Pa thong ko
Photo: User:Mattes · CC BY-SA 4.0

Phuket's early-morning fry: paired dough sticks deep-fried golden and hollow, eaten plain or with sweet dips, often beside soft steamed salapao buns.

Pa thong ko are the Chinese fried dough sticks found across Thailand, and in Phuket's Hokkien towns they are a dawn ritual. Stalls start frying at dawn and are done by mid-morning, with the sticks eaten plain, dipped in sweet sauces or alongside soft steamed salapao buns. At a Bib Gourmand stall in Wichit, just outside Phuket Town, customers line up from 6am for sticks and salapao fried fresh each morning.

1 editor pick for Pa thong ko in Phuket, ranked by editorial score. All Phuket signature dishes · Pa thong ko across every city.

Pathongko Mae Pranee ★ 4.1

฿Street foodWichit

Pathongko Mae Pranee deep-fries dough sticks and salapao from 6am on Wirat Hong Yok 3 Road in Phuket, a Bib Gourmand queue for early risers.

OrderPa thong ko (fried dough sticks) and salapao

TipGet there by 07:00; the deep-fried dough sticks and salapao are gone within a few hours of opening.

DirectionsView

Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide

Pa thong ko makes more sense with someone from Phuket explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.

Book food experiences in Phuket

See all 632 bookable experiences in Phuket