11 things to eat before you catch the ferry back
Ranked by how much they capture the island — starting with the seafood that is Koh Chang's whole point.
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This is Koh Chang's whole point — fresh seafood at the Bang Bao fishing village on the island's south, where long-running restaurants sit on a pier over the water in old wooden houses, with tanks of live fish, prawns, crab and squid to choose from. You pick it and have it steamed with lime, stir-fried with chilli, grilled, or curried. The freshness is the real draw because it has just come off the boats. Popular orders are steamed fish with lime, squid stir-fried with salted egg, grilled prawns and curried crab. To be straight: seafood here is sold by weight, so always ask the price per kilo and watch the scale.
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On an island with fresh sea prawns, tom yum goong is one to order — a hot-and-sour soup fragrant with lemongrass, kaffir lime and galangal and loaded with big prawns. It comes both clear (nam sai) and creamy (with chilli paste and a splash of milk). Almost every seafood place on every beach does it well, because the prawns are fresh and the aromatics are everywhere. Eat it with hot rice and sip the broth on a windy evening — bright, punchy and refreshing in one bowl. Ask for less spice if you need to.
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The everyday favourite at beach and roadside stalls across the island — som tam, green papaya pounded with chilli, lime and garlic, in the Thai style with dried shrimp, the funky pla-ra version, or a fruit version if you can't take the heat. Eat it with grilled chicken, grilled pork neck and sticky rice for a full Isaan set. You'll find it at the White Sand night market, roadside stalls around Klong Prao and Kai Bae, and pop-up carts. It hits sour, spicy, salty and sweet all at once — a light lunch or something to share with a cold beer in the evening. Tell the cook your spice and salt level.
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The easy food you'll find on every beach, at every budget, open all day — pad thai, rice noodles fried with fresh prawns and dusted with peanuts; basil stir-fry (pork/chicken/seafood) with a fried egg, fried rice, pad see ew, stir-fried morning glory. The island's made-to-order shops cook the full set of Thai standards, and they're your friend when you're hungry between beaches or want a cheap meal after splashing out on seafood. This is the plate you can eat every day without tiring of it — friendly prices, and you can ask for less spice or no MSG.
Coconut and curry-paste dishes that go with rice at any meal — green curry with chicken or beef, fragrant with coconut milk; massaman, sweet, rich and slow; gaeng som (sour curry) with fish or prawns, sharp in the central-and-southern Thai style; and panang and chu-chee fish that pair beautifully with the island's seafood. Beach restaurants and made-to-order shops do these well, and some cook punchier southern-style curries too. Eaten over hot rice, it's a filling, full-flavoured Thai meal. If you don't take heat, go for green curry or massaman.
Grilling is the simplest, most fragrant way to eat the island's seafood — salt-crusted whole fish stuffed with lemongrass, grilled squid, grilled prawns, blanched cockles, herb-baked mussels, all with a fiery seafood dip. You'll find it at the White Sand night market, the beach grills and any seafood place with a grill out front. Grilled squid with that spicy dip is the classic thing to share over an evening beer, and it goes perfectly with a sea view; a big grilled fish feeds a few. That smoky charcoal smell is the heart of an island beach meal.
Beyond fish and prawns, Koh Chang has shellfish to try in season — or suan, a crisp-edged oyster omelette with a sharp dipping sauce; fresh oysters with fried garlic and seafood dip; herb-steamed mussels, clams stir-fried with chilli paste, blanched cockles. You can order these at the Bang Bao pier seafood places and the Klong Prao estuary restaurants. The freshness makes the sweetness pop, and a fiery seafood dip ties it together. They're great side dishes that round out a seafood meal and stretch it beyond the obvious fish and prawns.
The most fun place to eat in the evening is the White Sand Beach Night Market — a strip of restaurants and food stalls along the road by the beach, open roughly 5pm–10:30pm, busiest around 7pm. There's pork skewers, satay, grilled seafood, sticky rice and boiled corn, through to pad thai, som tam and curries and desserts, with the odd cheap steak and Western place mixed in. Graze your way along and try a few things in one spot — a budget-friendly dinner before you move on to a beach bar.
Eating vegetarian or vegan on Koh Chang is easy — the best-known spot is Naga Cafe at Klong Prao, which has a clearly separate vegan menu. Around Kai Bae there are healthy and vegan places such as Fig Cafe (a little garden café with a vegetarian menu) and Poke Bowl, which does veganised Thai dishes like pad thai, curries and khao soi. Lonely Beach also has small spots with clearly marked vegan options. Beyond that, any made-to-order shop will cook stir-fried vegetables, tofu or a meat-free curry — just say "jay" (vegetarian) or "no meat" and you're set.
Dinner on the island often ends at a beach bar — Koh Chang's nightlife is mellow, not the heavy party of Phuket or Samui. Lonely Beach is the main party beach, with bars, fire shows, live music and cheap drinks, while White Sand Beach and Kai Bae have chilled bars on the sand for a cold beer at sunset. People rave about places like El Barrio at Kai Bae (known for its cocktails) and several beach bars at Lonely Beach. To be straight, a lot of bars close in low season, so drink responsibly, don't ride after drinking, and mind the neighbours on noise — read on in the beach-bar guide.
Koh Chang has a slow, island brunch culture — sea-view and jungle-view coffee spots dot the west-coast beaches. People rate places like Fig Cafe and The Mount Café at Kai Bae (a hilltop café with a panoramic view), WARI Coffee on the beach at Klong Prao, and Sea Almond, a beachfront café at Kai Bae, while Marin Coffee has branches at White Sand, Klong Prao and Kai Bae. Sip a coffee in the morning before hitting the beach, or duck the afternoon heat with an iced one — a pause that suits the island's pace. To be straight, some close or cut hours in low season.