Bucha’s Southern Thai Family Recipes are Generations in the Making
When Earl Dechsakda would come home to Phuket from the United States, where he lived for nearly a decade, his grandmother Kae Ying would always make the same dish to welcome him back: Khao Yum ข้าวยำ, or Southern Thai herbal rice salad, one of her go-to recipes from her hometown of Pak-Phanang in the Nakhon Si Thammarat province.
“I grew up really loving it. Every town in the South has its own way of preparing herbal salad. And when I’d come home, she’d make it because she knew it brings everyone together,” Khun Earl says, noting that Khun Kae was a beloved fishery market food vendor in Pak-Phanang for years. “It takes time to make. You have to cut each vegetable precisely at the right time or it turns dark. So, she would wait until everybody was at the house before she would start cutting.”
As the years crept by and Grandmother’s eyesight worsened, the family would pitch in to help: Khun Earl and his mom Wina Sriyaphong, a talented chef in her own right, would help Khun Kae cut the vegetables. But the bright tastes of the salad remained the same, including the salty-sweet tang of Southern Budu fish sauce and the unique wallop of dry red curry that’s a Pak-Phanang signature. “We tried to stop Grandmother cooking but she would fight back,” he says with a laugh. “She wanted to keep cooking.”
A handful of years later, I’m sitting in Bucha Gallery & Restaurant, Khun Earl and Khun Wina’s culinary love letter to Khun Kae and Pak-Phanang, staring in awe at Earl’s favorite salad. At Bucha, Chef Wina recreates her mother’s brightly spiced, soulful dishes every night for a new sort of extended family: all of Phuket.
Bucha’s full loaded Khoa Yum Thai Herbal Salad.
Photo by Phuket Foodies Collective member Holly Pan of Eat & Travel By Holly.
Bucha’s version (300 baht) looks like a rainbow mandala of local herbs, vegetables and flavorful bits: rounds of green long beans to shards of betel leaf and red torch ginger; hunks of pinky pomelo to shrimp floss, rice crackers, and sweet radish with stir fried shrimp. After my tablemates and I take in the presentation, Khun Earl tosses everything together with that intense reduced fish sauce, heady with tamarind juice and palm sugar, as well as little rounds of pickled morning glory and Grandma’s dry red curry to taste. The result was kaleidoscopic in sensation–bouncing from sour to sweet to savory to herby to toasty with every bite.
Bucha, which means “to worship or respect” in Thai, opened in October 2021 just across the street from Wat Tai in Chalong. It’s a lovely, eclectic fine dining space where curious eaters can both honor and devour a treasure trove of Southern Thai recipes; each plated like a work of art. I’ve wanted to eat there ever since I spied its eye-catching iron-work doors. And, recently, the Phuket Food Collective was invited to experience Bucha, much to my delight.
The “Gallery” part of the restaurant’s name refers to the third member of this Phuket clan: Earl’s father Udom Dechsakda, a history lover who long dreamed of sharing his collection of Thai antiques with the public. That includes a one-of-a-kind wood spirit god and a sculpture from a temple in the family’s home province–both now housed at Bucha.
A walk up the restaurant’s gorgeous curving staircase and up to the balcony dining room is equal parts museum tour and family album. “This is my father's collection of amulets,” says Khun Earl, waving his hand to encompass walls absolutely packed with framed rows of tiny coin-like objects, each uniquely decorated. “He’s collected them from temples across Thailand for more than 40 years. Others were passed down from my Grandpa and are more than 100 years old.”
The restaurant often doubles as a cultural center, hosting traditional Thai dance or Thai classical instrument performances aimed to broaden visitors’ horizons while they dine. I wish they’d launch a series of lunch tours aimed to share the stories behind the restaurant’s family antiques as well. (But they do often walk the guests through the collection if they’re interested.)
Bucha’s refreshing Southern Pomelo rum cocktail; the coconut-laced Royal Herbs mocktail adorned with a traditional Thai flower garland (both 250 baht).
The space is lavish and beautiful and just a bit overwhelming when taken in all at once; a lot like Bucha’s cuisine itself. During our visit, Kuhn Wina spoiled us with an overwhelming parade of beautiful dishes, from lacy sunshine yellow rice flour crepes to young banana curry to massive garlicky Tiger prawns (250-600 baht).
Dishes were accompanied by a procession of elaborate, inventive cocktails and mocktails, often infused and decorated with local flowers, from pink-hued lotus blooms to fragrant jasmine. (The floral infusions were too sweet for my taste, but the Southern Pomelo rum cocktail was tart and delicious.)
The restaurant also employs flowers in its trademark lotus flower salad (350 baht, see photo at left). Presented on a multi-pronged golden stand; it’s reminiscent of the traditional Thai cha-da headdress that forms part of the restaurant’s elaborate logo. It’s almost too pretty to eat. Almost. Each petal is crisp and cool, cupping a generous heap of tender shrimp and rings of lemongrass, ginger, shallots and young galangal.
