Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

Continuation from Krabi/Phuket 2010 – Part One …

When the beach is over-populated by the sheer number of beach beds, more than the people out for a tan, and over-shadowing the soft, fine sands …… you know commercialization has taken over.

The simple Thai breakfast at Tonsai off the main road running parallel to Patong beach fueled us with sufficient energy to hop over to the beach, which was starting to see a hive of activities – from the ones strolling along casually to the ones jogging on the soft, sandy stretch of sands, to those lying down on the beach beds (about 80-100 baht / RM8-10 / USD2.30-2.90 per bed, NOT FOC) for a tan and joyful souls splashing in the shallow end of the emerald waters.

As crowded as Patong Beach might get, the beach was still well-kept, unlike the ones here in Malaysia with rubbishes strewn all over the place, and the waters so murky you wouldn’t wanna touch with a 10-foot pole.

The sun was unforgiving, hence the quick requiem at Central Festival Phuket, the most famous shopping centre in Phuket town

From Patong Beach to Central Festival Phuket, we took a minivan-cum-taxi at 300baht / RM30 / USD8.60 for the five of us. Pricey, for public transportation in Phuket and even Krabi charge “Tourist-y Rates”, and not according to meters. So bargaining skill is a MUST at times, but given the peak season during our visit, the cabs were indeed …. out for the kill.

Swensen’s is an almost compulsory stop for ice-cream in Thailand – At about 50baht / RM5 / USD1.40 per sundae (on promotion), beats McDonald’s anyday.

Lunch @ Sizzler, the TGIF/Chili’s of Thailand. For good Steak, Seafood & Salad.

Wait, yesterday night was dinner at Fuji’s Japanese Restaurant, and now lunch of American style grilled meats and salad at Sizzler?! What were we thinking you wonder? To walk out from Central Festival to the surrounding vicinity for street foods may sound easy on papers, but when you’re already in the comfort of air-conditioning and tantalizing restaurants all over the place, your adamant stand might just get swayed. And that was exactly how we ended up at Sizzler, a famous chain of restaurant originating from California since about 50 years ago.

The Salad Bar is one of the main attraction at Sizzler, and if you’re not keen on having mains, you can opt for the Sizzler Bar buffet for only 150 baht /RM15/USD4.30 per person.

And what sets Sizzler apart from our TGI Friday’s and Chili’s is that they serve PORK. Yeah, from ribs to sausage to pork loin. If you’re already in a daze, you should be. Salivary gland going into overdrive? So did we.

We ended up with two combination platters to be shared, one being the Teriyaki Chopped Steak & Tempura Basa Fish set (405 baht / RM40.50 / USD11.60) and another being the Spicy Grilled Chicken & Pepper Pork Loin set (330 baht / RM33 / USD9.40). The portions ain’t dainty, and definitely made for sharing. You can either have the baked potato or rice for sides, and the sets also came with two slices of sizzler toast each.

Sizzler
Central Festival 3rd Floor
Muang District, Phuket 83000
(076)249-788
0-89779-3141

And here are the other location of Sizzler in Thailand – http://www.sizzler.co.th/en/location.php

To protect the innocent, I just had to do this. I am sure Psychic Queen would understand my predicaments.

After the relentless bouts of shopping (at TOPS Marketplace – the supermarket … LOL. Don’t ask), and a sore disappointment to the gals who got their hopes dashed, in their effort to relive that manic seizure of Naraya bags in Bangkok (the Naraya outlet in Central Festival Phuket is a joke. Don’t bother), we left the shopping mall and headed back to Loveli Guesthouse at Patong.

But lo and behold, to charter a taxi, or even tuk-tuk at the prime location is NOT a walk in the park. One such vehicle, a tuk-tuk intended to charge us 500 baht / RM50 / USD14.30 for the ride! And so, the backpacker instincts came to life, and we crossed over the other side of the main road, in hopes of stopping any form of public transportation passing by.

To no avail. We did not see any cabs, vans, or even tuk-tuks for that matter. Half dejected, and partly screaming for help, we were lucky a good samaritan (a fine young Thai man) who was waiting for a bus himself assisted us and signalled us over to a short distance away. Well, at least our hunch was somewhat true, and we’re on the right side of the road. A-HA!

A short while later, a small crowd had gathered together with us, providing much consolation. And a ‘bus’ (more like a mini-truck) stopped for us. But it was packed! Not intending to wait any longer, we took a deep breath, and squeezed in. All standing around, cramped like sardines in a can, and tried desperately to find the right balance, in fear of toppling over someone’s lap. 25 baht per person, and about half an hour later, we survived the ordeal, with no scars nor scratches. But some sore limbs …. Oh, and the people were nice enough to hold our grocery bags for us while we were maneuvering ourselves on the bus. Angels, indeed.

Duped into believing there would be a musical fountain show, we waited with bated breath at Jungceylon. The show was cancelled due to maintenance works. Tough luck.

And Phuket came to life, a most festive reminder of our days in Bangkok – Patpong, anyone?

Avatar in Phuket?

Bangla Road – THE most happening street on the island, bar none. And the road’s closed to vehicles, a most gracious move.

Motormouth From Ipoh IS a U-rated (for general viewing) blog after all …. hence the BLUR.

A short walk away from our guesthouse is Bangla Road of Patong, where the night creatures come out to play, and the street would be all lit up and a most pompous, celebratory mood breathed into life. But walking around the red light district felt so much safer, and less intimidating, than say … in Patpong of Bangkok. For we were not pressured by touts for those sleazy shows (don’t ask), and instead enjoyed the sights and the sounds in a most leisurely manner.

Dinner was at a Thai style seafood stall located at the end of a lane, off from Bangla Road. If you’re entering from the front end of Bangla Road, you’ll notice this lane on your left almost immediately. There are several stalls along the way, but we chose the last stall named Chiang Rai Seafood.

A meal for five, with Grilled Red Snapper, Grilled Squid, Seafood Tom Yum, Papaya Salad, and Morning Glory (or ‘kangkung’ to you and me) came to 1410 baht / RM141 / USD40. Slightly pricey, yes. But the fish was really fresh and came with thick flesh, at only 320 baht, we thought that was a steal. The bowl of fiery Tom Yum with Seafood cost 300 baht, but loaded with prawns, squids, and fish. The other dishes were passable as well, and we had Singha and Chang beer to wash away the meal down.

And that concludes the second part of my Krabi-Phuket trip. So, what can you expect for the next chapter? Let’s say … a rather dodgy breakfast with smoked/grilled pork belly and authentic Thai style noodles, then speeding our way to Krabi town, before settling down at Ao Nang beach.

Wait for it.

** Some pictures were taken with a friend’s Nikon D90, hence the superior quality. Thanks JT! **