Phuket Restaurant Tips: Bang Pae Seafood

Updated in 2011 - see Bang Pae Seafood Restaurant

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The east coast of Phuket gets you away from the tourist beaches and into another world. No beaches here, no big hotels, just small fishing communities, mangroves, great scenery and some nice places to eat..There are many back roads on the east coast, especially if you take the road that heads east from the "Heroines Monument". There are countless side roads leading down to the sea from this road, well worth exploring if you rent a car or bike. After about 8km you reach a turn on the left to the Bang Pae Waterfall and Gibbon rehabilitation center. Just after this on the right is a turning to Bang Pae Seafood. Go a bit further still and you'll find the turning to Bang Rong, from where you can catch a ferry to Koh Yao Noi, and can also find a little floating restaurant in the mangroves.

Bang Pae Seafood is the kind of place you are not likely to find a tourist - maybe a local resident foreigner, but few tourists venture down these side roads. Hoorah to those who do get out and explore Phuket. With a little effort you can see so much more than most people. We had never been to Bang Pae Seafood before, but it was recommended by friends and we met them here for lunch last weekend. It's quiet, right by the water (albeit in the mangroves), our kind of place. Not expensive. We all ate until we were full (4 adults plus 3 kids), me and my pal drank about 6 Heinekens (good and cold), total bill was just under 1000 Baht (30 US$ / 20 £). The dried shrimp salad (yam gung seab) was very tasty, the fish cakes (Tod Man Pla) were great - very different to normal. Often you get them very spicy and made more with fish paste than actual pieces of fish. These were better, with pieces of fish and not so spicy. Even my 1 year old son could eat them!

As we ate, there were quite a fair few local folk walking out on the sand collecting shellfish. The water here is very shallow and it was low tide. Some of them seemed to be several hundred meters from the shore. This is a very peaceful spot for lunch, the food good, service decent, very relaxing.

Nearby Attractions

• Bang Pae Waterfall
• Phuket Gibbon Rehabilitation Center
• Kayaking in the Mangroves