Ton Mayom Restaurant

A Great Local Restaurant in Phuket Town

Ton Mayom (ต้นมะยม) sits along a busy roadside on the outskirts of Phuket Town. For decades, it stayed under the radar, a small place known mainly to locals who came for proper Southern Thai food. The restaurant is run by two long-time friends, Khun Hua and her sister Khun Aood. The room is plain, the tables are close together, and the kitchen does one thing well: real Southern cooking. My old office was nearby, and I used to order from Ton Mayom and have lunch sent over almost every week.

Then the Michelin Guide picked it up and listed it as one of the best local restaurants in Phuket. After that, everything changed. There is now a queue outside on most days, from late morning right through the afternoon. Khun Aood and Khun Hua are still the same friendly pair, joking with regulars and walking new customers through the menu. The food has not changed either, which is the main reason I keep going back.

Must-Try Signature Dishes

The menu at Ton Mayom is full Southern Thai, which means hot, salty, and not always easy on a first-time visitor. Three dishes stand out as the ones to order first. They are also the dishes the Michelin Guide called out by name, and the ones I always start with when I bring a friend who has never been before.

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Pla Tod Kreuang (ปลาทอดเครื่อง) – Deep Fried Fish with Curry Paste

This is the dish that put Ton Mayom on the map. A whole fish, usually sea bass or Spanish mackerel, is fried until the skin is crisp and the flesh inside stays soft. It is then covered in a thick Southern curry paste made with chillies, garlic, and dry spices. The paste is the part you remember. It is heavy, salty, and a bit sweet, and you eat it with rice and bites of the fish. If you only order one thing here, order this.

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Gaeng Som Pla Kapong Yod Maprao (แกงส้มปลากะพงยอดมะพร้าว) – Southern Thai Sour Curry

Gaeng Som is the everyday Southern sour curry. At Ton Mayom, it comes with sea bass and young coconut shoots in a bright yellow turmeric broth. The sour comes from tamarind, the heat comes from fresh chillies, and there is no coconut milk to soften any of it. That is the Southern way. The coconut shoots are the surprise: soft, slightly sweet, and a good balance for the sharp soup. You can also order it with prawns or with a cha-om omelette on top.

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Goong Pad Kapi Sator (กุ้งผัดกะปิสะตอ) – Prawns Stir-Fried with Shrimp Paste and Stink Beans

Sator (stink beans) are a Southern thing. They look a bit like big green broad beans, they smell strong, and the taste is somewhere between bitter and nutty. Stir-fried with fresh prawns, garlic, chillies, and shrimp paste (kapi), they turn into one of the best dishes on the menu. It is salty, smelly in a good way, and very Southern. Not for everyone, but if you like proper local food, this is the one.

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More Great Dishes at Ton Mayom

A few more dishes from the menu I order often. Fair warning: some of them are properly hot, and even Thai friends sometimes ask the kitchen to tone the chillies down. (Have a look at my list of the most spicy southern dishes in Phuket.) A few Southern dishes are also strong-smelling, like Gaeng Tai Pla, a curry made with fermented fish innards. It is the most pungent thing I have ever eaten, and Ton Mayom is one of the few places in town that still makes it the proper old way.

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Gaeng Prik (แกงพริก) – Spicy Southern Thai Curry

Gaeng Prik is a dry-style Southern curry, heavy on chilli paste and kaffir lime leaves, with no coconut milk to cool it down. You can order it with pork, chicken, or fish. It is one of the spicier dishes on the menu, and the kitchen does not water it down for tourists. If you can handle heat, it is great with plain steamed rice.

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Pak Miang Pad Khai Kung Siab (ผัดผักเหมียงกุ้งเสียบ)

Pak miang is a soft, dark green leaf that grows in Southern Thailand. Here it is stir-fried with egg and kung siab, the small sun-dried shrimps Phuket is known for. Easy to eat, not too spicy, and the dried shrimp give it a salty kick. A good dish to balance the hotter ones on the table.

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Moo Pad Koey Kem (หมูผัดเคยเค็ม) – Stir-Fried Pork Belly with Shrimp Paste

Slices of pork belly stir-fried with garlic, chillies, green beans, and koey kem, a salted shrimp paste. It is salty, a bit spicy, and the fat from the pork belly soaks up everything. A good dish to share with a few others and a bowl of rice.

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Nam Choop Yum (น้ำชุบหยำ) – Shrimp Chilli Dip

Nam Choop Yum is a Southern chilli dip, mixed at the table with shrimp paste, fresh shrimp, chillies, and lime. It comes with a plate of fresh and boiled vegetables on the side: cucumber, cabbage, bitter melon, and whatever local greens are in. You scoop the dip onto the vegetables and eat it as a side. Sharp, salty, and very local.

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Pak Bung Pad Kapi (ผักบุ้งผัดกะปิ) – Stir-Fried Morning Glory

Morning glory (water spinach) stir-fried with garlic, chillies, and shrimp paste. A simple side dish, but a good one, and a nice break between the heavier curries. The shrimp paste gives it a little funk, the chillies give it a little kick, and that is about it. Good with rice.

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Pad Pak Lin Han (ผัดผักลิ้นห่าน)

Pak Lin Han is a local green you do not see often outside Southern Thailand. The name means “goose tongue”, which is what the leaves look like. It is stir-fried with garlic, chillies, and oyster sauce, sometimes with crispy pork or shrimp added. Light, crunchy, and a good way to try a vegetable most visitors will never have heard of.

Ton Mayom Photos

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