Page Contents

• Hat Yai Restaurant Listings Page 2
  • Baan Lalit [more]
  • Bakery Box [more]
  • Bansuan Coffee [more]
  • The Basil [more]
  • The Basil @ Central [more]
  • Beung Thong Seafood [more]
  • Boat Bakery [more]
  • Bon Khao Restaurant [more]
  • Bor Bai Mai [more]
  • Bpor Maalee Steak House [more]
  • Bua Luang [more]
  • By Nong [more]
  • Charlie's Steak [more]
  • Chill Chill [more]

Food - Page 2

Hat Yai Restaurant Listings Page 2

For a general overview of the food scene in Hat Yai see Hat Yai Food and Restaurant Listings Page 1. The following restaurants are some of the places I've eaten at in Hat Yai.

Comments: This restaurant serves the best dtom kaa gai (chicken soup with coconut milk and galangal) in Thailand! It's a dish I like but at some places it can taste a bit medicinal. Not so at Baan Lalit.

Whatever the secret ingredient is they use, it tastes delicious and I always lap up every last drop of soup after eating the meat and other ingredients. Their fried chicken with cashew nuts is also probably the best I have ever tasted.

They have a good selection of Thai food on the menu including fresh fish and even ostrich. The menu has descriptions in English for those who can't read Thai.

The building in the photo is new as of November 2008. Prior to this they had an indoor eating area without A/C and a garden. This got a little hot during the hot season so the new building with A/C is a welcome addition. There is also a coffee shop right next door that sells good cakes.

It's run entirely by females - and the owners like animals. Check out the fat cats and various mutts you see around the place.

Prices are a little high for local rates but the food is very good. There are plenty of other places where you can find cheaper food but it isn't as tasty. Take your choice. The restaurant is located behind the Shell petrol station on Karnchanawanich Road, opposite the rubber research centre.

Baan Lalit (or Lalit Kitchen) is open from 11am until 10pm.

Diner Comments:

• I visited this restaurant with two of my friends and we experienced a bitter disappointment. The service was absolutely unprofessional, the portions looked like starters, they were way to small. I ate the shrimps with tamarind sauce (120 THB). The amount of sauce equaled about one teaspoon and covered the single and needless salad leaf on the plate. After that, we went to Gäp's and I enjoyed a "gulaschsoup" which came with two slices of delicious bread, a substantial meal for just 99 THB. I am living in Hat Yai now for seven years, and eat here and there. (February 2011)

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Comments: This coffee and cake shop is next door to - and run by the same people - as Baan Lalit (see above).

In recent years there has been an explosion of coffee shops in Hat Yai but a few years ago there weren't that many. Bakery Box is one of the originals, along with Ome Bake House and Ep's.

The girls who run it are friendly, they like cats, and the cakes are good. What more could you ask for?

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Comments: This place started off quite big anyway but doubled in size when it took over the computer shop next door.

It is right at the end of Thamanoonvithee Road and quite near to the university. It is thus popular with the Mor Or crowd. As well as coffee and cakes, they do Thai food and a few steak dishes.

The food is quite good and there are lots of cute, young waitresses if you like that sort of thing. I do!

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Comments: The Basil is one of those rare beasts in Hat Yai: a Thai-run restaurant that serves good farang food. The owner, Khun Anusorn, is a man of vision who would like to see Hat Yai and the surrounding area promoted more as a tourist destination.

I'm not sure if anything will ever change though. Many Malaysians will continue to come to Hat Yai for cheap clothes, food and 'booking-girls'; and farangs will continue to pass through as quickly as possible on their way to beaches and islands.

The menu is described as 'Mediterranean Cuisine' and it certainly has an Italian flavour. The bruschetta and the salads are good, as are the pasta dishes where you can choose your own combination of sauce and pasta type.

I was very surprised in a restaurant like this not to find pizzas on the menu. I then found out that pizzas (three types) are available even though they don't figure on the menu. They are not the largest or the best I have ever had but I find them preferable to 'Pizza Hut' type pizzas.

The desserts are excellent and I can thoroughly recommend the freshly-made tiramisu.

There is even a wine selection with wines available by the glass. Depending on how you look at it, prices are either cheap or expensive. I have paid just under Bt300 for a three course meal and around Bt350 for four courses (without any alcohol).

In this area - which is predominately a student area - you can eat local food (and eat well) for Bt30. This might make The Basil seem expensive. However, a very tasty four course Italian meal for the equivalent of a British fiver would be considered cheap in many other places so it's all relative.

The restaurant is located in Soi 2 of the road that runs alongside the Prince of Songkhla university. In the address above I have used the transliteration used on The Basil's business cards. If I was doing the transliteration myself I would probably opt for ta-non bpuuh-na-gun.

