Koh Samui
蘇梅島
Local Food & Beverage 道地美食
Restaurant
Individual listings can be found in Ko Samui's district articles
Samui is well known for its coconuts, which are available everywhere and quite tasty. Being an island, seafood is generally a good choice, although in high-season demand often exceeds local supply. The larger beaches have a number of international restaurants as well (often run by Thai-farang couples) with Bophut having a particularly good reputation.
Southern Thai food in general is renowned for its spiciness. Much of the cuisine has its origins in Malay, Indonesian, and Indian food. Favourite dishes from the south include Indian-style Muslim curry (massaman), rice noodles in fish curry sauce (Khanom Jeen), and chicken birayani. Popular local food are salted eggs and rambutan, too.
Dual pricing is regrettably common: some restaurants have two menus, one for tourists and the other for Thai people, at about 1/4 of the foreigner prices. Main courses in a standard, low-key Thai restaurant should be under 100 baht (except some seafood dishes). If prices seem unreasonably steep, head elsewhere. Always check prices and menu first so you don't have to argue when the bill is delivered.
Cafe & Bar
Individual listings can be found in Ko Samui's district articles
There are innumerable options for a drink, ranging from the loud and brash tourist pubs and girlie bars of Chaweng to the candle-lit romantic bars of Bophut. Figure on 80 baht for a local beer (Singha, Tiger, Chang, Heineken) and up to twice as much for any import. Wine is especially expensive and usually costs over 2,000 baht per bottle.
Beer bars
Individual listings can be found in Ko Samui's district articles
Chaweng Beach is especially famous for its beer bars ( also called bar-beers ), staffed by pretty hostesses, usually from northeast Thailand. Buy them a 'girlie drink' and you'll be in entertaining company.
Beer bars can be found all over Chaweng. The bars offer pool, Connect 4, and other popular bar games. Since the night life on Chaweng can see serious debauchery at times, the local law enforcers are strict with regard to enforcing closing times. The official closing time in "entertainment zones" is 01:00 (in practice usually somewhere between 01:00 and 02:00, depending on the location).
Nightclubs
Individual listings can be found in Ko Samui's district articles
Chaweng Beach is packed out with nightclubs playing mostly commercial, pop and electronic music and serving exotic cocktails.
Karaoke
At karaoke places customers can either choose a private room or sing in the main lounge for everyone to hear. There are Thai songs and international songs. There may be pretty hostesses available to sit with for a pleasant chat. These are especially popular with East Asian tourists.
Rum Distillery
There is a distillery that brews 5 flavours of rum on one of the side roads on the south coast of the island, which offers tours during the sugar cane season and free samples any time. The flavours are natural (sugar cane), lemon, orange, pineapple, and coconut. Natural and coconut are actually quite tasty, lemon has a very strong pleasant citrus flavour, and you won't miss anything if you don't try the other two. They also have a delicious mixer to serve with consisting of lime juice, cinnamon, and other spices. Worth heading to if you're in the area, or just for the novelty of sampling authentic Thai rum. Very friendly staff.
Special Thanks:
Sources Details from: Wikipedia & Wikitravel
Sources Photo from: Wikipedia & Wikitravel
Sources Details from: Wikipedia & Wikitravel
Sources Photo from: Wikipedia & Wikitravel
