Ma and Pa

our favorite place in Phuket

Ma and Pa is how we'll remember them.  Despite the rapport we developed, we never did get their names, though there's a good chance that we wouldn't have been able to pronounce them! This husband and wife team ran a little restaurant called "Sea Khao Seafood"; he served the tables and she did most of the cooking.  We had noticed a sign that advertised lobster and thai food, fondue and hot pan BBQ, burgers and pasta, cocktails and wine, ice cream and fresh fruit... kind of an odd mix.  Still, we flipped through the photo menu and decided to sit down. 

Som Tam

Ma and Pa hardly spoke English, yet we were able to convey our delight with their food.  They were able to show how happy they were that we loved it.  After the first night, it was decided: we were eating dinner there for the rest of our time in Phuket.  We sampled mainly their curries, which are quite distinct from the Indian curries we'd been eating in Malaysia - more details to follow another time.  Over the course of a couple days, we ate Green curry with basil leaves, Red curry, "Mussaman" curry with potatoes and cashews, Panaeng curry, Green papaya salad (som tam) and Green mango salad (the last two are savory dishes) and all were hot hot hot!  

the restaurant is bordered with potted plants

When the plates or bowls were put in front of us, Pa would invariably give a hearty chuckle and say something like "Mmmmm!" or "Spicy... Good for you!"  (Was he referring to the health benefits of chilies or was he impressed with our tolerance for heat?)  We watched as one customer seemed to misinterpret Pa's friendliness for condescension; his defensive body language suggesting annoyance.   But we, along with most people, found Pa and his laid-back wife to be disarmingly genuine.  The first night, unsure of whether we could handle spicy food, we were brought extra cucumber slices.  At the end of our meals we were served a complimentary platter of bananas to put out any residual fire.  Pa tore open our chilled wet naps as he handed them to us so that we didn't have to fumble with the plastic package.  Then, laughing, he'd come around to pat Aron on the stomach, wanting to make sure he was full!  

Pa & Sue (Ma was too busy chopping chilies & garlic)

We wanted to tell them that they should run cooking classes, but this went unsaid.  After all, we were relying on hand gestures and smiles because of the language barrier.  But we're sure they knew how much we loved their restaurant, since we went back three nights in a row.  Another brief encounter with some wonderful people.  These are the sorts of moments that make traveling so worthwhile.