If you’ve been hanging around these parts for a while, you’ll have no doubt noticed that food is a huge part of my life. Not just the consumption, but the social event that is gathering together to enjoy a good meal.

I especially like food that is an experience in and of itself. Anything new, exciting or different has me salivating at the mere thought of it passing my lips. Mr. LA and I love nothing more than taking our taste buds on an adventure.

As such, what we eat has always been central to our experience of travelling together. Food usually provides the foundation for most of our happiest holiday memories. We always enjoy picking our favourite of the local restaurants and we like to sample native snacks at every possible opportunity. It’s also fair to say we are rarely happier than when presented with an array of street food to feast upon.

Thai food is perhaps my favourite of any foreign cuisine, and there is nothing like eating it in its country of origin. Here’s a pictorial account of what we feasted upon while we were away….

First up is the street food in Bo Phut {Fisherman’s Village}. Possibly the best Pad Thai I’ve ever eaten. For those not in the know, this dish consists of stir-fried rice noodles with egg, fish sauce, tamarind juice, red chili and any combination of bean sprouts, chicken, or tofu. It is garnished with crushed peanuts, lime and coriander.

On this occasion it was served on a banana leaf and devoured at the side of the road in between slurps from strong mojitos, for which we paid around £1 each. Street food is good, but street cocktails are even better.

Here’s another version of the same dish served in a beachside restaurant. Pad Thai is a firm favourite of mine so I do tend to order it regularly whenever we visit Thailand. I just never get bored of the flavours.

The seafood in Samui was out of this world, and we certainly made the most of it. On our first night at the hotel we indulged in their seafood BBQ buffet, gorging ourselves on fresh lobster, dory, calamari and prawns, to name but a few. One of the many plates I filled, and subsequently cleared, over the course of the evening is pictured below.

I say we indulged because it is always much cheaper to eat away from your hotel when you’re staying in Thailand. In a small restaurant you should expect to pay no more than £20 for a meal for two, including starters, main course and alcoholic drinks. Many restaurants will be even cheaper, and it’s worth noting that we saw a dramatic difference in price between eateries on the beach and those a little further away on the main street running through town.

At first glance, most restaurants in Samui don’t look particularly impressive, but if a place seems relatively clean then I suggest you’re brave and give it a go. The same can be said for the other parts of Thailand we’ve visited in the past. Some of the best meals I’ve eaten in my life have been served in very humble surroundings!
The dish above gives you an idea of how large the king prawns were in Samui. Here they’re served with what the menu called ‘grass’, a mixture of coriander, chives and spring onions I believe.

Fried rice with pineapple is another favourite of ours. The way they serve it in the hollowed out shell of the fruit never fails to impress me.

We like snacks and nibbly food a lot and would often order a handful of starters to create a light lunchtime meal. I loved these fragrant pieces of marinated chicken wrapped in banana leaves.

More street food. I have no idea what these are called, but they tasted incredible. Watching them emerge from the hot oil as they were being made was quite something too. The lady behind the stall had the whole process down to fine art. We looked on in awe as she first turned a humble spud into a sort of spiral on the skewers, before dipping them in batter and deep frying them. The hot swirly potato was then doused in the seasoning of your choice. Delicious.

Then there was the greatest sweetcorn in the world. I’m not exaggerating, it really, really was. Barbecued on the beach by a man who spoke hardly any English and always insisted on giving us extra chicken satay and a handful of baby bananas. It was coated in some kind of secret sauce {watch out Levi Roots} and tasted salty and sweet all at once. It may have been my favourite lunch of the whole holiday. Excuse the lack of makeup and unladylike mode of consumption 😉

Of course, we didn’t just eat, we drank too. Cocktails. Lots and lots of cocktails.

Buckets of them in fact…

The picture above was taken on a messy night out in Chaweng. We’re sat in the infamous Ark Bar sipping something lethal mixed with ghastly Thai Red Bull. This huge beachside bar is a must visit for drinks and dancing in the evening, but it also happens to serve really good food during the day.

Hmmm… I’m feeling kind of hungry after writing this post! And thirsty for a cocktail 😉

Are you a fan of Thai food? Do you enjoy sampling new and exotic food when you’re abroad?

You can read more about where we stayed on our honeymoon here.

Loveaudrey xxx