The opening hours are from 11:30-14:30 and 18:00-22:30. It is closed all day on Mondays.

Diner Comments:

• Good mediterranean food, tender steaks, portions could be a little bigger, winelist is small, Prices and service is ok. Great is the homemade Tiramisu.

  Smokers can sit outside and will not catch a cold inside the airconed restaurant. Always worth a visit. (2010/2011)

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Comments: In the third quarter of 2010, the Basil opened a second branch in the very heart of Hat Yai's tourist district. It is located next to Central department store, underneath the Novotel hotel. Following some feedback from the owners (and some wrong assumptions on my part), here are my revised comments.

The first branch only opens in the evenings nowadays due to a shortage of staff. Apparently, there wasn't always enough seating at the first branch and this is why the second branch was opened. In the first two months since opening, the owners report that business at the second branch has exceeded their expectations.

The clientele are mainly local people but of course visitors to Hat Yai are also very welcome. The location of the second branch will be much more convenient to tourists than the first one.

The Western food has a Mediterranean flavour, as was the case with the first branch. I am delighted to see that pizzas are on the menu and these are 'real' pizzas, as opposed to the Pizza Hut variety.

At The Basil, you will not simply find dishes that are better than elsewhere in Hat Yai; you will find dishes on the menu that you can't get anywhere else in Hat Yai.

Hat Yai is a very Chinese town. The majority of locals are Thai-Chinese, and the majority of visiting tourists are Malaysian and Singaporean Chinese. Chinese tastes are therefore very well catered for but the Western food on offer in Hat Yai isn't that exciting.

This latest addition to Hat Yai's restaurant scene is thus very welcome.

Update: Like many other local businesses, The Basil @ Central was badly affected by the huge flood that struck Hat Yai in the early hours of Tuesday 2nd November 2010. Being located in the basement under Central department store the damage suffered was actually a lot worse than many other places.

I took a quick look on November 11th and everything appeared to have been destroyed. Tops supermarket, which was also recently reopened after a big refurbishment, was also destroyed. It must be heartbreaking for the owners who put so much time and money into the business.

I wish them well and hope to see the restaurant reopened again some time in the future. However, I heard a rumour that it might not be reopening. If that rumour is confirmed I will remove this entry.

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Comments: The full name of this restaurant is Beung Thong Seafood & Garden Fishing Park.

The restaurant sits next to a large rectangular body of water reminiscent of a shrimp farm. People come here to fish but I'm not sure if fish are bred here to be consumed in the restaurant.

I've only been once and it wasn't a very memorable occasion. I was greeted by those strange looks from the Thai staff they give when they don't expect to see a farang. They then proceeded to ignore me until I asked to see a menu.

After serving me with a plate of chicken and cashew nuts it took them five minutes to get me a plate of rice. Every restaurant in Thailand, including this one, has rice cookers full of already cooked rice so there is never any reason to wait but I had to here.

The food was OK but I've had better elsewhere for cheaper. I won't be rushing back.

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Comments: As the name implies, this is a bakery. It is also a restaurant that serves cheap Thai food as well as Western style breakfasts, sandwiches, burgers and spaghetti dishes, etc. The Boat is located close to the Kosit hotel on the opposite side of the main road.

The bakery is a typical Thai style bakery so expect to find the type of bread and cakes that are made at typical Thai bakeries. Don't expect to find what you would find in a Paris boulangerie or a Berlin Bäckerei.

I once read a forum post from a farang who had passed through Hat Yai and was raving about this place. It's OK but I certainly don't think it's worth raving about.

If you've eaten at The Boat and would like to provide some feedback, your comments are always welcome.

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Comments: The quality of the food is excellent at Bon Khao but I have included it here more for its location and the great view. It is located on the road that runs from Hat Yai Municipal Park up to Bodhisattva Kuan Im. The setting is very tranquil as the restaurant is completely on its own surrounded by trees. Perched up on the hill it offers an excellent view over Hat Yai. I have visited in the day time but am told that the view at night is very nice with Hat Yai lit up.

For directions and comments about getting there see Bodhisattva Kuan Im.

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Comments: This is a typical larger-style Thai restaurant where Thais go for a night out, rather than purely to eat. There's live music and a lot of serving staff.

The charge for the entertainment and ambience is included in the food prices so eating at somewhere like this is more expensive than your average Bt30 rice shop.

Bor Bai Mai is located near the Acoustic pub, Pink Resort, and Sittara Spa.

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Comments: This place is located on the airport road a little way out of Hat Yai centre. As you go towards the airport it is on your right.

It bills itself as selling Isaan, Thai and Italian food. After eight years of living in Hat Yai I have had as much Isaan and Thai food as I can stomach so it was the Italian food that interested me.

