What's in the local kitchen.

Khun Daeng cooks for guests on Tuesdays and Fridays. She lives ten minutes up the road and brings whatever the morning market gave her — usually fish, usually coconut, sometimes a green papaya salad that you'll be thinking about a week later.

Southern Thai cooking leans heavily on coconut milk and turmeric. The curry is brighter and looser than the Bangkok version, and most dishes finish with lime and fresh herbs from her garden.

The standing menu we're proud of: gaeng tai pla (a salty, cumin-heavy fish curry), khao yam (a southern rice salad with toasted coconut), and a coconut-pandan custard that she only makes if the eggs are good that morning.