone who knows me, knows that as soon as the tickets were booked, I was googling’, searching, reading, looking at pictures and spending every waking hour finding what delicious treats I was going to devour.
The following posts are going to be broken up into sections:
~~STREET FOOD~~
MARKETS
COOKING CLASS
RESTAURANTS

After my experience last time I was in Thailand in 2004, I knew I wanted to find Som Tum. A spicy and crunchy salad, made with green papaya, chillies and dried shrimp. I found a couple of carts, but I liked this guy the best. With a mortar and pestle, my salad was beaten and mixed, tossed and turned with perfect precision. Amazing flavors of chili, garlic and lime, with nice crunch from peanuts and the green papaya.
Som Tum Cart in Karon Beach - Approx HERE

Me standing proud, with a bag of spicy and delicious Som Tum - Papaya Salad

My friend Kass had raved about the street vendors selling fried banana from her last trip to Thailand and we were lucky enough to find a little local spot, about a 6 minute walk down from the roundabout at Karon Beach.
Fried Banana on the Rd from Karon Beach. Approx Location HERE
Incredible crispy and delicious fried banana, with sesame seeds and a hint of sweetness from what I think was honey in the batter.

Patong is much busier and filled with tourists. (Mostly Aussies)
There are so many places offering Western/ International food and it just made me sad! I wanted to eat real Thai food, where the locals were eating. Not getting dumbed down versions of pad thai and green curry and paying way too much.
I decided one afternoon after being hounded in strange “adopted” Aussie accents to buy DVD’s, that I would try out a little cart that the locals were buying steaming hot bowls of noodles from.
Noodle Soup at the front of Jungceylon in Patong. Approx Location HERE

The amazing soup, made right before my eyes had BBQ Pork, pork dumplings, pork meatballs and even pork cracklings. It was rich, spicy and the perfect lunch time meal for only 50Baht (US $1.60)

During my research online, I came across a Chef’s blog Beyond The Kitchen and we quickly became friends chatting and obsessing over all the amazing food in Thailand. Chef Dave armed me with a treasure map of sorts with directions to find LEK, who sold what he described as “the most incredible soup you will ever eat”
The Road to Lek can prove to be a challenge as there is just so much going on and so many differnent stalls/ carts selling all kinds of treats.
I have made a google map with a list of points along the way……. HERE

Walk along Rat-U-thit Song Roi Pee Road - Knew I was on the right track when I hit this point…

The yellow sign may be the same for a few Noodle Soup carts but there is only one Lek.
You will find her stall right across the street from the Nick’s Handlebar ( which I am pretty sure is a Harley Bar ) There are little carts selling food along with Lek, and also some plastic tables and chairs where you can ‘dine in’.

So happy to have finally found Lek… after hours of searching. ( I actually spent 3 hours walking a searching for her one day, then found she only comes out in the late afternoon. )
She was so sweet as I ran up smiling and screaming excitedly in English, like she was my long lost mother. i managed to explain I was a friend of Chef David’s and that he had sent me to find her. We had a laugh (I’m sure she was laughing ‘at’ me) and then she showed me how it’s done.

My second visit to Lek :) (Yes, of course I went back again!)

As I had heard from Chef D, Lek makes all of her noodles, broth and even roast meats from scratch. I had the Duck Noodle Soup - which had sweet and tender pieces of duck in a wonderfully rich broth. With yellow noodles, scallions and some green veggies. 50Baht ($1.60)

Roast Pork Noodle Soup w/ succulent slow roasted pork. Wontons and green veggies. An amazing broth of course and we added a few pickled chillies as well.