Ban Chang food scene

Eating in Ban Chang: Rayong-province seafood, the beachfront grills, fresh markets, local Thai kitchens and the international options serving the expat community.

Rayong eats well

Ban Chang sits in Rayong province — one of Thailand's seafood and fruit heartlands — so the raw material is superb and cheap. The town's food scene is unpretentious and local: this is where you eat brilliantly for pocket change, not where you find fine-dining theatre.

What to eat

• Beachfront seafood: the signature — grilled fish, prawns, squid and blue crab on the Phala/Nam Rin shore, priced by the kilo (the beaches);
• Rayong specialties: the province is famous for its fish-based products and, in season, its tropical fruit (Rayong is durian and mangosteen country);
• Market food: the town's fresh and evening markets are the best-value meals going — southern-seaboard street food at local prices;
• Everyday Thai kitchens: the som tam, noodle and rice-and-curry shops that feed the town daily;
• International options: the expat community supports a scattering of Western, and other Asian, restaurants and bars (going out).

Eating well here

• Follow the crowds and the specialists — busy stalls are the honest reviews;
• Confirm seafood prices per weight before it hits the grill;
• Markets for breakfast and dinner, beach grills for the long lazy lunch — the local rhythm.