It's not the best Italian food I've ever eaten, and it certainly doesn't compare to the very good Italian restaurants that can be found in other parts of Thailand. However, because there is so little Western food available in Hat Yai it is always good to know of places that make an effort to serve it.

They serve a variety of spaghetti dishes, garlic bread, steaks, and they even make their own pizzas. Again, it's not the best pizza I've ever eaten but considering that the only options you have in Hat Yai for pizza are Pizza Hut and The Pizza Company it's good that somewhere tries to make pizzas that resemble pizzas instead of the things that Pizza Hut refer to as pizzas.

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Comments: Thais are very fussy consumers. If food is not deemed as being aroi or if prices are seen as as being too high or is the service isn't up to scratch, they vote with their feet and go somewhere else.

A busy restaurant is always a good sign in Thailand. If a restaurant has no customers there is normally a good reason. If you get a restaurant recommendation from a Thai, follow it. That's how I found this place. One of my wife's friends recommended it, so while passing one day we gave it a try.

The food was excellent and very reasonably priced. There is a good selection of traditional Thai dishes including fresh fish and seafood. The service was very good.

The junction of Phetkasem and Niphatsongkrao 5 roads is where the new Siam Nakarin building is being built. It's a huge building and easy to spot.

Turn into Niphatsongkrao 5 Road, go straight on at the traffic lights and the restaurant is on the right before the fork in the road leading to Klong Hair floating market.

The restaurant is open for lunch from 11:00 to 14:00 and again in the evening for dinner from 17:00 to 22:00.

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Comments: This is a really pleasant little coffee shop which also sells a good variety of tasty, inexpensive Thai dishes. It's run by a Muslim owner and so everything complies to Halal standards for visiting Muslims.

It is located near Tanachart Bank on Niphat Uthat 2, which in turn is located near to Robinson department store. The restaurant is in a Soi that runs between Niphat Uthit 2 and Niphat Uthit 3.

At lunchtimes it is very popular with the staff from Tanachart Bank. There are seating areas upstairs and downstairs.

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Comments: Charlie's Steak opened around May 2011 and it is a very welcome addition to Hat Yai's restaurant scene. The owner studied in Australia and therefore understands real Western food. Some small Thai restaurants selling Western food don't have a good understanding of what Western food should be like.

Prior to Charlie's Steak opening, this place used to be a bar that kept opening and closing with different names and different owners. I think the last incarnation was Blur 2 bar.

According to the web site the restaurant is a franchise, but it isn't one that I have heard of before.

It's spacious inside and very pleasantly decorated. There is also seating outside in a kind of patio area. The menu is fairly comprehensive, the food and the service good.

The best steaks in Thailand are imported, but these are quite expensive. Many Thais don't eat beef and therefore local beef doesn't compare with imported cuts. I've had some quite good local steaks, but I've also had some that are like shoe leather.

Charlie's uses local beef and the steak I had was one on the most tender Thai steaks I have ever tasted. The pepper sauce it was served with was good too.

Like every Thai steak restaurant I have eaten in, you only get a tiny amount of French fries and if you want a real portion it is necessary to order more separately.

The prices are higher than in the local Thai steak houses, such as Jeffer, but a lot lower than Sizzler. It's certainly worth a try if you fancy eating Western food in Hat Yai.

The bad news is that just seven months after opening, the owner is considering selling up so she can return to her studies in Australia. If that happens I hope that the new owners maintain the high standards.

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Comments: Hat Yai has a number of very pleasant small cafés that serve coffee and cakes and this one is probably the most pleasant of all. In fact, it is quite gorgeous. People who go on about how ugly Hat Yai is just don't know Hat Yai. Overall, it's not the most attractive of Thai cities but there are a few hidden gems; some of which I have included in this web site. You will find tips here that you will not find in any other web site or guide book (that is, until they start plagiarising what is here).

Chill Chill's pièce de résistance is its exquisitely created garden. Sitting there feels like being a world away from the noise and traffic of downtown Hat Yai. There are two levels but the tables on the upper deck are very popular and seldom vacant.

A natural curtain of plant roots hang in the air from plants suspended on a trellis above and the garden is full of carefully manicured Bonsai trees. There are also other plants and water features.

The coffee and cakes are delicious, matching the surroundings. The bad news (or possibly good news) is that Chill Chill is not easy to find and casual visitors to Hat Yai are very unlikely to stumble across it.

It's in the vicinity behind JB Hotel. On Map 2 it is fairly close to where Samchai and Jiranakorn roads intersect. Tuk-tuk drivers should know Soi Tongdee 1 if you want to make a visit. Chill Chill is open from 14:30 to 22:00.

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