Monk's Grill at Whistler Upper Village

There is no lack of fine dining restaurants at Whistler. One of them is Monk's Grill situated at the Upper Village on Blackcomb side. It provides a vibrant dining atmosphere appealing to couples and outing groups. The restaurant is renowned for a wide selection of wine, steaks and seafoods. Check out their menu here. Be sure to make a reservation during the peak ski seasons. Nick made the reservation online during our last stay up there. Waiting for a table is the last thing you want to do after a hard day of skiing.

Dining at Whistler Village

It's fun to ski and snowboard through Whistler alpine mountains, but it can be expensive to eat there. One of the cheap eats is the Old Spaghetti Factory at Whistler Village. It provides a casual family setting, good quantity of Italian food. Every entree comes with minestrone soup or green salad, freshly baked sourdough bread, hot tea or coffee, and ice cream as desert. Price ranges from $10 to $15. After a hard day of skiing, hot seafood fettuccine sounds like the perfect choice, doesn't it? However, be prepared to wait to get a sitting during the dining hours. It is a quite popular place among travelers. If you are looking for more dining options, Whistler Blackcomb also has an online dining directory for the Village, which has a complete list of restaurants including the price range.

Exotic Thai Food

We came across these exotic Thai food at a local night market in Phuket Town. It was right before supper time, and my appetite was instantly boosted when I saw these "tasty" creatures :p. Not only did I have to snap a few photos of them, but I also tried those oily crunchy legs and heads...NOoooo, I'm just kidding.

Let's Talk Thai Food

We are huge fans of Thai food. We took full advantage of the best Thailand has to offer during our stay.

There is a huge variety of cuisines to choose from across the various beaches on Phuket Island and inland at Phuket Town. We found that the best place to taste real authentic Thai food are some of the open air street side restaurants that congregate near most hotels and shopping centers. You can find bargain price seafood meals daily that features fresh catch from local fishermen. We tried a number of fish dishes, and none of them disappointed. Our favourite dish was steamed white or red snapper with lemon grass, which is served hot and spicy on a heated metal dish. There are also plenty of appetizers to keep you busy while you wait for the main course. As you could probably guess, most appetizers also feature seafood. Most people have tried Tom Yum soup (Sour and spicy Thai sea food soup); it’s also a favourite of the travellers there.

I have to say the one dish I kept going back to was spicy glass noodle salad which comes with either chicken, minced pork or seafood, and Nick’s favourite was Yum Squid (baby Squid salad). These restaurants offer a casual and authentic dining experience even for people with limited budget. If you are somewhat a daredevil, make sure you ask your server that you want your food nice and spicy, but watch out for the little green chilli peppers. They are deadly!


If you want a little bit more than the usual tourist dining experience, then get on a scooter, forget about the map and get lost, that’s the best way to stumble upon a local market or food fair that will absolutely blew your mind! That’s exactly how we discovered this amazing outdoor food court right in the center of Phuket Island. We were looking for a fruit vendor when we saw the food court, located discreetly among some office buildings and commercial shops. The first thing we noticed was the lack of English on all the signs and menus. We looked around the food court and saw all sorts of interesting food items, mostly vegetarian (we found out later that the locals were celebrating the Vegetarian Festival), such as Thai curry vegetable with rice, tofu with chilli pepper, Pad Thai (the really spicy version), and all sorts of mouth watering noodle dishes. Almost all of the diners at this place were locals working at the office building nearby, and indeed we found the food tend to be spicier than what are usually found at most hotel dining rooms.


After drooling over the displayed dishes, we decided on one of the kitchens that had some sample dishes on display. I somehow conveyed to him that we wanted some fried rice with vegetables and a Pad Thai. In no time, we had our food made and served to us, and oh boy, it was probably the most memorable meal we had during our trip! The vegetable was just spicy enough that I was able to eat it without calling an ambulance, and the Pad Thai had all the aroma and taste that will leave you beg for more.


Once in the heart of Phuket Town, one is treated to an exhilarating stroll through some of the most colourful and tasty show of street vendors, sidewalk stands and local dinning halls that jams the streets of this hustling and bustling civility. Your money will go a long way here, so be prepared to treat yourself to a barrage of little snacks as you venture out into the busy local streets. We certainly didn’t pass up on opportunity to try something new and exotic. There are the delicious steamed buns, fresh fruit shakes, papaya salads, dumplings, glass noodles, little rice cakes with coconuts icings, and the list goes on and on. After stuffing ourselves with everything we could get our hands on, we ventured into the fresh produce market. Walking among the streaming crowd that congregates daily at the local market, we took in the sights, sound, smell and taste of the streets.

Food is such a huge part of experience in Phuket. It’s really up to the traveller to decide what type of dining experience they want out of the trip, but whatever the case, Phuket has plenty to offer. Trust us, take the time to discover and you will be deliciously rewarded.