April 15
Meena was the first restaurant we stopped to eat for our vacation in the South of Thailand. It was in a beautiful place, a raised bamboo platform across a grassy field in Na Yong, but the cracks showed almost immediately.
The restaurant had two types of seating arrangements. Regular table and chairs, or a lower table on a raised platform so we can sit on the floor. At first the five of us decided to sit in the back, but there were only two tables at the back and none of us wanted to sit on the floor. So we moved back front. There was also a workman repairing loose boards we had to walk around. Not a good first impression.
The food tasted mediocre and cheap. The fried shrimp stood out to me the most. The batter looked like fishcake and it was too dense and soft. They tried to make up for it by sticking on small crunchy bits of dough but it just made me want tempura. The meat of the shrimp lacked the snap of fresh shrimp. It tasted old, like it was reheated.
The grilled chicken we ordered twice and while it was the most delicious dish it was also nothing more than cooked chicken with spicy sauce. Anyone can make it by putting chicken under heat.
The som tam was too sweet and even if it wasn’t sweet it still tasted like som tam you can get from anywhere.
The salt crusted fish and the prawn salad, again, tasted like reheated food. Absolutely nothing about them stood out.
April 16
For breakfast, we ate at Chokdee Dim Sum at Hat Yai. The food is good if you like dim sum, but if you have been to any other dim sum place before, you have eaten at Chokdee. When we first arrived, we were greeted with a plate of pa thong ko and light brown custard that tasted like slightly sweet butter. We ordered so many dim sums I can’t keep track of them all, the plates piled high up above heads. There were dumplings, steamed fish and other meats, and sweet bao. It was good but nothing noteworthy.
For lunch, we ate at Lae Pha Ban Na Cave, in the mountains around Yala. The place was a beautiful Southern restaurant, there was a clear effort into not only designing the front garden but also in general upkeep. The three most noteworthy dishes, to me, were the crab curry, the grilled pork with salt, and the fried fish with papaya/fruit salad. Everything tasted fresh and full of complementary flavors.
The crab was soft, sweet and savory with a hint of bitterness.
The pork was a little dry but otherwise an excellent roast.
The fish got along surprisingly well with the taste of pineapple and guava. Just watch out for fish bones, especially the really thin ones.
April 17
Because we had to wake up at 4 am, yesterday we bought an armful of chicken ham and cheese stuffed bread from 10/10 Bakery Betong. The ingredients tasted good but there was too little chicken and cheese.
For brunch, we ate at Ta Yern, a Chinese restaurant right down the street from Betong Hello Hotel. We had: fried pork with a hint of garlic. Betong chicken. Khao yok or steamed pork belly with taro. Fried sweet and savory string beans. Fried seafood noodle. And savory stringbeans.
I personally don’t like Chinese food, as in I have no trouble eating and enjoying Chinese food but I won’t choose to eat it if I’m by myself. If you like Chinese food, then this is the place for you. Everything tastes great, except for the pork belly which was too fatty and gelatin-like for me.
For a late lunch, we ate at Smart Farmer Restaurant. This fish farm slash restaurant is the crown jewel of Betong’s restaurants. It is located way up in the mountains and it raises its own fish to cook and sell. The fish is called tilapia and the farm keeps them in pools of constantly running water at a consistent 24 degrees Celsius. This actually keeps them healthy and their meat tender and delicious. And I can tell you that it worked.
We ordered two fish dishes, one fried fish with basil and one steamed fish with soybean paste. The fried fish came with its flesh already removed from its bones, so we didn’t need to remove it ourselves. It tasted strongly of basil, which I loved, and had a good mix of spiciness and sweetness. I disliked the steamed fish. Its texture was too much like jelly to me and I could not stomach it.
We also ate an omelet with ground pork with chili sauce, which despite how basic of a dish it was, tasted better and more intense than similar omelets from other restaurants.
The stir fried spinach was also delicious and had a nice mix of savoriness enhanced by a little bit of garlic.
The sour fish soup had delicious fish, soft, slightly sweet, slightly spicy, and nicely acidic.
April 18
Betong Chicken Rice, also close to Betong Hello Hotel, is a good place for breakfast. I ate steamed chicken rice with signature Betong chicken. It was delicious but a little dry. The real standout was the red BBQ pork. Most red pork are cheap little cuts, a little sweet and they both look and taste like they have been marinated in red food coloring. Betong Chicken Rice’s red bbq pork is a little charred and a little smoky, giving the dish much needed depth. The dishes also came with a side of pa thong ko. The boiled pork loin was nothing noteworthy.
Next is dessert at Betong Grass Jelly. Wriggly, soft, iced and sweet. It is grass jelly with high quality ingredients, and not too sweet. If you like grass jelly, you will like this place.
We stopped at Kirihet Cafe in Yala for a break. I ordered drip coffee with honey and it was good, slightly sweet coffee. It tasted a bit more tangy and acidic than regular coffee.
For lunch, ร้านตี๋หยวนขาใหญ่. We were driving through Songkhla looking for a restaurant when this place caught our eye. I had stir fried beef with basil and sunny side up egg. Very delicious, especially for me who likes basil. It had nice crunchy chopped up onions that I wished were a little softer. The heat was good and the chilis were nice and soft. The soup helped clean my palate with its saltiness and savoriness whenever the heat got too much for me.
We saw the place was filled with boxes of packaged crispy pork that the restaurant makes and sells, so we brought some. I liked the soft brown and black tones of the decor and the vintage looking posters that give the eyes something to linger on.
Tech, Writing, and Culture 