PHUKET people love their food, which is why they hold an annual Food Festival at the public park at Saphan Hin in Phuket City.

It's a great place to start trying local delicacies because the prices are reasonable and there is always plenty available.

New taste sensations can usually be found each year, and this year's festival offers tastes from all over Thailand.

One great advantage is that all the stalls have clear banners in English, making it plain what's on offer.

This year's fair began on March 19 and runs through to March 28. Each night, it's possible to eat early or late, between 4.30pm and 11pm.

There's a fair nearby with slides and rides and competitions to keep children entertained, too, and performances on the stages.

Phuket people like eating together and generally, hundreds of yellow tables and chairs spill out from several large rows of booths where fish will be grilling and tasty local concoctions will be bubbling.

The exotic tastes of crocodile meat, or deer, perhaps, do not seem to be on the menu this year. But there are plenty of other alternatives.

There are clothing stalls, too.

Biodegradable containers, a sign of a return to the organic disposability of the banana leaf, are being used once again.