Tops Food Hall Central Samui

If you've rented a villa with a kitchen, this is where you'll end up doing the shopping. It sits inside the Central Samui complex in Bo Put, and it works as two things at once: a proper supermarket with fresh fruit and veg, Thai staples and a decent shelf of imported goods, plus a food hall where vendors cook Thai dishes to order.

The food hall is the part travellers underuse. Prices are low, the plates come out fast, and it's a sensible stop between a beach morning and whatever you've got planned for the afternoon. It won't beat a good street stall for character, but it's clean, cool and you're not hunting for a table in the heat. The layout is straightforward enough that a five-minute top-up run stays a five-minute top-up run.

Evenings are when locals do their weekly shop, so trolleys stack up and the aisles get slow. Mid-morning or early afternoon is calmer if you've got a long list.