Food History of Phuket

Key eras

Before 1800, Thalang and the tin trade

Phuket was Malay before it was Thai: the name comes from the Malay bukit, hill, and the old capital Thalang from telong, cape. By the 17th century the island, charted by Europeans as Junk Ceylon, traded tin with Dutch, English and French ships, and descendants of its first Malay settlers still form most of its Muslim community.

19th century, the Hokkien tin boom

The tin-mining boom drew Straits Chinese migrants, mostly Hokkien, to Phuket through the 1800s. Many married local women, and their Peranakan or Baba descendants built the Sino-Portuguese shophouses of Thalang and Krabi roads and a home cooking that folds Hokkien noodles, braises and dim sum into southern Thai spice.

1946 to 1952, the noodle shops

Bae Kong, a cook on the ships between Phuket, Penang and Singapore, is said to have opened the first Hokkien noodle restaurant in Phuket Town in 1946, a shop by the Surin Circle clock tower still run by his family today. In 1952 Khun Yai Chian turned her side business at Sapam pier into Mee Sapam, cooking mee hokkien with the morning's shellfish and squid.

1980s onward, the beach resorts

Tin and rubber paid Phuket's way until tourism took over. Development began in earnest in the 1980s along the west-coast beaches of Patong, Karon and Kata, bringing hotel dining rooms, seafood grills and international restaurants, while the town kept its shophouse noodle and dim sum kitchens for the people who live there.

2015 onward, City of Gastronomy

In December 2015 UNESCO named Phuket a Creative City of Gastronomy, the first in Thailand, after local chefs documented Baba recipes for the bid. The Michelin Guide added Phuket to its Thailand selection from the 2019 edition, and in January 2026 the island's seven-colour lobster received Geographical Indication status.

Immigrant influences

• Hokkien Chinese: Tin-era migrants from Fujian brought the noodles, dim sum, braised pork and Chinese cookies that still anchor Phuket Town's breakfast and lunch counters.
• Peranakan (Baba-Yaya): The mixed Chinese and local families of the tin towns created Phuket's Baba table: moo hong braised pork belly, nam chub yam shrimp-paste relish and mee hun with spare ribs.
• Muslim Malays and Indians: Phuket has a large Muslim community, much of it of Malay descent; Indian and Malay Muslim cooks gave the island its roti with chicken curry and halal breakfast shops.

Signature innovations

• Mee Sapam: Hokkien egg noodles reworked with local mussels, shrimp and squid at Sapam pier since 1952
• Moo hong: Baba pork belly braised in dark soy, garlic and black pepper, the stew of Phuket family tables
• Nam chub yam: a spicy Phuket shrimp-paste relish eaten with raw and blanched vegetables
• Mee hun gaeng pu: southern yellow crab curry with blue swimmer crab, served over rice noodles
• Jay food: the strict no-meat, no-garlic diet that takes over Phuket Town each October
• UNESCO City of Gastronomy status in 2015, the first for any city in Thailand