Khao Kwan in Koh Chang • Farm to Table Magic in Trat, Thailand ร้านอาหาร ข้าว ขวัญ ☏ +66 81 940 0649

Khao Kwan  ร้านอาหาร ข้าว ขวัญ | 51/5, Ko Chang, Ko Chang District, Trat 23170, Thailand ☏ +66 81 940 0649 ⏰ 11 am - 3 pm, 5pm - 8:30 pm (Weds off)

Khao Kwan restaurant in Koh Chang is a special place.

Coming here for the first time, finding Khao Kwan might be slightly challenging for non Thai speaking folks. Restaurant doesn't have the English name Khao Kwan outside.

Can look for Beach Babe bar & cafe which is right beside Khao Kwan 🤭

Koh Kwan is a small restaurant which seats about 30 guests. 

The decor with lots of wood, stones, flowers and greenery evokes the rainforests of Koh Chang. It's like forest bathing while we ate.

First dish was เมียงคำ Meang Kham.

First impression, its like the Peranakan kueh pie tee of Singapore and Malaysia, but with uniquely Khao Kwan fillings.

Inside the crispy cups, the filling was a 300-year-old recipe of flowers, herbs and aromatics that blends more than 12 flavours in one bite. 

The sauce was concocted with tamarind, coconut palm sugar, galangal ginger root, ground coconut pulp, peanut and dried shrimp.

It's like a salad of aromatic flowers, leaves and roots with a umami savoury spicy sweet sauce (rojak, if you may but more delicate).

Next was Summer Roll with Shrimp.

So artfully beautiful. Like little floral bite size bouquets.

So delicious, so exquisite a blend of savoury and sweet with subtle perfumes from the flowers and vegetables.

These little bites clearly need a lot of time, effort, mastery and most of all great passion to make.

I assumed that these must surely be special dishes requiring prior arrangement.

But no, these were regular dishes anyone can order straight out of Khao Kwan's well weathered menu book. 

And, they were affordable too - the Meang Kham costs 250 Baht (S$10) and the Summer Roll also 250 Baht.

Amazing.

Crab Spring Roll.

Fairly familiar fried browned crispy outside with the inside packed with sweet savoury filling of pulled crab meat and vegetables.

Served and eaten with fresh juicy cubed fruits like dragon fruit and honey melon. Price 300 Baht (S$12).

Ceviche of Koh Chang price 500 Baht (S$19.60).

Fresh raw blue-spotted grouper fish marinated in red dragon fruit juice, served in a bouquet of onion slivers, aromatic flowers, roots and leaves. Eaten by mixing / tossing the heap with peanut sauce.

Khao Kwan source their ingredients from local markets. Blue-spotted grouper fish, for example, are plentiful in the seas around Ko Chang.

Crab Roe Relish 380 Baht (S$15).

Umami savoury sweet spicy blend of crab roe, coconut milk, spices and herbs cooked by steaming and served in a coconut. Like a luxurious crab otak otak.

Crab Curry price 400 Baht (S$16).

Pulled crab meat, aromatics, wrapped in leaves, cooked and served in creamy curry of coconut milk and spices. Just mild heat.

Sticky Rice Tempura.

Even something humble like grilled glutinous rice was so lovingly, beautifully presented which elevated our enjoyment of Khao Kwan's dishes.

Grilled Black-banded Kingfish Served with Thai Spicy Flower Salad price 390 Baht (S$15.30).

Roasted Duck Curry 320 Baht (S$12.50).

I love curry and I love roast duck. I have to confess that this was my first time having duck curry and I doubly love it. Tender, moist slightly fibrous and subtly gamey, toasty as roast duck meat should be, and infused with sweet spiciness of the coconut milk based curry.

Scallop with Garlic and Pepper 400 Baht (S$15.80).

Pan seared scallops dressed with aromatic greens, herbs and spices including local peppercorn.

Banana Spring Roll. 

So many things on this plate. Grilled halved banana dressed with palm sugar, gold egg yolk balls (thong yod) and egg yolk threads (foy thong). Complemented by a large scoop of rich ice cream.

I am a big fan of these duck egg yolk threads or foy thong. This egg dessert was brought to Thailand by Portuguese during the reign of King Narai (1656 - 1688) of the Ayutthaya kingdom.

Chef Nongrat Noppawan (fondly known as Chef Yaa) hails from Phatthalung in the south of Thailand. She owned and ran Blue Lagoon Thai Cooking School for twenty years before opening Khao Kwan.

Perched on a ledge overlooking Khao Kwan's dining hall was a portrait of King Rama V (1853 - 1910). King Rama V led the Kingdom of Thailand during the tumultuous years of industrialisation and expanding European empires. In defending Thailand's integrity and leading the modernisation of Thailand during this time, the King sometimes felt tired and sad. 

Princess Yaowapa Phongsanit tried her best to cheer her father up with his favourite dish known as Khao Kwan which is coconut milk rice with side dishes which she prepared with utmost respect and care.

Chef Yaa named her restaurant Khao Kwan to embody the spirit of love and joyfulness of Thai cuisine prepared with a loving, grateful heart.

Personally, I felt Khao Kwan restaurant was amazing - Chef Yaa's magic table was like a magic carpet taking me back in time to an era when people took great pride in making beautiful things. Each piece of food was a magic garden. Stunning to look at and delightful to taste. Khao Kwan was one of the most magical moments of this trip to Koh Chang island.

Khao Kwan is a small but popular restaurant. Seats are highly sought after, so reservation is highly recommended ☎️ +66 81 940 0649

Restaurant name: Khao Kwan  ร้านอาหาร ข้าว ขวัญ 

Address: 51/5, Ko Chang, Ko Chang District, Trat 23170, Thailand

Tel: +66 81 940 0649

Hours: 11 am - 3 pm, 5pm - 8:30 pm (Weds off)

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Khao Kwan was one of the best memories from our 6 Day Fly & Drive trip to Trat, Chanthaburi and Rayong provinces

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Written by Tony Boey on 11 Jul 2025

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