Married Chef Couple Creates Authentic Thai Cuisine at Ta Khai, Rosewood Phuket's Signature Restaurant

Rotkaew “Nun” and Sangchan “Yai” Suttitummanon first met when Nun was working at a restaurant in Yai’s hometown of Trang. Yai was so enamored with a seafood fried rice dish that Nun prepared that she asked him for the recipe. Nun offered to teach Yai his culinary secrets and as they discussed their shared love for food, it sparked an attraction which ultimately led them to marriage and starting a family together.

Having operated the “Kook Thai” food stall in Trang for more than 20 years, a mutual friend recognized the greater potential for their delicious Thai seafood recipes and asked Uncle Nun and Aunt Yai to head the kitchen at Pak Nam Seafood restaurant in Ratsada, just outside Phuket Town. Here they held a successful tenure for 18 months before being recruited by Rosewood Phuket to produce the authentic Thai seafood menu at Ta Khai.

Guests benefit from the couple’s extensive knowledge of old southern Thai recipes, particularly within the “Uncle Nun and Aunt Yai Favorites” section of the Ta Khai menu, which features signature dishes that they have created together using traditional techniques and ingredients.

One of these favorites is the curried crab ( Gaeng Poo ) which uniquely features their own homemade curry paste whose recipe has evolved over the couple’s years together, guided by the tastebuds of a local community and feedback from patrons at their previous food stall in Trang. With knowledge handed down through the generations, the couple sources the freshest turmeric growing naturally in the south of Thailand and complement the pungent, bitter flavor with wild betel leaves from the same area.

Another example is the Hor Mok Talay, a traditional Tilapia fish mousse flavored with curry. As Uncle Nun and Aunt Yai grew up in the southern coastal region where an abundance of freshly caught seafood was readily available, they decided there to make their Hor Mok Talay with a whole variety of seafood ingredients and found the result won over even the most traditional of customer. As modern steaming methods were not presenting present in their small fishing community, they turned to the one thing that grew all around, banana trees. The dish is prepared using the time-honored technique of steaming the mousse wrapped inside a banana leaf, which infuses the flavor of the banana leaf juices, which they complement with their own blend of indigenous herbs and spices.

Uncle Nun and Aunt Yai oversee the entire culinary operations at Ta Khai and prepare their dishes as they would when welcoming guests into their own home. With a "mama is cooking" style of using only the freshest and finest ingredients to hand, they base their menus around the local fisherman's daily catch and the herbs that are grown in the kitchen’s own garden. The dishes arriving to the tables always stimulate the five fundamental taste senses in Thai cuisine; sour, sweet, salty, bitter and spicy.

“The secret of the most successful Thai cuisine is in the freshness of the ingredients, as well as finding the right balance of herbs and spices so that no element overpowers the other,”

Uncle Nun

“Carefully chosen, aromatic seasonings not only provide a unique flavor to the food, but also have distinct medicinal benefits," adds Aunt Yai. “Of course, passion and dedication are also essential for the final outcome to be so tasty!”

For reservations, please contact your travel professional, visit rosewoodhotels.com, call the hotel directly at +66 76 356 888, or email phuket.reservations@rosewoodhotels.com.