Food Diary - Kan Eang@Pier, Phuket
Dinner on our second day in Phuket (29 Jan) was a revisit to Kan Eang @ Pier at Chalong, not far from Chalong Pier. Back in 2012, on a beach holiday with friends, we had gone to Kan Eang @ Pier on the recommendation of our friend's dad, YYM.
As mentioned, FL was quite surprised by the changes to the place. He was telling us that about 20 years ago, Kan Eang used to be a little hut on the beach, without the fancy deck and tables. Kan Eang points to its humble origins, back in 1973 when its owner Mr Chamnan Prachantabutr would catch the fish by day and barbecue them at sunset with his friends.
At the main entrance of Kan Eang, we passed through the area where the fresh/live seafood is on display.
I've read about people coming down with food poisoning in Thailand for various reasons such as by eating seafood. No fear of that here, as the seafood is fresh or lively scrambling around in oxygenated tanks. A few tanks of live seafood - tiger prawns and crustaceans, including Andaman blue crabs, mud crabs and Phuket lobsters.
On ice is more fresh seafood - different prawn species, squid, a variety of fish, various shellfish such as mussels, scallops and sea snails (known as the dog conch, which we call gong-gong).
So the menu offers Thai, Japanese and Western cuisine. And of course fresh seafood is the main highlight. The price of the seafood is by weight. It's not the cheapest you can get in Phuket, but it also isn't one of the most expensive and it's guaranteed to be fresh.
We ordered our standard Thai favourites: som tam (ส้มตำ), tom yum goong (ต้มยำกุ้ง), phak bung fai daeng (ผักบุ้งไฟแดง) and pla sam rot (ปลาสามรส).Note 1 The pla sam rot was certainly one of the highlights of our dinner, though the sweet-sour-spicy sauce was not as thick as the one at Raya House, and there was with a lighter touch to the tamarind and cane sugar.
I remember the Kan Eang style snapper we had back in our 2012 trip with friends. Steamed and drenched in soy and lime, and covered in julienned ginger, spring onions and chillies, it was delicious. Quite different from the pla sam rot. Both were delicious, so I would gladly revisit and chow down on them both!
One of the highly recommended seafood items in Phuket is the Andaman blue crab (Portunus pelagicus). In Thailand it is called puma (ปูม้า), i.e. horse crab. However, it is more commonly known as the blue swimmer crab or the flower crab. In Singapore, they are usually called flower crabs, and are also native to our waters. At the waiter's recommendation, we decided to have them steamed, plain. It was a really good choice because the sweetness of their flesh could really be savoured.
The other highly recommended seafood item to have in Thailand is the tiger prawn, called kung kuladam (กุ้งกุลาดำ) in Thailand, i.e. the Penaeus monodon, and commonly known as the giant tiger prawn or the Asian tiger prawn. Compared to other tiger prawn species, the giant tiger prawn can grow to 33cm in length, making it the world's largest prawn.
Our barbecued prawns came stuffed with chopped garlic and coriander, theire flesh was bouncy, juicy and sweet, and I was quite happy to sucking on the prawn 'butter' too.
That said, I read in a review by Mark Weins of eatingthaifood that the prawn 'butter' of the giant freshwater prawn is even more delicious. In Thailand, the giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) is called kung kam kram (กุ้งก้ามกราม) or sometimes kung mae nam (แม่น้ำ). So perhaps next trip to Thailand I might see if I can get some!
This trip, we did not have the Phuket lobster, much to my disappointment. The Phuket lobster is another one of the highly recommended seafood items in Phuket. Not entirely sure which species it is, but it could be some kind of spiny lobster. I still remember the one we had in our 2012 trip - barbecued with lots of garlic and coriander. *drool*
For dessert, we ordered the fried banana fritters (กล้วยแขก), a much loved snack of Hubby's. They came hot, their soft sweet insides covered with crispy golden brown batter.
ML and I each opted to have the thapthim krop (ทับทิมกรอบ), or red rubies, which is one of my favourite Thai desserts. It came in a glass bowl, the water chestnut chunks and jackfruit silvers swimming in thin coconut milk, chilled by ice cubes. ML and I both agreed that it was, unfortunately, the most disappointing thapthim krop we've had by far. The coconut milk was watery, and the water chestnuts were not crisp but had a very dense texture.
Nevertheless, in spite of the disappointing thapthim krop, the entire meal was very satisfying and definitely worth a revisit. (Okay, another revisit.)
-------
Note 1
Som tam (ส้มตำ): green papaya salad with pla ra (fermented fish sauce)
Tom yum goong (ต้มยำกุ้ง): prawn tom yum soup
Phak bung fai daeng (ผักบุ้งไฟแดง): stir-fried morning glory (Ipomoea aquatica, also water spinach, which we call kangkong at home)
Pla sam rot (ปลาสามรส): "three-flavour fish", a dish of deep-fried fish with sweet, sour and spicy tamarind sauce
Note 2
Thapthim krop (ทับทิมกรอบ): a Thai dessert known as "red rubies" comprising of water chestnuts coated in red-dyed tapioca flour, crushed ice and coconut milk
 |
| Kan Eang @ Pier |
As mentioned, FL was quite surprised by the changes to the place. He was telling us that about 20 years ago, Kan Eang used to be a little hut on the beach, without the fancy deck and tables. Kan Eang points to its humble origins, back in 1973 when its owner Mr Chamnan Prachantabutr would catch the fish by day and barbecue them at sunset with his friends.
