While LC and I were in Phuket, we stayed in the beautiful Villa Zolitude so we spent a lot of time in the hotel, lazing, playing Jenga and swimming in our own very own villa's pool. We were in the quieter part of Phuket, away from Patong and the livelier part of Phuket. When we went out for food, it was beach-side or in the shopping mall.
So when it came to looking for good food, we consulted the internet (which was rather difficult because a lot of the places were far) and asked the hotel for recommendations - Kan Eang @ pier was the only recommendation they had.
Kan Eang @ pier is a live seafood restaurant where you can pick your seafood and get it cooked the way you want it.
There's an array of shellfish including lobsters and oysters.
And a selection of fresh fish (look at the size of that barracuda!)
We decided to go with some prawns steamed with salt and pepper since they looked exceptionally fresh.
Kan Eang @ pier like it's namesake is located at the pier of Chalong Bay so you'll hear the waves of the sea while you're soothed by good live music by some very enthusiastic middle-aged men. The ambiance is quite lovely too. You're situated under shady trees (though I constantly crossed my fingers that nothing drops on my head) in a romantic al-fresco dining setting.
We had a Seafood Fried Rice with some Barbecued Pork. The fried rice was quite normal tasting but the barbecued pork was very good. Tender and tasty, it went very well with the sour and tangy chilli sauce it was served with.
We had to order the Thai staple - a Pad Thai and Kan Eang's did not disappoint. It was the best Pad Thai we had during the trip.
Out of curiosity, we ordered some Steamed Fish Paste in Banana Leaf. It was very much like Otak-Otak but this was a bit softer. It was heavily spiced and would have gone well with some plain steamed rice.
The prawns we picked out were cooked well, steamed to perfection. They were as fresh as they looked - definitely the highlight of our meal.
For dessert, we had a Tab Tim Krob, a water chestnut dessert with shaved ice, jackfruit and coconut. Absolutely lovely.
Kan Eang @ pier is located next to another popular restaurant, Vset and they allow you to order their desserts to bring over. You'll never find this kind of neighborly attitude in Malaysia. The Passion Fruit Tart from Vset was amazing. The torched top of the sweet and sour passion fruit filling gave it a bittersweet taste which balanced out the strong flavors of the passion fruit. The cold and hot textures worked really well together making this dessert something to remember.
If you choose to stay in this quieter part of Phuket, do drop by Kan Eang @ pier, all the taxi drivers know the way haha...