There is no shortage of all you can eat buffets in Thailand. A vast majority of those buffets being Korean BBQ, where you cook your own meal at your table. Every once and a while, if you search hard enough, you’ll find a buffet of a different type.
Khon Kaen Restaurants
Vietnamese Buffet
One of my favorite places to go all out on a meal is the Vietnamese Buffet in Khon Kaen, Thailand. Although I consider it going all out, it’s still only about $5USD a person to eat. This is quite the price hike from a $1-2USD meal you can eat almost anywhere. However eating chicken fried rice, pad thai, and noodle soup can get a little monotonous, which is the perfect opportunity for the all you can eat buffet.
Eating Vietnamese buffet for the first time can be bit puzzling. The idea behind eating Vietnamese buffet it so get a plate full of veggies, rice paper, sausage, sauce, and other goodies and head back to your table. This is where the magic happens. The first step, and typically the most difficult, is to peel a single rice paper off from the stack that you just commandeered from the buffet. Once a single rice paper is in head, the rest is cake. Process: jam as much yummy-goodness (veggies, sausage, etc) you can into the rice paper while maintaining the ability to fold it up and shove in mouth, but not before drizzling the signature peanut sauce over the top.
Here is what it looks like in action.
Finding this place is a bit tricky. On Klang Muang road, you will want to look for a brown deck that is under cover. The front of the restaurant has a wooden railing with a coffee stand out front. Also if you ask a local, this place is directly across the street from the giant Vietnamese breakfast place. Another good landmark to shoot for is the big bike Kawasaki dealer in downtown Khon Kaen. This is the only Kawasaki big bike dealer, so it should be easily found. If you find that, the Vietnamese buffet is just a block away.
There is enough seating inside to accommodate large parties, but if you choose to go on a Saturday or Sunday you better go early because this place is hugely popular with the Thais.
Location of Khon Kaen Vietnamese Restaurant
Khon Kaen T-BONE Steakhouse
Another worthy buffet to check out in Khon Kaen, Thailand, is the T-Bone Steakhouse. This restaurant, or I should say cafeteria, due to its’ size, is located very close to Khon Kaen University. The name describes this restaurant to a T (pun definitely intended). All you can eat T-Bone steak, chicken, pork, salad. mashed potatoes and a whole slew of over types of food. This is another restaurant which is hugely popular with Thais, especially students from KKU. I was told to go to the restaurant before 5p.m. because after 6 the restaurant in flooded with KKU students. T-Bone Steakhouse opens at 4:30, so if you don’t mind eating a little bit early, this is going to be you’re best bet.
Prior to going to T-Bone for the first time, I searched the internet, forums, Trip Advisor and the likes, but the location and directions were all but clear. I suppose this is Khon Kaen’s way of hiding the best restaurants from out-of-towners. I had a general idea of where this place was from talking with others, and I was told that there is a HUGE sign that says T-Bone out front. Well, as you can see from the picture, the sign is now hidden behind trees. Convenient.
Driving from Khon Kaen towards Udon Thani on Mittraphap Rd. you will need to make a U-Turn at the light at Khon Kaen University. This is also the last traffic light leaving Khon Kaen towards Udon Thani. After making a U-Turn, get in the “service lane” and drive slow until you see this giant sign. If I had to guesstimate it would be able 3/4 a kilo back down Mittraphap after the U-Turn. Here is a video of what the T-Bone Steakhouse Khon Kaen has to offer, AND a map of the pinpoint location.
We are Brittany and Charlie - we traded the 9 to 5 and the so-called "American dream" to live our own dream and see the world. We sold all of our belongings and left the US in August 2013. For 5 years, we lived primarily in Thailand and built our online business and location independent lifestyle while we traveled to over 30 countries. We’ve had house sitting gigs on 3 different continents and we’ve even appeared on HGTV’s House Hunters International.
[…] know what it is with me in Thailand, but I have grown a liking to Vietnamese food, read more about Vietnamese Buffet Here. Vietnamese breakfast consist of multiple choices, but most notably are the tiny baguettes. […]
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Another worthy buffet to check out in Khon Kaen, Thailand, is the T-Bone Steakhouse. This restaurant, or I should say cafeteria, due to its’ size, is located very close to Khon Kaen University. The name describes this restaurant to a T (pun definitely intended). All you can eat T-Bone steak, chicken, pork, salad. mashed potatoes and a whole slew of over types of food. This is another restaurant which is hugely popular with Thais, especially students from KKU. I was told to go to the restaurant before 5p.m. because after 6 the restaurant in flooded with KKU students. T-Bone Steakhouse opens at 4:30, so if you don’t mind eating a little bit early, this is going to be you’re best bet.
