Koh Samui has gained popularity among the international tourists not only for the tropical landscapes and beautiful beaches, but also for the delicious Thai cuisine and the friendly locals.

Samui Island is becoming more famous for its Thai dishes, as the region is a good source of fresh quality ingredients most essential to make delicious dishes. The shifting of base of many famous chefs to Koh Samui has also contributed to this.

The island is a treasure trove of tropical fruits, vegetables, wide variety of fishes, seafood, crustaceans, poultry, free-range meat, herbs and spices.

As in other parts of Thailand, street food is the most appealing for its variety, taste and price. For just 30 baht, you can gorge on a plate of fried rice. Entire range of restaurants serving a variety of cuisines are available in Koh Samui, including Thai vegetarian restaurants.

Some of the hotels and institutes here offer short-term courses to visitors to help them gain skill in Thai style of cooking.

With the influx of international tourists in all parts of Thailand, each village and region has restaurants offering western cuisines and cuisines of other countries like Germany, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, India, Japan, China and Mexico. For those home-sick tourists, a visit to these eateries is enough to restore their happy mood.

If you are adventurous enough, you can try eating at one of the open-air evening markets, where they serve authentic Thai dishes. Be warned that it will be hot and spicy, but tasty as well.

Hygiene

Restaurants and eateries serve bottled water on request. Most of them use hygienically made ice-cubes. Vegetables are usually washed in tap water, but are safe after cooking. It is safer to avoid eating raw and cut fruits and vegetables.

Some seafood restaurants display fish and other items preserved on ice, for the diners to see and select. Look for bright and clear eyes and fresh blood under the gills. Fish should be firm and hard and the shellfish should smell proper.

If you plan to eat buffet, it is better to start early as food spoils easily in the tropical climate.

In general, it is best to eat hot, well-cooked and freshly prepared foods.