Chern Long BBQ Buffet Restaurant

When in Phuket, an absolute must is to go to dinner at Chern Long Buffet. This place is unlike any restaurant I’ve ever been to! The restaurant is huge, with all wooden tables situated around the main building where all the food is. Parts of the restaurant are outside and there are small streams with plants to create a really cool environment. In one section is a giant stage where they have live music come every night at 7pm. For just a little over $3 USD to enter, it is one of the best deals I’ve ever found!

Once you get in you are brought to a table and can order anything you want to drink (costs extra). You normally have to buy something to drink unless you can stand not drinking anything while you’re eating! I always bought the cheapest drink on the menu which was a sparkling water because I figured it would make me burp more so I could make room to eat more hahah!

After you order your drinks you are free to enter the buffet and load your tray up. The wonderful part of Chern Long Buffet is that 80% of the food is raw! Raw steak, pork, chicken, seafood and all sorts of vegetables to accompany them with. There is also a section where someone is cooking sandwiches made to order, fresh sushi, and some other pre made hot dishes like curry. One of my favorite parts was the Som Tam salad making station. They provide all the ingredients of Som Tam Green Papaya salad for you to make yourself, I felt just like the ladies who made it on the streets!

Once you’ve loaded up on all you want, you go back to your table where they have set-up a skillet to cook all the meat on. There is a moat of boiling hot water around the edge to steam vegetables, meat or seafood. There are also tons of different sauces that they’ve made along with minced garlic to cook with. The cooking possibilities are endless! I’ve never seen a place like this where you can cook your own food exactly how you want it, it was great to practice and experiment!

They offer 5 or 6 different Thai local desserts with coconut milk or syrup to put on top. I loved the experience from beginning to end as it is a very local restaurant and the majority of the writing is in Thai. I made a weekly visit as this place is too good to be true!

Its located right next to Central Festival and the Big C Supermarket, just ask around and everyone will know what you’re looking for!