Bringing grandma’s recipes back to life

Though the exterior of Bucha Gallery & Restaurant on Chalong, Phuket may not be anything special, it is the interiors that make the difference.

As soon as you enter, be sure to look up, away from your phones, and admire your surroundings as the restaurant is also a gallery, like the name suggests. You will find yourself standing below a beautiful bell-shaped chandelier though that isn’t why we are looking up. Right above the reception counter is an intricately carved Buddha sculpture, which is an antique and one of seven in Thailand.

“We started Bucha as a retirement project for my mom. Since we already owned the building and I had just come back from the US, we opened it during Covid,” says Earl Dechsakda. Bucha, which means to worship and respect in Thai, has a distinct logo, which is the “wai” with a “chada”, a crown-like headwear with Indo-Persian…