Restaurants

Kati Culinary, Klong Prao

The best Thai restaurant on koh Chang, Kati Culinary

We’ve been going to Kati since it opened way back in 2005.  And in that time never had a bad meal.  In fact, in that time it’s probably been my favourite Thai restaurant on the island.  Over the years I’ve recommended the place to dozens of people – both visitors to this site and people staying at our guesthouse and they’ve all loved it.  From expat families who’ve lived in Thailand for 20 years and thought it was some of the best Thai food they’ve had in that time. To an American restaurateur who ate there every night  of his holiday as he didn’t want to waste the opportunity to go through as much of the menu as he could.

Run by Mum and her two daughters, one of which is usually around plus several staff, they don’t do anything too over the top, complicated, or fanciful.  But they do everything well – very well. The food is , mostly, Thai dishes that you’ll be able to get elsewhere.  The decor is stylish without being overbearing and fussy.  The menu  keeps it simple, with brief descriptions of each dish plus the choice to have any dish with pork, chicken, beef, prawns, squid, fish, seafood or tofu and vegetables.  So, ideal for vegetarians.  Many of the dishes can also be made as spicy as you want them to be.

The secret of their success is in the way the food is made.  With love . . .  and using Mum’s home made curry pastes.  The vast majority of restaurants use ones straight out of a bottle – as that’s cheap and saves a lot of preparation time.   Everything is prepared from scratch with none of the shortcuts you might find in other restaurants.  For example, if you order a fish then it’s going to take 30 minutes or so to arrive because that’s how long it takes to cook a fish.  If you go to a restaurant, order a fish and it’s there in 10 minutes – you know it’s one that has been cooked earlier.  So , don’t expect your food to arrive super quickly. When it arrives it will have been well worth the wait.

The menu also contains a good range of smoothies & unique cocktails.  Again, all worth a try.  The potent cocktails are better value than in many places.   As in most Thai restaurants, there isn’t a huge dessert menu.  Here the star is the homemade ice-cream.

It’s a small place, which seats around 40 people maximum and so during High Season is often packed at 7pm, either book ahead or eat a bit earlier or after 8.30pm to avoid the rush.

Prices are  a bit higher than in many restaurants but are still cheaper than those you’d pay if eating bland Thai food in your resort’s restaurant.

Bottom line is that if you go there and don’t enjoy your meal, then you should stick to spaghetti bolognese and pie and chips as there’s really no hope for you.

And, if you enjoy the food, you can learn some of the tricks of the trade at Kati cooking school which is behind the main restaurant building.

Price: $$ – $$$

Photos:

Location: At the south end of Klong Prao village.  On the inland side of the main road. 50 metres north of the turning for Centara Tropicana Resort.

 

These restaurant reviews are just my thoughts on a place at the time I visited. I’ll mention if I know the owner well or get any freebies. But for the most of the time I am happy to play tourist and don’t mention this site at all. Obviously it isn’t possible to sample every dish on the menu and the type of food you have for lunch will differ to evening. In addition, owners and more importantly chefs, can change and your experience may differ from mine. If it does, post a comment below.

6 Comments

  • We ate a couple of times at Kati as we liked the food and the atmosphere. It feels like eating thai food in a French restaurant. And their home made ice cream is delicious. Great recommendation Ian. Thank you.

  • Went to Kati last night, it is a small restaurant, that is simple but clean! I really enjoyed my dinner and the food was lovely. Perhaps a little more expensive than some places however i am worth it! Go early as it does get busy and service could suffer. Thank you Ian for the recommendation.

  • I have heard good things about this restaurant from other visitors, so will definitely give this a whirl. If the food really is that good, I may work my way through the menu each night! It does not look too far from White Sands Beach.

  • Take a deep breath, John.

    I use a complicated system of symbols ranging from $ = very cheap, street food to $$$$ = relatively pricey, posh hotel price to give people an idea of what to expect. As I can’t be bothered noting down prices for everything. This gives people a general idea of what to expect. Live dangerously and take a chance, go into a restaurant without knowing exact prices beforehand.

  • Why go to all the trouble to write a eating guide and not bother to tell anyone prices on anything???????????????

    Being very vage and not saying a dam thing is very disappointing to the good work you did.

    Would it kill you to say I had a cheeseburger it cost 200bd, or bla bla bla, just mention cheaper then your home town does not say anything at all.

    You saw a pizza is 300b ?? then say its cheap, but that is not cheap for a pizza. Even in Bali Pizza is cheaper than that.
    In America Pizza is the going rate now.

    Just wish you would be good enough to include price points and the like to this nice reviews that you made.

    Cheers, John

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Koh Chang Island Guide For Independent Travellers