At the main entrance of Kan Eang, we passed through the area where the fresh/live seafood is on display.
 |
| Live tiger prawns |
 |
| Live Phuket lobster |
I've read about people coming down with food poisoning in Thailand for various reasons such as by eating seafood. No fear of that here, as the seafood is fresh or lively scrambling around in oxygenated tanks. A few tanks of live seafood - tiger prawns and crustaceans, including Andaman blue crabs, mud crabs and Phuket lobsters.
 |  |
| Fresh seafood at Kan Eang @ Pier | |
On ice is more fresh seafood - different prawn species, squid, a variety of fish, various shellfish such as mussels, scallops and sea snails (known as the dog conch, which we call gong-gong).
So the menu offers Thai, Japanese and Western cuisine. And of course fresh seafood is the main highlight. The price of the seafood is by weight. It's not the cheapest you can get in Phuket, but it also isn't one of the most expensive and it's guaranteed to be fresh.
 |
| Pla sam rot |
We ordered our standard Thai favourites: som tam (ส้มตำ), tom yum goong (ต้มยำกุ้ง), phak bung fai daeng (ผักบุ้งไฟแดง) and pla sam rot (ปลาสามรส).Note 1 The pla sam rot was certainly one of the highlights of our dinner, though the sweet-sour-spicy sauce was not as thick as the one at Raya House, and there was with a lighter touch to the tamarind and cane sugar.
 |
| Snapper, Kan Eang style (from our 2012 trip) |
I remember the Kan Eang style snapper we had back in our 2012 trip with friends. Steamed and drenched in soy and lime, and covered in julienned ginger, spring onions and chillies, it was delicious. Quite different from the pla sam rot. Both were delicious, so I would gladly revisit and chow down on them both!
 |
| Andaman blue crab, Kang Eang @ Pier |
One of the highly recommended seafood items in Phuket is the Andaman blue crab (Portunus pelagicus). In Thailand it is called puma (ปูม้า), i.e. horse crab. However, it is more commonly known as the blue swimmer crab or the flower crab. In Singapore, they are usually called flower crabs, and are also native to our waters. At the waiter's recommendation, we decided to have them steamed, plain. It was a really good choice because the sweetness of their flesh could really be savoured.
 |
| Thai tiger prawns with garlic and butter |
The other highly recommended seafood item to have in Thailand is the tiger prawn, called kung kuladam (กุ้งกุลาดำ) in Thailand, i.e. the Penaeus monodon, and commonly known as the giant tiger prawn or the Asian tiger prawn. Compared to other tiger prawn species, the giant tiger prawn can grow to 33cm in length, making it the world's largest prawn.
Our barbecued prawns came stuffed with chopped garlic and coriander, theire flesh was bouncy, juicy and sweet, and I was quite happy to sucking on the prawn 'butter' too.
That said, I read in a review by Mark Weins of eatingthaifood that the prawn 'butter' of the giant freshwater prawn is even more delicious. In Thailand, the giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) is called kung kam kram (กุ้งก้ามกราม) or sometimes kung mae nam (แม่น้ำ). So perhaps next trip to Thailand I might see if I can get some!
 |
| Phuket lobster with garlic and butter (from our 2012 trip) |
This trip, we did not have the Phuket lobster, much to my disappointment. The Phuket lobster is another one of the highly recommended seafood items in Phuket. Not entirely sure which species it is, but it could be some kind of spiny lobster. I still remember the one we had in our 2012 trip - barbecued with lots of garlic and coriander. *drool*
 |
| Fried banana fritters with vanilla ice cream |
For dessert, we ordered the fried banana fritters (กล้วยแขก), a much loved snack of Hubby's. They came hot, their soft sweet insides covered with crispy golden brown batter.
 |
| Thapthim krop |
ML and I each opted to have the thapthim krop (ทับทิมกรอบ), or red rubies, which is one of my favourite Thai desserts. It came in a glass bowl, the water chestnut chunks and jackfruit silvers swimming in thin coconut milk, chilled by ice cubes. ML and I both agreed that it was, unfortunately, the most disappointing thapthim krop we've had by far. The coconut milk was watery, and the water chestnuts were not crisp but had a very dense texture.
Nevertheless, in spite of the disappointing thapthim krop, the entire meal was very satisfying and definitely worth a revisit. (Okay, another revisit.)
-------
Note 1
Som tam (ส้มตำ): green papaya salad with pla ra (fermented fish sauce)
Tom yum goong (ต้มยำกุ้ง): prawn tom yum soup
Phak bung fai daeng (ผักบุ้งไฟแดง): stir-fried morning glory (Ipomoea aquatica, also water spinach, which we call kangkong at home)
Pla sam rot (ปลาสามรส): "three-flavour fish", a dish of deep-fried fish with sweet, sour and spicy tamarind sauce
Note 2
Thapthim krop (ทับทิมกรอบ): a Thai dessert known as "red rubies" comprising of water chestnuts coated in red-dyed tapioca flour, crushed ice and coconut milk
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