How to Order Noodle Soup in Phuket?
Noodle soup is everywhere in Phuket (โKuey Tiaowโ in Thai), and while itโs not precisely Thai food, it is entirely part of everyday life in Thailand. Small restaurants and carts will serve it on almost every street at any time of the day and night, not only for lunch, dinner and even breakfast. While you can easily order the classic by just pointing at the type of noodle you see in a cart, the kind of meat and noodle soup comes in many ways. Here we try to summarise some of the best-known options, but there are many more, and we will keep adding them as we explore.
Select the noodles
Before ordering a noodle soup, you need to know the names of the different types of noodles first. The noodles listed are mostly available in most noodle soup restaurants. Useful vocabulary: Mee or Bamee = noodle, Sen = string, Lek = small, Yai = large/big
Sen Lek
These thin white rice noodles, around 3-4mm wide, have a delicate texture that works well in both soups and lighter dishes like kuey tiaow nam sai (clear broth noodle soup).
Sen Yai
Wide flat white rice noodles measuring 1.5-2cm across, typically coated with oil to prevent sticking, excel in stir-fried dishes where they pick up flavours and develop a slight char.
Mee Khao or Mee Hoon
Ultra-thin white rice vermicelli noodles with an angel-hair texture, known locally in Phuket and Phang-Nga as Mee Hoon, absorb soup flavours whilst maintaining a delicate bite.
Woon Sen
Transparent glass noodles made from mung bean starch that turn clear and slightly chewy when cooked, readily absorbing strong flavours in stir-fries and salads.
Bamee (Bamee Hleung)
Bamee is yellow noodles (locally called Mee Hleung or Bamee Hleung).ย The size of yellow noodles is different in a noodle soup restaurant than in a non-soup restaurant. Yellow noodle or Mee Hleung for soup is thinner, and Mee Hleung Pad (stir-fried yellow noodle) is thicker.
Gaem-ee
Short, thick white rice noodles with a substantial, chunky texture that holds up well in hearty soups and braised dishes.
Hokkien Yellow Noodles
Thick, round yellow egg noodles with a slightly salty taste, popular in Southern Thailand and Phuket, where theyโre stir-fried with seafood and meat in the signature Mee Hokkien dish.
Mama Noodle
Thailandโs famous instant noodle brand has become so popular that the name is now used for all instant noodles, regardless of brand, and frequently appears in soups and stir-fries.
Bamee Keaw
Delicate egg noodles (bamee) served with wontons (keaw), typically in a light soup or dry with a simple seasoning sauce and toppings like Chinese barbecue pork.
Kuay Chap
Square rice sheet noodles that roll into small tube shapes when boiled, served in a dark, peppery five-spice broth or clear soup with pork and offal.
The Meat or Seafood
- Sliced beef: example โ Sen Lek Look Chin Neu Sod Nam (Sen Lek= small white noodle, Look Chin= Beef or Pork balls (here beef because we order beef), Neua: beef, Sod: fresh, Nam: soup in it) โ then in this type of restaurant you can choose to have your soup clear (Nam Sai) or cloudy/creamy (Nam Khon). When itโs cloudy, it means they will mix the soup with the blood of the cow or pig, depending on what you order. In this case, itโs cow blood. They will cook fresh blood shortly in hot water and put it in your soup.
- Stewed beef: example โ Sen Yai Look Chin Neu Peuy (Sen Yai: Large noodle, Look Chin: beef balls, Neu Peuy: stewed beef)
- Pork: Example: Sen Lek Hang Moo = small white noodle with soup aside. Ordering this, you will receive sliced pork and pork balls as well. Unless you ask for no pork balls (Mai Sai Look Chin). (Noodle soup shops donโt do stew, so it can only be sliced pork)
- Duck Noodle
- Seafood
You can order Nam Khon: cloudy soup with pork and beef or Nam Sai: Clear soup.
The Soup
Here are the flavours available in Chinese-style noodle restaurants (Wonton Mee). With both pork or beef, you can order Nam Khon: cloudy soup or Nam Sai: Clear soup, and most restaurants also sell Champ (beef balls) and Hang Peng (pork balls), which are great to enjoy while waiting for your soup.
Kuey Tiaow Nam Sai
This clear, delicate soup broth made from pork, chicken or beef bones develops its subtle flavour through long simmering with salt, pepper, garlic, sugar and coriander, best appreciated without additional seasoning.
Kuey Tiaow Tom Yam
A bold and spicy soup variation that combines a bone broth base with fiery Thai flavours including chilli paste, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and occasionally crushed peanuts for richness.
Kuey Tiaow Ruea (Boat Noodles)
A concentrated, intensely flavoured soup thickened with pig or cow blood, enriched with dark soy sauce, fermented bean curd and warm spices like star anise and cinnamon, traditionally served in small portions. It may sound gross, but it is a delicious classic soup. Chances are, if you add noodle soup in Thailand, you had it without knowing how it was done.
Yentafo (fermented red tofu)
A distinctive pink-hued noodle soup coloured and flavoured by a sauce made from fermented red bean curd, creating a mildly sweet and tangy broth with balanced sour notes that pairs with seafood toppings and fresh vegetables.
Soup or Dry?
Once you know what type of noodle you prefer, itโs time to choose if you want the soup and the noodle served in one bowl or separately: Nam (means water) here means soup in the noodle, Hang (means dry) here means noodle with soup in a separate bowl.
Here are examples when ordering noodle soup in a Chinese-style noodle soup restaurant, where they serve only pork. Almost every bowl is served with Wonton (Keuw = เนเธเธตเนเธขเธง).
- Mee Khao Nam: angel hair white noodle soup (noodles in the soup)
- Mee Khao Hang: angel hair white noodles served with soup, separated (hang means dry). You will receive your noodle with all ingredients in one bowl and a small soup on the side. This small soup is usually more concentrated than the soup in the noodles.
Where to find noodle soup in Phuket? โ everywhere!
Most Chinese-style noodles (wonton noodles) are open from 10 am โ 5 pm, except Chai See Mee Keuw, a franchise brand for the same style of noodles, selling days and nights. Champ & Hang Peng is open mostly from 5 pm to late morning. They do have Tom Yam flavour but not Yentafo. Many Champ & HangPeng soup restaurants have stewed chicken feet (Teen Kai) and drumsticks (Nong Kai).
Brake Taek
Brake Taek serves a delicious and renowned โTom Yam Noodle Soupโ. Here too, it can get hard to get a table for lunch, and you might have to wait quite a bit. So while waiting, order their excellent meatball skewers to keep you busy; you wonโt regret it.
How to order a noodle soup:
Choose your noodle from Sen Yai (flat white noodles), Sen Lek (thin white noodles), Mee Hoon (white vermicelli), Woonsen (glass vermicelli), and Ba-mee (egg noodles).
Next is the soup โ Tom Yam (ordinary) or hang (no soup).
Then the meat: Moo (pork), Gai (Chicken) or Talay (Seafood). When you order pork, say โMai Naiโ to ensure they wonโt add entrails to the soup.
Location: Phuket Town
Address: Talat Yai, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000
Open: 8 am โ 5 pm (Tuesday closed)
Phone: 076 217 030
Price: Cheap
