Raya: Phuket's Famous Restaurant for Local Food

Raya is a restaurant converted from an old heritage house decorated in Sino-Portuguese style. It sits among modern shophouses in the heart of Phuket Town, on Dibuk Road. As soon as you step inside, you can feel the classic charm. The place is decorated with antique collectibles: mirrors, furniture, a record player set. The dining tables are covered with pink cloths that show off a simple, homely feel, as if you're having a meal at home with your family. Add some soft background music, and the whole place is filled with a happy atmosphere...

Today fatgirlguides got the chance to try authentic, original Phuket local food. What interesting dishes are there? Let's take a look!

Let's start with the restaurant's signature dish, "crab curry with wild betel leaves and rice vermicelli". What makes it special is the super fresh, juicy, sweet blue crab meat. When we saw it, we were all stunned, because the restaurant uses carefully selected grade-A crab claw meat, picked fresh every day, with no fishy smell at all. Every bite is a real mouthful, my dear! You get the flavour of the crab meat together with a curry broth that isn't too fiery, just a little spicy, and it goes really well with the crab. You can have it with hot steamed rice, or choose blanched rice vermicelli, which is delicious too. Friends who love crab meat are sure to love this one. I'd say this dish is great value.

The next dish I'd recommend is "nam phrik kung siap" (chilli dip with smoked skewered shrimp). It's a healthy dish that's perfect for health-conscious ladies, because being a chilli dip, it isn't high in calories. You eat it with all kinds of fresh vegetables on the side, which helps keep you regular, you know. Most of the vegetables the restaurant picks are all sorts of local greens, and you could tell even from Mars that they've been carefully chosen, with only the tastiest parts served. The nam phrik kung siap has a well-rounded flavour: fragrant, sweet, sour and rich, set against the saltiness of southern Thai shrimp paste. And since it isn't very spicy, it's much easier for both Thai and foreign tourists to eat.

The "moo hong" (Phuket-style braised pork belly) here is the real, original version. The flavour is rich, sweet and savoury, well-rounded and fragrant with spices. They use only pork belly, cut into pieces and marinated in spices so the flavour soaks deep into the meat, and the meat is soft and tender too.

"Moo bai krut" is pork belly fried until dry, not greasy at all, with a well-rounded flavour. The pork is crispy outside and tender inside, slightly salty and fragrant with makrut lime leaves. Eating it with the chilli sauce really brings out the flavour of the pork: the slight saltiness against the spicy, sweet-and-sour sauce is such a great match. Loooove it~

And the last dish we'd recommend is "prawns stir-fried in tamarind sauce". Big, sweet prawns, crisp and really bouncy, cooked just right, and the prawns are super fresh too. Together with the sweet-and-sour tamarind sauce, it should suit a lot of people's taste, and the kids will probably love it as well. It's sprinkled with fried shallots that are fragrant and very crispy, which adds extra texture too.

To finish off, the restaurant serves free fruit: "Fa Lan mango", sweet, rich and well-rounded, so you can end your meal and cleanse your palate. After something savoury, you've got to have something sweet!

Most southern Thai restaurants have a distinctive taste: fiery hot and bold, thanks to the intensity of the spices. But at "Raya", the food isn't overly fiery, while still keeping that well-rounded flavour, so there's no need to season it any further. It's also a popular restaurant that anyone visiting Phuket should come and try. The restaurant also ships food to other provinces every day via Thai Airways cargo, with a minimum order of 5,000 baht. Lots of customers usually pick up the restaurant's nam phrik tai pla (spicy fish-innard chilli paste), in its various recipes, to take home. If you're looking for a souvenir, give it a try. I guarantee the taste: it's sooooo delicious!

Location : The restaurant is on the new section of Dibuk Road, Mueang District, Phuket
Opening hours : 11:00 - 23:00, open every day
Phone : 076 218 155