Home-style Thai @ Lucky Tom's, Phuket

Call me slow, but it was only recently that I gained an appreciation for Thai food. Having grown up with delicious Malaysian food, I spent most of my younger days snubbing Thai food which I'd thought to be similar but inferior. It was only when I consider them as entirely separate cuisines and not compare them, that I could start appreciating Thai food. On our recent trip to Phuket, we not only got to experience haute Thai cuisine, we also had the opportunity to eat some good home-style Thai cooking. After having had an early start to the day to join a safari-style tour, we were tired even before the sun went down. We still wanted to eat dinner out, so I did a quick search on tripadvisor, and found Lucky Tom's which currently holds the #2 spot for restaurants in Kata Beach. It was also not too far away from our accommodation, so it was the no-brainer choice for dinner.

Lucky Tom's from the outside. Various fish and seafood on ice for selection:

This small and cozy restaurant is owned by Lucky and his wife Tom, and they serve up simple but delicious local fare cooked by Lucky's mum. This place caters to tourists very well (the menu had translations in several languages as well as photos), and you won't see the locals eating here, but I think it's the best place in the vicinity to try the local cuisine in a hygienic and comfortable environment. The dishes are also affordably priced. The menu also had some European dishes, but we didn't pay much attention to them. There were a number of daily specials hanging up on the wall along with various memorabilia and photos, and these we studied more closely. Lucky was happy to accommodate our boy's food allergies to nuts, soy and sesame.

Some of the daily specials on the wall:

Refreshing and sweet coconut water:

A simple but tasty Fried Rice, for the boy:

One of the daily specials on the wall - Green Curry with Fish Ball in Coconut. The best fish balls I've ever eaten (and I've eaten a lot!):

These fish balls were sublime! Lucky informed us that these fish balls were hand-shaven from a mackeral. Definitely not like the processed ones:

Gai Pad Krapow (Thai Basil Chicken) - one of the most well-known Thai dishes, but this was my first time eating it. Spicy, just the way I like it:

My favourite leafy green was on the menu - Kangkung, otherwise known as morning glory and water spinach. Not kangkung belacan, but this garlic-and-oyster-sauce version was the next best thing:

The classic Thai dessert - Mango and Coconut Sticky Rice. A winning combination:

We spied Fried Ice Cream on the menu, and it had been years since we last indulged in one. This generous scoop of ice cream was enveloped inside a slice of bread:

We enjoyed this simple dinner of home-style Thai food.

Lucky Tom's
67 Taina Rd,
Kata Beach, Phuket
Thailand
Tel. +66 076-330240