Khlung

I just have to tell you about the Soft Shell Crab restaurant also known as Farm Pu Nim.  What an awesome day yesterday was.  Kob, along with his girlfriend Oi, picked us up to go for lunch in Khlung*.  From Highway 3 for Trat, we turned right for Khlung then went down some narrow roads until we arrived at the river.

From here boats ferry people to and from the restaurant for free.  We saw two in action so there's no need to panic if you don't get on a boat as soon as you get there, it's not long until another arrives.  The trip only takes about five minutes and you pass oyster farms on the way.  It is an absolutely idyllic spot and we were very fortunate not to have any rain yesterday - mu waanii fon mae tok** (which is Thai for yesterday there was no rainfall).  Naturally, it's a different story today.

We ordered via Kob (because the menu was all in Thai) soft shell crab, squid, hard shell crab and crispy Grouper.  It was all extremely delicious and washed down with quite a few bottles of beer.  Now anyone who knows me, knows that I'm not a beer drinker.  In Thailand, beer is served in a glass that is full of ice and I have to say I quite enjoyed it.  Mr John is horrified by this and tends to use the bucket of ice provided to put his beer bottle in to keep cool - something Thai serving staff find very odd.





As you will see from the photos there is a pig called Ut at the restaurant.  She is their walking garbage disposal.  I couldn't believe she was so big as the food is so good I can't imagine people leaving so much.  The restaurant was opened eight years ago and, as it's over the water, they have added areas to it as trade has built up.  People come and go by boat all day so there's quite a brisk trade and yet it didn't seem overcrowded and our service was excellent.  Basic English is spoken and I imagine armed with a few key Thai words such as shrimp, crab, fish etc you should be able to get a decent feed ordered.  There are sit down toilets and free Wi-Fi also available. 

Before catching the boat back to Khlung, we had some ice-cream and bought some dried mangosteen treats.  The lovely man driving the boat also took us the scenic route back, which takes 10 minutes, through the mangrove swamps that this area is known for.  I really can't recommend this place enough.


* The restaurant is not in Khlung itself, but the other side of the river and this is the quickest way to get to it. It takes about 15 minutes to drive here
** My apologies to our Thai friends for the , probably poor, phonetic spelling