Thai Breakfast Foods to Try in Phuket, Patong

Discover Thai Breakfast Foods in Patong Beach

If you stroll out early in the morning in Patong Beach in search of a restaurant to have breakfast, you would surely come across various street food vendors preparing local delicacies to fulfil appetites.

Although we consider them as breakfast foods, Thais also indulge in these savoury and sweet delicacies for lunch, as well as dinner. Generally, there is no right time to eat a certain dish because Thai dishes serve a hearty meal regardless of time!

Nevertheless, if you are looking for a satisfying meal to kickstart your day, here are a few popular dishes we Thais love for a deliciously good morning.

Joke – Rice Porridge 

Joke is the Thai version of Chinese congee. Equivalent to oatmeal in texture, Joke is hot rice boiled down to form a thick porridge and flavoured with meat broth. While it can be served meatless, it is usually accompanied with ground pork, while a softly boiled egg, slices of spring onion, fried garlic, ginger and cilantro top the meal.

There are versions of Joke that are stewed over charcoal for a smoky variation, while meat including liver slices and pork balls are pre-cooked before being added to the final dish.

Definitely one of the most popular breakfast foods in Thailand, it also serves as a great hangover cure that can soothe and settle your stomach after a night of one too many drinks!

Patongo – Thai-style Doughnuts

One of the most delicious breakfast foods in Thailand (but not the healthiest), are bite-size Patongos. These originally hail from China where they are called 'Youtiao' and served as large sticks to dip in savoury soymilk.

Patongo balls, which are best when bought fresh, go well with a cup of coffee or tea first thing in the morning. Rather than being sweet like Western doughnuts, Patongo balls are rather savoury in flavour and are dipped in soup and porridge as well.

Khao Kai Jeow – Easy Omelette

Omelettes are seemingly the universal breakfast food and of course, the Thais have their own version to add to the world stage.

This simple version is fried in oil and served golden-brown over a bed of fresh Jasmine rice. While it can be eaten plain, it's more commonly served alongside onions, minced pork and sliced cucumber and dipped in either chopped chillies in fish sauce, sweet chilli sauce or ketchup.

Fresh Fruit

The luxury of living in the tropics is that fresh fruit never goes out of season. You will always find a street food vendor with a cart full of pineapples, guavas, papayas, rose-apples, watermelon slices and mangoes. Mornings, in particular, are a hectic time for fruit vendors as people love to buy it for breakfast. The vendors keep the fruit hygienically on ice and will cut up your choice of fruit for you on the spot and put it in a bag with a stick for eating.

Salapao – Grub on the Go

People who have been to China, Hong Kong or any Chinatown in their local city will probably know Salapao, also known as ‘Baozi’ or 'Bao’. Salapao are soft, steamed dough balls filled with meat, chicken, vegetables or sweet bean. In Thailand, they’re sold practically everywhere, even at the country’s ubiquitous 7-Eleven stores. You will also see vendors with glass cases of freshly made Salapao on the street every morning, catering to hungry locals during rush hour.

Rise and Shine!

If you manage to get out of bed early enough, you’ll easily find all the foods listed above lined at Patong Beach. Thus, the best place to stay when in Phuket is near Patong beach (like Hotel Indigo Phuket Patong) as you will find an abundance of authentic Thai street food to try