restaurant review: kao tom pui in trang, thailand

Food at Kao Tom Pui.

"Trang is Thailand's new food haven," was what we were told while planning our trip to Thailand. Mr. Sazy Rock has previously been to the country but not to Trang so he was very enthusiastic about checking it out.

Kao Tom Pui.

True, there were night markets, Malay inspired dishes (due to its proximity to Malaysia), Thai-style dim sum for breakfast and such. But, it's still a very sleepy, small town (about an hour away from the coast that provided the gateway to the glorious Andaman sea islands) and spending four week nights there (I heard weekends are better) was a bit of an overkill.

Although we indulged in street food and night market action, we did find some decent sit-down places to eat. One of those was at Kao Tom Pui, located on the Main Street leading to the train station, and where we dined two nights in a row.

The Scene

This casual corner restaurant was lively. There were a few smattering of Western visitors but most diners looked like locals or Thais from other parts of the country. Some gentlemen even brought their own bottle of Scotch to accompany their meal. I looked at their bottle longingly but, alas, I was not rewarded with a sip. In fact, I'm convinced one of the gentlemen put the bottle away from my line of sight.

Part of the kitchen.

The Service

The servers were friendly and eager to accommodate our request for a table nearest to the fan (it was so hot and humid even at night). I also particularly like the set up common in many restaurants in town and in Bangkok: having a table trolley next to the table to put all the dirty dishes and used napkins. That way, the table remained clear.

The dishes trolley.

The Food 

The presentation of the dishes was a bit sorry looking but, to be fair, once I tasted the food, all of that didn't matter.

Fried rice - tasty and seafoody.

Fried Rice.

Minced pork - had a spicy kick.

Minced pork.

Salt and pepper squid and garlic squid - crunchy.

Garlic squid.

Tender duck - tender but a bit salty because of the soy broth.

Duck.

Fried pork with peppercorns  - spicy and the peppercorns were tastily bitter.

Pork with peppercorns.

Fried squid - garlic was nice and crunchy.

Fried garlic.

Chicken with rice - thickened soy probably with  starch. Tasty.

Chicken with rice.

The Price

With non-alcoholic drinks, we spent 330 and 550 Baht (about ~$10 and ~$15, respectively). Pretty cheap for a sit down restaurant and for the amount of food we ordered.

The Verdict

My verdict for Kao Tom Pui mirrors how I feel about Trang. Kao Tom Pui was good but not life changing. The flavors were there and I enjoyed it. Similarly, I'm glad I visited Trang. I enjoyed my stay and what I've tasted. But, I would only recommend staying here for a day, maybe two.

What's a food haven small town you've visited?