“The crab that walks too far falls into the pot.”
– Haitian Proverb
Coming from a province near the sea and enjoying freshly caught seafood my entire life, I am what you call a seafood snob. I’d rather eat something else if the seafood isn’t fresh. I barely ate seafood when I was in Manila, because despite being in an archipelago it was hard to find fresh and inexpensive seafood.
Black pepper crab
I like my seafood (specifically crabs – my favorite) fresh, cheap. simply cooked and eaten with my bare hands. You will never catch me eating crabs at a hotel. I’d rather order something else if I can’t enjoy it the way I like it. I love it dampa-style (buying the ingredients fish, meat or seafood in the wet market and have the “resto” cook it for you) or Jimbaran-style, wherein you pick your seafood while it’s still alive, the casual ambiance doesn’t make you feel conscious about wrestling with crab claws and using your hands is de rigueur.
Considering that we were going to Wat Chalong, buying cashews and Phuket town (supposedly) we asked our car rental company where we could eat seafood by the bay. And Ms. Porn (for real that’s her name, I swear!) suggested we eat at PhongPhang Seafood Restaurant.
Don’t be fooled – under that veil of green mangoes is the biggest order of catfish salad! Even the 3 of us couldn’t finish it (we invited our nice driver to have lunch with us)
Fried Garlic butter prawns – very good. I highly recommend!
Grilled prawns
Steamed crab. I am not a fan of blue crabs because of their skinny claws. If you’re like me then I don’t reco getting the crabs at all.
My favorite dip for crabs: salt & vinegar. You have to dip it in vinegar first then the salt. Do so sparingly because the flavors might over power the crab. My hubby now loves this as well.
Below are more pics of the view, the tables and sample shots of the menu just so you have an idea of the price. Don’t expect ambiance here. It’s as casual and down-to-earth as it can get, but the seafood is fresh and cooked well, with a view of the sea and a breeze. Service was quick. The servers were very attentive and will refill your plate with rice and pour your drinks for you. (Convenient since your hands will be “dirty”) We had a lovely, yummy lunch!
Phong Phang Seafood Restaurant – Phuket
- 22/2 Moo 3, Soi Parlai, Chaofa Road,Chalong, Muang, Phuket 83000 Thailand
- Phone: (66) 076.282.270 Fax: (66) 076.383.508
- Contact person: Khun Phongtavee Chumnina
- E-mail: phongphangfood@yahoo.com
- 11 am – 11 pm
- Click here for map.
- Sample photos of the menu below:
Menu
Prawns
Lobsters
Tiger Prawns
The color of the water in Palai looked pretty good when you went there. Normally it’s like a muddy green color. I never ate in that restaurant, but in Phuket you’re guaranteed fresh catches of Andaman Lobster and prawns. They don’t have the big claw (mud crabs or sri langkan crabs) variety because the big claws are freshwater and the estuaries are on the mainland.
It did sorta have that muddy green color at the shallow end. But it was all green and blue beyond that so we were lucky! I am really more of a crab person than prawns or lobster. If only I wasn’t blinded by my desire, I would have had the presence of mind to get lobster instead of the crabs. It didn’t occur to me to think “Hey wait a minute! These are blue not black AND they have skinnier claws!” I just thought: “CRABS! YES PLEASE!!” =P Lesson learned!
They had S (90 Baht), M (200 Baht) and L (280 Baht) size dish here. We asked what’s the difference, waitress said S is for 1 person, M for 2-3 persons. I ordered S and my husband M. When the dishes came, M is about the same size as S (maybe even a bit smaller). My husband had to eat some of mine b/c he was still hungry. So whatever you do, do NOT order a Medium size dish here. They cheat and their price and size!
I am so sorry to hear about your experience Madeleine! I am not sure what we ordered but perhaps their portions sizes changed. It is a good thing you mentioned it so that people who plan to check it out, will also be aware that this can happen! Thank you!