When at home in Bangkok I tend to eat a pretty western-style breakfast (toast, eggs, yogurt), so when I'm on the road in different parts of Thailand I really look forward to getting my hands on a domestic breakfast. I certainly wasn't disappointed in Songkhla, an atmospheric seaside town in southern Thailand. The southern Thais have some of the best morning eats in the country, and Songkhla was no exception. It was a morning of several southern Thai specialties and sweet coffee in several different locations.
My favourite place for breakfast in Songkhla is probably an open-air streetside courtyard just off Th Saiburi with different three vendors. One vendor makes old-school style Thai coffee and tea, other vendor makes a delicious khao yam (illustrated above), and another couple make roti:
The crispy pancakes are served southern-style, with a curry and a sweet/sour cucumber dipping sauce.
Continuing along Th Nang Ngam, a street lined with old houses and Chinese shrines, I came across this woman, selling noodles to students in front of a school:
Her husband was equally busy, selling cups of pop to the kids, at 7am...
Just up the road I stopped by a an old shophouse restaurant for a salapao, a Chinese steamed bun, and a yet another coffee:
The coffee wasn't so good, but the salapao contained a delicious mixed pork mixture and a quail egg. This was the kind of place that families stopped by on their way to work and/or school, and I got the impression that most of then had been coming there for a long time.
Continuing to the end of Th Nang Ngam, my last stop was at an even more ancient, Muslim-owned coffee shop (which has also been blogged about here):
with equally ancient interior design and clientele:
I left Songkhla shortly after, feeling full and fully caffeinated...