I was invited to Surat Thani in the south of Thailand to be the judge of a food competition at the Surat Food Fair. It is very convenient getting there. There are two flights daily on THAI and it only takes one hour to get there. Surat Thani is a lush southern city. There is plenty of everything, rubber, fruits, and an abundance of fresh seafood. I stayed at Wangtai Hotel. There were rumors that one room at this hotel is haunted. I did not know about this when I arrived and stayed there for two nights and slept like a dead log.

            What a shame I did not get to meet the house spirit! I would have asked him or her for a lottery number! You see we Thais are so superstitious but it is customary to ask the spirit for lottery numbers. I am just following a very Thai tradition nothing out of the ordinary.

            Ghost or no ghost, I have been many times to Surat Thani. It has been about a year since I was last there. Nothing much has changed, people in the south are very kind and very direct. They either like you or hate you. They are shy but have lots of self-confidence. They speak a southern dialect usually very fast. During this trip I noticed that there were more foreign tourists in town. The city of Surat Thani is the gateway to Samui Island.

            You can travel by train or by plane to Surat Thani and take a ferry to Samui Island or you can by pass this city all together by flying directly to Samui on Bangkok Airways from either Bangkok or Phuket. Wangtai has gone through a face-lift. All the rooms have been refurbished and it is a pleasant hotel but what is surprising about this hotel is that the food they serve is very good.

            Usually hotel food is just so so but here they specialize in local cuisine and some others as well. Whenever I am there I always make a point of eating atleast once in their two dinning rooms. A few must try dishes are, steamed shrimp balls with garlic oil and a steamboat of fresh pompano with vegetables.

            I am rambling on about the food a Wangtai’s food and almost for getting the fact that I am going to take you to eat the freshest seafood simply cook in this town. The restaurant I am going to write about is called Lumphu 3. It is a small restaurant just outside the city limit. You drive down a small lane and it dead ends on the river. The restaurant actually sits by the mouth of the river.

            Very unpretentious, this restaurant serves the freshest seafood I have tasted in a long time. No air-conditioned rooms so you’ll have to hope for a sea breeze or sweat it out while enjoying your food. It is a place where locals go eat. Prices are reasonable and there is a concrete fresh seafood tank on the floor as you step up to the restaurant. We ordered the usual fare for a seafood restaurant.

            Baked shrimp in rock salt (kung op glua), charcoal grilled fresh water prawns (Kung Pao) and fried whole crayfish with crispy garlic (Gung tod kratiem prik tai). The baked shrimps were very large and very fresh. They know how to cook it properly. Just done, the shrimps were still tender and sweet.

            They peeled the shells for us so that we would not get our hands dirty but we quickly put an end to that because we like to use our fingers and get our hands dirty. It’s more fun. The grilled fresh water prawns were also perfectly cooked. Just done with lots of coral at the heat of the shrimp for us to mix with white rice, add a little spicy chili garlic dipping sauce, toss everything together and put it is your mouth.

            It’s creamy, sweet, sour and very bad for you cholesterol! We had fresh local oysters, which were very large, plump and succulent. I had to cut the oyster in half to eat it. I tried the usual Fried crayfish with crispy garlic but was persuaded to try the steamed one eaten with the spicy dipping sauce.

            It was a welcome change. The meat of the crayfish, which was already very rich, was better steamed. I can still taste the natural sweetness of the crayfish without the greasiness of the oil and the dipping sauce enhances the flavor and balances everything out very well in your mouth. There were grilled fish fresh from the water and fried tofu eaten with a spicy sweet dipping sauce and of course Som Tum which helps you digest this very wonderful but rich meal.

            If you were going to Samui, stop by the city of Surat Thani and discover it’s local food and fresh seafood before boarding the ferry. Or spend a night in town. There are lots to see and plenty of good food to be had, just ask the owner of Wangtai (Khun Aeow) where to go.

Lumphu 3
Address 23 Moo 3 Tumbon Baan kung, Muang
Surat hani 84000
Telephone number 077-286-995
Hours 09-2100 Hours. Daily.