Places to Eat in Hat Yai

Markets

Like everywhere else in Thailand the best place to find local, authentic and inexpensive food in Hat Yai is the night market. The best night market in the city centre is the Asean Trade Market (open every day from 5pm till 9pm). Located next to the bus station, it is a famous second-hand market, but it also features a huge food section. Rows and rows of food stalls will sell you everything from chicken or pork skewers, to classic Thai dishes like Pad Thai or som tam salad, fried squid, sushi, any kind of fruit, and a lot more. Try mango with sticky rice if you crave for something sweet. Everything comes super cheap with the most basic dishes offered at THB30. There are a lot table available if you don’t want to eat walking around.

More or less all the same things can be found at Greenway Night Market (open daily 5:00pm – 10:00). The quality of the food is great but as far as the market is somewhat away from the centre, we would recommend you to go there only if you combine it with the visit to the Magic Eye 3D Museum. Otherwise at the Asean Market you’ll find everything you’re looking for.

Local Specialties

For a real taste of Hat Yai try the classic bird’s nest soup. It is actually a traditional Chinese specialty, but there’s a sizable Chinese community in Hat Yay and their cuisine plays a big role in the city culinary scene. You can find this local staple in the street stalls almost everywhere around the city and the delicacy is also served in many restaurants. Our choice goes to Burapha Bird’s Nest (20, Sanehanusorn Road, next to Central Plaza; open daily 11am – 11pm). Expect to pay THB100 for a bowl of bird’s nest and if you want to try something else go for the Shark’s Fin Soup (THB500).

Dinner with a View

One of our favourite restaurants in Hat Yai is 33 Buffet Restaurant located on the 33rd floor of the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel (29 Prachathipat Rd., open every day 11am-2.30pm & 5pm-9.30pm). Right in city centre with no tall building around, you will have a delicious dinner with a superb view at a bargain price. For THB169 (THB89 for kids) you will have a fantastic buffet where you can eat as much as you want with a big variety of Thai and Chinese dishes –tom yang goong (classic Thai soup with shrimps), green chicken curry, roast duck, stewed chicken feet, spicy mixed vegetables and a big choice of fruit and dessert are just some of the dishes you will find there. Try to get a table in the upper section to get the best view. Be prepared to find the place quite crowded: reserving a table can prove a good idea.

Go Japanese

If your main purpose for staying in town is shopping, chances are that you’ll end up in the biggest shopping mall in Hat Yai, Central Festival (180-181, Niphatutit 3 Road, right in the city centre; open daily 11am – 10pm), are high.

For those who like Japanese food this is sort of a heaven. The 5th and 6th floors are almost totally dedicated to Japanese cuisine. The food is overall good and prices are reasonable considered the location. On the ground floor you’ll also find a small Kiosk serving nothing else than Hokkaido milk. Simply delicious and cheap (THB55).

Western and International Food

For any other kind of western food, simply wander around one of the many shopping malls. All of them have international food courts where you can find all the major restaurant chains serving pizza, burgers, steaks, sandwiches and whatever else you might want.