Buddy Ken and family are regular visitors in Phuket. Co-incidentally, we were both in Phuket and he suggested that we meet up at Chillva Market. Chillva Market is midway between the tourist hotspots of Patong (in the west) and Old Phuket Town (in the east). I love Chillva Market as there are lots of local street food and prices are local.
It takes about 20 minutes to get from Patong Beach to Chillva Market. Our Grab taxi cost about Baht 430 (SG$17.40). On our way back, we booked a taxi at the taxi stand at the front of the market (yeah, in front of these three cats). We got a 10-seater air con mini van for Baht 400 (SG$16.20). We asked only for a sedan as there were just three of us, but they sent us a mini van anyway 🤷 😅 Right after we agreed, I overheard another "tourist" successfully bargained his taxi down from Baht 400 to Baht 300. Good luck practicing your bargaining skills 😂
I estimate that there are around 80 to 100 food stalls at Chillva Market ranging from food tents to restaurants set in re-purposed transport containers.
There are an equal number of clothing, handphone, gadget, toy and other stalls.
The place is clean and well kept. It is suitable for families with children. Catering for the younger set, they even have pretty spots set up for that Instagram photo opportunity.
Let's take a walk together around the food stands. The market opens at 5pm and the best time to arrive is around 6pm when almost all the stalls are ready.
This is like keropok lekor in Malaysia - grilled fish cake. I don't know the Thai name - in fact, I don't know the Thai names of most of the food. If you know, appreciate your help in the comments 🙏
Fried fritters. You'll notice some similarity between south Thailand food and Malaysia food, especially north Malaysia.
Fried prawn heads. The food are all price tagged.
Chicken noodles.
Fried crickets, grasshoppers, sago worms, and such.
There will always be mango sticky rice, of course.
Not too sure what dish this was - she was boiling fish, squid, prawn, chicken feet, chicken offals, etc.
She was making crispy rolls.
Pan fried shrimp dumplings.
Stir fried noodles.
Little coconut tarts. They were great, with lots of shredded coconut pulp inside.
Fried squid eggs.
Seafood omelette.
Marinated raw seafood. This was one of the busiest food stalls in Chillva Market.
Not sure what dish this is.
The hottest moo ping (Thai style char grilled pork skewers) stall in Chillva Market. Must take a queue number.
Not sure what dish this is. This stall is popular with locals.
Fried fritters. We like the deep fried crispy chicken skin here.
Little crisp foldovers with grated coconut.
Grilled banana.
A dish of fried egg, mussel and bean sprout.
Lady was catching live, jumping white shrimps and tossed them with vegetables and sauce to make a salad.
Besides food stalls, Chillva Market also have a few bars and eateries serving traditional Thai dishes.
Chillva Market also have optical shops. I made a pair of glasses here and was very happy with the pricing and service.
Many locals and regular Phuket visitors rate trendy and family friendly Chillva Market as among the best weekday night markets on the island. The buzz, fun and funky vibes plus impressive selection of food, fashion and other stalls make it a worthy inclusion in your Phuket itinerary.
Written by Tony Boey on 2 May 2022
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments submitted with genuine identities are published