On our visit, the kitchen served the dish’s chile component on the side instead of tossed with the salad. I wish they wouldn’t. Once all the elements were properly married, the dish was a crunchy, spicy, refreshing bite; although it could have used a stronger hit of juicy lime.
The dishes of the Nakhon Si Thammarat province trace their wealth of strong flavors and diverse ingredients to the area’s role as an age-old trading hub. Unlike Phuketian fare, which often draws notes from Chinese cuisine, Pak-Phanang fare also pulls in flavors from Malaysia, India and beyond. At Bucha, you’ll spy lak hum fruit grown in Pak-Phanang in the sweet and sour soup; they exclusively use rice field catfish from down South in their dishes. (“It tastes completely different than sea catfish,” says Khun Earl.)
A huge golden tureen of excellent, cinnamon- and star anise-laced massaman beef curry (600 baht, above right), brimming with soft hunks of potato and meltingly tender beef, relies on tamarind for its well balanced sweet-sour punch–a far cry from the thin, overly sweet renditions that are often found around town. It’s perfect when mopped up with hot, crispy house roti Bucha serves with the dish. (Bonus: The massaman curry was even better the next day; the spices had grown deeper and richer by the time the Vampires of Phuket family had the generous leftovers for lunch…and for dinner. So good.)
A few dishes reminded me more of the American Midwest or South as much as Southern Thailand, a delightfully weird occurrence: Grandmother’s Red Sauce Chicken Thighs (400 baht, below right) were akin to the kind of mellow, smoky, saucy bird you might devour at a backyard American barbecue, brightened with tamarind and peanuts. And Bucha’s delicious braised beef tongue (500 baht, below right) came slicked with sweet and savory glaze and tasted a bit like American pot roast. Beef tongue isn’t common in Phuket, but its a staple in Pak-Phanang, thanks to its Muslim Malaysian roots.
(A side-note: I was also obsessed with the grilled beef tongue with jalapenos at Patong’s new Bon Pan-Asian Tapas recently. I’m not mad at this development.)
One of the things that make Bucha a unique experience is the kitchen’s emphasis on texture. A favorite was the house’s Pak Nang “luk het” shrimp cakes (200 baht, above left), little golden fried torpedoes of herby prawn meat enlivened with the sweet pop of grated coconut and a slowly blooming hit of curry spice. I could eat a whole order of these myself.
Traditional desserts, like banana simmered in coconut syrup and served with crushed ice (120 baht, below), were a treat. My sweet favorite: a whole coconut that hid a cadre of nubby red bean dumplings in a bath of barely sweet coconut milk (120 baht, below). The dumplings’ purple butterfly pea flower-dyed wrappers made for a great bit of eye candy as well.
Khun Earl explained that the unique rough texture of the red bean paste inside the dumplings is another nod to Grandmother. “The story was that my grandmother was lazy, and wouldn’t make [a smooth bean paste], she’d smash it and keep it rough. It was the quick way,” he says, laughing. “Grandmother is always right.”
In general, Bucha’s sweetness levels are spot on. But there was a notable lack of chile heat during our visit, which threw off the balance of a few dishes and left me wondering if dishes are spiced heavier for Thai-born diners.
Some of my fellow Phuket Foodies Collective members have eaten at Bucha multiple times in the past year and confirmed that typically the dishes possess a bit more fire. Please Bucha: crank the spice dial back up!
All in all, Bucha boasts artfully presented food in a stunning setting with plenty of homestyle heart. It’s perfect for a celebratory evening out with friends and family, where the dishes look as good as holiday gifts yet still taste like someone’s (extremely talented) mom cooked them…because Khun Wina is cooking them, with a level of care and commitment that can be felt in each bite.
Khun Earl introducing his family recipes to the Phuket Foodies Collective crew; the front page of Bucha’s stylish, newspaper-style menu, which includes images of Khun Wina and Khun Kae Ying.
“Bucha is all about bringing my Grandmother’s recipes back to life,” says Khun Earl. “This is my mom’s retirement project,” he says with a laugh. “I keep telling her we can get someone to deliver the fruits and vegetables, but she still likes going to the market. Every morning. At 5 o’ clock am.”
A huge thank you to Khun Earl, Khun Wina and the Bucha team for welcoming us so warmly. And equally big thanks to Spoon & Wander, for organizing another delicious Phuket Foodies Collectives outing!
Bucha Gallery & Restaurant
26/156 Chao Fah Tawan Ok Rd, Chalong, Mueang, Phuket
📞 061 176 5562
Open 11 am-10 pm daily; closed Wednesdays