Restaurant in Surat Thani, Thailand
Queue-worthy regional noodles at street prices.
Yok Kheng is Surat Thani's Michelin Bib Gourmand noodle shop, recognised in 2025 for regional specialities like long tong, dry noodles in sweet-and-sour sauce with pork. At the lowest price tier in the city, with a 4.5 Google rating from over 860 reviews, it delivers more quality per baht than almost anything else in town. Walk-in only; arrive early.
Picture a queue stretching past midday, people carrying on quiet conversations in the heat, not because they have nowhere better to be, but because they know exactly what is waiting for them at the counter. That is the Yok Kheng situation in Surat Thani. This is a Michelin Bib Gourmand-recognised noodle shop on Tonpo Road, priced at the lowest tier the city offers, and it earns every minute of the wait. If you are passing through Surat Thani and you eat one thing, this should be it.
Yok Kheng is not a place you visit for the room. You visit because the food is precise, regionally specific, and produced at a price point that almost nowhere else in Thailand can match for this level of Michelin-acknowledged quality. The visual first impression is modest: a street-facing stall-style setup, the kind of address that looks unremarkable until you notice the queue ahead of you and the speed with which it moves. That queue is itself a signal. At a single-baht price tier, this is not a destination for a leisurely evening; it is a daytime or early-meal operation built around efficiency and volume.
The star of the menu, according to the Michelin inspectors who awarded the Bib Gourmand in 2025, is long tong: dry noodles in a pink sweet-and-sour sauce, served with pig's blood, skin, and tender pork. It is a Surat Thani regional speciality that you will not find prepared this way in Bangkok or Chiang Mai. The phak bung tai rao is also noted specifically: crispy shrimp, morning glory, and fine-sliced pork skin tossed in a sweet-tangy sauce, designed to sit alongside rice noodles. Portions are generous. The mango with sticky rice, if available, is worth holding space for. These are not generic crowd-pleasers; they are craft-level regional dishes served in an unassuming format. That gap between presentation and execution is what Yok Kheng is built on.
The service philosophy here is functional rather than formal, and that is exactly what earns the price point. There is no front-of-house team walking you through a menu, no recommendations delivered tableside, no ceremony. What you get instead is a kitchen that moves with purpose and plates food that arrives quickly, correctly, and without any of the padding that drives up bills at more tourist-facing addresses. For a solo diner or a pair, that trade-off is a direct win. For a group expecting attentive table service as part of a celebration, this is not the format. The value here is in the food itself, not in the hospitality layer around it. That is not a criticism; it is the correct read of what Yok Kheng is offering and why the Bib Gourmand designation matters more than a star would here. Michelin's Bib Gourmand specifically recognises quality at accessible prices, and Yok Kheng fits that criteria with precision.
Timing your visit matters. Arrive early in the service window rather than at peak lunch. The queue moves, but it is real, and the most in-demand dishes can sell out before the afternoon. Given no booking infrastructure exists here, your only lever is timing. A weekday visit, earlier rather than later, gives you the leading shot at the full menu and a shorter wait. If you are transiting through Surat Thani on the way to Koh Samui or the southern ferry points, a stop here is worth building into your schedule rather than treating as an afterthought.
For context on where Yok Kheng sits in the broader Thailand noodle category: the Bib Gourmand puts it in credible company. Compare it against A Niang Mian Guan in Shanghai or A Xin Xian Lao in Fuzhou for the regional noodle specialist format: all three operate on the same principle of hyper-local ingredients and technique at accessible prices. Within Thailand, if Southern Thai cuisine is your focus, Sorn in Bangkok takes the fine-dining route with the same regional roots, while PRU in Phuket offers the farm-to-table interpretation. Neither is a substitute for what Yok Kheng does; they are different commitments at different price points. For Surat Thani specifically, Yok Kheng holds a position no other single venue in the city currently matches for regional specificity at this price.
Booking is not required and not possible through any formal channel based on current data. Walk in, join the queue, and let the kitchen do the rest. The address is 48WG+G8G, Tonpo Road, Tambon Talat, Mueang Surat Thani District. For broader planning, see our full Surat Thani restaurants guide, and if you are building a full itinerary, check our Surat Thani hotels guide and our Surat Thani bars guide alongside it. For other Thai regional specialists worth your attention, Aeeen in Chiang Mai and AKKEE in Pak Kret operate in a similar spirit: serious regional cooking without the fine-dining markup.
No reservation system. Walk-in only. Arrive early in the service window to avoid selling out on key dishes. No website or phone number on record. The address on Tonpo Road is accessible from central Surat Thani. Dress code is casual; this is a street-adjacent operation. For solo diners and pairs, the counter-style setup works well. Groups of four or more should manage expectations around table space and menu availability during peak hours. For nearby dining alternatives, Jahn and Khao Kriab Pak Mor Talat Na San Jao are worth knowing about for a fuller day of eating in the city.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yok Kheng | Noodles | This modest favourite draws queues, but your patience will be rewarded! The phak bung tai rao – crispy shrimp, morning glory and fine-sliced pork skin tossed in a sweet-tangy sauce – is superb with rice noodles. Generous portions and wallet-friendly prices make it a great value.; Michelin Bib Gourmand (2025); Consummately crafted regional specialties are the highlight here, particularly long tong, a Surat Thani delicacy. It features succulent dry noodles in a pink sweet and sour sauce with tender portions of pig’s blood, skin and meat. Leave room for the delectable mango with sticky rice. | Easy | — |
| Lucky | Thai-Chinese | Unknown | — | |
| Phunisa | Southern Thai | Unknown | — | |
| Day & Night | International | Unknown | — | |
| Heng Khao Moo Daeng | Thai-Chinese | Unknown | — | |
| Keo Pla | Small eats | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how Yok Kheng measures up.
Go early and expect to queue. Yok Kheng holds a 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand and serves Surat Thani regional specialties at ฿ prices — but key dishes sell out before service ends. The long tong (dry noodles in a pink sweet-sour sauce with pig's blood, skin, and meat) is the dish to order. No website, no phone, no reservations: walk in and be patient.
Yes, straightforwardly. Noodle-focused walk-in spots like this suit solo diners well — you take a seat when one opens, order quickly, and the format does not penalise a party of one. At ฿ per head with generous portions, a solo visit is low-risk and high-reward. The queue moves, and you are not holding a table anyone needs.
There is no tasting menu at Yok Kheng. This is a street-style noodle operation, not a multi-course format. Order the long tong, consider the phak bung tai rao as a side, and finish with mango and sticky rice if available. The Michelin Bib Gourmand recognises value and quality in exactly this format — affordable, focused, and precise.
No detailed dietary information is on record for Yok Kheng. The signature dishes include pork skin, pig's blood, and shrimp — meaning pork-free and shellfish-free diets will find the menu limited. Vegetarian and vegan diners should assume few viable options given the core ingredients. If restrictions are a concern, confirm on arrival.
Not in the conventional sense. There is no booking system, no private space on record, and the setting is casual street-dining. That said, if your occasion is about eating something genuinely good at a price that does not require planning around, Yok Kheng's 2025 Bib Gourmand status makes it a credible choice. For a celebratory dinner with atmosphere and service, look elsewhere in Surat Thani.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
