Songkhla was named a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in 2025, and one meal here explains why. Thai, Chinese and Muslim cooking have mixed in this port province for centuries: dim sum and pork-bone soup at dawn, fried chicken with crispy shallots, southern curries, lake seafood and old-town sweets. Hat Yai is the place for variety and late-night eating; Songkhla city for heritage recipes. The MICHELIN Guide does not cover Songkhla, so follow the queues at markets and long-running shops.<\/p>\n
Safety note:<\/strong> Four districts in the south of Songkhla (Chana, Thepha, Saba Yoi and Na Thawi) are covered by long-running security measures. Check official government travel advisories and local news before travelling to those districts. Songkhla city and Hat Yai are busy, normal tourist areas.<\/p>\n Marinated chicken fried until the skin is shatteringly crisp, then piled with fried shallots and served with sticky rice or spiced rice. It is eaten from breakfast to late night, often at Thai-Muslim stalls.<\/p>\n Hat Yai’s Chinese breakfast shops serve steamed dumplings and buns alongside bak kut teh, a peppery, herbal pork-rib broth, plus strong coffee.<\/p>\n The southern herb rice salad with toasted coconut, dried shrimp and budu sauce, a light and colourful breakfast.<\/p>\n Fresh rice noodles with fish curry and a pile of herbs and vegetables, found at morning markets.<\/p>\n Curry-rice shops line up trays of kaeng som (sour orange curry), kaeng tai pla, yellow curries and dry stir-fried curries. Point at what looks good and ask about the heat.<\/p>\n Sea bass raised in cages in Songkhla Lake, lake prawns and crab, steamed with lime or fried with garlic, at restaurants overlooking the water.<\/p>\n Grilled skewers with peanut sauce are a Songkhla old-town favourite; some stalls serve toasted bread on the side to mop up the sauce.<\/p>\n Muslim tea shops serve roti with curry or sweet toppings and frothy pulled tea from early morning to late at night.<\/p>\n Traditional Thai and Chinese sweets, coconut-based desserts and small cakes cooked over charcoal are sold in Songkhla’s old town and at markets.<\/p>\n Kim Yong Market, Hat Yai:<\/strong> A long-standing market for dried seafood, snacks, sweets and imported goods, with food stalls around it. Map<\/a><\/p>\n Hat Yai night markets:<\/strong> Evening markets around the city centre sell grilled seafood, fried chicken, noodles and desserts. Check which ones are running during your visit.<\/p>\n Khlong Hae Floating Market:<\/strong> Snacks and drinks sold from boats in the late afternoon and evening. Map<\/a><\/p>\n Songkhla Old Town:<\/strong> Nang Ngam and Nakhon Nai roads have family noodle shops, satay stalls, sweet shops and caf\u00e9s in restored shophouses. Map<\/a><\/p>\n Koh Yo:<\/strong> Lakeside seafood restaurants are a good stop for lunch or dinner after the Thaksin Folklore Museum. Map<\/a><\/p>\n Many Hat Yai businesses were affected by the November 2025 floods. Check opening times before you go.<\/p>\n Chinese New Year fills Hat Yai and Songkhla’s old town with offerings, sweets and special dishes, and the Vegetarian Festival (usually September or October) brings meat-free food stalls to the Chinese shrines. During Ramadan, evening markets in Muslim neighbourhoods are packed before sunset. Midnight Songkran in April keeps street food going late into the night. See our Songkhla travel page<\/a> for festival details.<\/p>\n Fried chicken with crispy shallots, dim sum and bak kut teh breakfasts, and a huge choice of night-market food.<\/p>\n UNESCO recognised Songkhla in 2025 for its long food heritage that blends Thai, Chinese and Muslim traditions, from street food to home cooking.<\/p>\n Yes. Songkhla has a large Muslim community, and halal restaurants and stalls are everywhere in Hat Yai and Songkhla city.<\/p>\n Not currently. The MICHELIN Guide Thailand does not cover Songkhla, but markets and long-running family shops are the real highlights.<\/p>\n Cover photo: HAT YAI MARKET 2.jpg<\/a> \u00b7 Hannah 50 \u00b7 CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a> \u00b7 Wikimedia Commons<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What to eat in Songkhla and Hat Yai, a UNESCO City of Gastronomy: fried chicken, dim sum, khao yam, lake seafood and markets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5500,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[182],"tags":[],"province":[211],"class_list":["post-5499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-en","province-songkhla-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5499"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5531,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5499\/revisions\/5531"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5499"},{"taxonomy":"province","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/province?post=5499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Dishes to try in Songkhla<\/h2>\n
Hat Yai fried chicken (gai tod Hat Yai)<\/h3>\n
Dim sum and bak kut teh<\/h3>\n
Khao yam<\/h3>\n
Khanom jeen with southern curries<\/h3>\n
Southern curries with rice<\/h3>\n
Lake seafood on Koh Yo<\/h3>\n
Satay<\/h3>\n
Roti and pulled tea<\/h3>\n
Old-town sweets<\/h3>\n
Markets and where to eat<\/h2>\n
Food at festivals<\/h2>\n
FAQ<\/h2>\n
What is Hat Yai famous for food-wise?<\/h3>\n
Why is Songkhla a UNESCO City of Gastronomy?<\/h3>\n
Is halal food easy to find?<\/h3>\n
Are there MICHELIN restaurants in Songkhla?<\/h3>\n
More nearby<\/h2>\n
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