Phuket Food Tour Review: What It’s Really Like to Eat Like a Local With A Chef’s Tour [+ Discount Code]
You could spend all day in Phuket horizontal – sunbathing, beach-bar grazing, working through the coconut shake menu – and still leave knowing almost nothing about what locals on this island actually eat.
That’s where Baba Tastes Phuket Food Tour by A Chef’s Tour comes in. Four hours, 15+ tastings, and not a single mango sticky rice in sight. Instead, we went deep into Phuket Old Town, a maze of Sino-Portuguese shophouses, Baba-Peranakan flavours, and the kind of local kitchens that never see a tourist unless someone tells them where to look.
FAQs
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The Baba Tastes Phuket Food Tour lasts about 4 hours. It typically runs from 3 PM to 7 PM and includes plenty of stops (and rest breaks) along the way.
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Tickets start from $59 USD per person. Children under 13 are half price.
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The meeting point is at Jui Tui Shring in Phuket’s Old Town. The tour ends in the same general area, and your guide can help arrange transport back to your hotel.
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Usually, A Chef’s Tour food tours do include transportation during the experience if its required. We didn’t need it on the Baba Tastes Phuket Food Tour though, we walked!
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Expect 15+ tastings from snacks and mains to sweets and drinks. The portion sizes are generous enough that you’ll be full by the end, but small enough to keep you going for the full 4 hours.
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Comfortable walking shoes
A hat or sunglasses for the heat
Stretchy pants 😉
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Not really, this tour focuses on hidden neighbourhoods, old markets, and local communities rather than big-name sights. That’s the point: to eat where locals eat, not where tourists are sent.
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It’s easy! Book online with secure payment and instant confirmation. 👉 Reserve your Phuket food tour here.
Use code CHEFSFRIEND5 and get a 5% discount off your next experience with A Chef’s Tour!
1st Bite: Popiah – Phuket-style Fresh Spring Rolls
Our first stop was a small Teochew-style stall in a local market where soft, paper-thin crepes were rolled around jicama, bean sprouts, lettuce, and roasted pork. The sauce — sweet, sticky, a little smoky — clung to the rice paper, while a dash of chili added quiet heat.
The texture did all the talking: crisp sprouts against the soft wrap, that glossy sauce tying it together. Every roll was made to order, each one wrapped with care.
It was a humble start — light, balanced, and comforting — the kind of dish that reminds you how Phuket’s Chinese roots still shape its streets.
2nd & 3rd Bite: Mee Hoon Pad – Wok-Fried Rice Vermicelli Noodles with Pork Rib Broth
At the next stall, a wok sizzled with soy and garlic. Plates of mee hoon — thin rice noodles — were tossed until golden, then topped with shallots and chives. Next to it came a clear pork rib broth, steaming hot, fragrant with white pepper.
The noodles on their own were rich and savoury, the kind of dish that’s better than it has any right to be. But spooned with the broth, everything clicked — salty, smoky noodles meeting clean, peppery soup.
It’s a simple pairing, but it captures what southern Thai comfort food does best: comforting flavour.
4th Bite: Miang Kham – Betel Leaf Bites
Then, a tray of glossy wild pepper leaves appeared, surrounded by piles of diced lime, ginger, shallots, dried shrimp, chilli, toasted coconut, and roasted peanuts. Miang Kham is less of a dish and more of an experience — one bite that holds every taste Thailand is known for.
The trick was to fold it up, pop the whole thing into your mouth, and brace yourself for the explosion of flavour. Sweet, sour, salty, spicy – all at once. The chilli hit first, then the lime, then the sweetness. It’s the kind of bite that makes you laugh, cough, and reach for another — all before you’ve swallowed.
5th Bite: Curry Puff – Golden Pockets of Spice
The next stop smelled like heaven — a small bakery with trays of pastries coming out of the fryer. These curry puffs were shaped like tiny shells, their buttery layers crisp and delicate. Inside, a warm filling of curried chicken and potato.
The filling was warm and fragrant — chicken, sweet potato, carrot, curry powder — soft against the crisp pastry shell. The flavours were gentle but deeply satisfying. Sweet edges from the potato, mild spice from the curry, all wrapped in butter-flaky dough.
They make hundreds each day, all by hand. Simple, nostalgic, and a little addictive — the kind of snack you could eat three of without realising.
6th, 7th, 8th & 9th Bite: Thai “Dim Sum” – A Royal Affair in Miniature
Our next stop was unlike any other that I’d tried in Thailand. In fact, it was actually similar to experiences I’ve had in China.
First came Khanom Chor Muang, violet flower-shaped dumplings filled with minced chicken, garlic, coriander root, and pepper — each petal pinched one by one. Then Khanom Dara Thong, golden and crown-like, symbolising honour and wealth; Khanom Dok Lamduan, buttery flower cookies perfumed like their namesake blossom; and a coconut biscuit called somonat — given at weddings to wish happiness.
Every piece looked like it belonged in a museum case, but they tasted like tradition — delicate, precise, and impossibly Thai.
10th & 11th Bite: Khao Moo Hong
If Phuket has a comfort dish, it would be this. A Michelin Bib Gourmand favourite, this was a “dry” pork porridge — rice topped with minced pork, ribs, and crispy belly, with a small bowl of broth on the side.
The broth was peppery and rich, carrying the sweetness of slow-cooked bones. The rice soaked up every bit of flavour, while the crispy pork added texture and salt. It’s hearty but clean, like a southern Thai take on bak kut teh.
12th, 14th, & 15th Bite: Thai Stir Fries
For our final exploration of savoury flavours, we stopped by an old-school local restaurant filled with clatter and charm. The menu, all in Thai, offered a mix of Chinese and southern-style dishes.
Three plates arrived together: a stir-fry of squid, prawns, and fish in chilli and soy; a chicken with cashew nuts which was sticky-sweet and comforting; and bai liang leaves with scrambled egg.
Each one felt homey, slightly smoky, perfectly balanced. Familiar flavours, done the way they’ve always been — no shortcuts, no reinventions needed.
15th Bite: O Aew
For our final stop, we swapped the wok smoke for something cool and sweet. At a small dessert café tucked into Old Town, bowls of O Aew arrived over crushed ice, glistening like glass.
Made from the seeds of the O Aew plant — a jelly once brought here by Hokkien settlers — it’s served with syrup, shaved ice, and sometimes a spoon of red beans or banana. The texture is silky, the flavour light and refreshing, just a hint of sweetness after a day of spice.
It’s the kind of dessert that doesn’t try too hard. Simple, local, and quietly perfect — the taste of Phuket winding down for the evening.
What Makes This Phuket Food Tour Different
You won’t find yourself eating pad Thai, papaya salad, or mango sticky rice – the dishes you already know.
It was a journey into places most visitors never see, eating dishes perfected over generations, guided by locals who knew exactly what mattered.
It’s also about the journey. A walk through Phuket’s Old Town, through side streets, and at every stop, you’re folded deeper into the fabric of daily life in Phuket.
If you want to discover hidden eats and truly eat like a local in Phuket, this is the way to do it. Ready to taste it yourself?
Try A Chef’s Tour in Other Cities
Heading somewhere other than Bangkok? You’re in luck. A Chef’s Tour runs hidden-eats adventures in different cities around the world.
Don’t forget:
You can use code CHEFSFRIEND5 and get a 5% discount off your next experience with A Chef’s Tour!
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