Tunk-Ka Café, perched atop Rang Hill, in Phuket Town, is a Phuket culinary institution, soon to celebrate its 30th birthday. We visited on a rainy evening, gingerly negotiating the glistening teak sleepers from the Surat Thani-Penang railway that constitute the descending steps into the restaurant. Upon arrival, the effect was like walking into some eccentric friend's living room. Wooden accessories hung from ceilings and walls; little rooms sprouted off to the sides; hanging roots swung from the trees that formed the eastern "wall" of the eatery and, way down below through an atmospheric haze, shone the lights and byways of Phuket Town. All around us, at just arm's length, dripping branches and leaves shimmered in the breeze, stamping their exotic presence on the evening.

Not to put too fine a point on it, we were famished. Two hungry teenagers, a hyper-active baby and a grouchy-when-peckish, farang dad, all of us marshalled by an ever-patient mum, made quite a crowd to handle. Thankfully, the lightning-quick service at Tunk-Ka soon had us tucking in to fried rice with crab for the kids and a seafood salad for the adults. The Thai concept of salad is a whole different kettle of fish, if you'll excuse the pun. Thai chefs view a salad as an enhancement to the liberal portions of meat mixed into the dish, rather than the other way around. Served with cashew nuts, this makes for a heftier portion than one would expect.

I'd ordered a vodka-lime aperitif, but hadn't counted on the food being dished up so quickly, so the drink became an ad hoc accompaniment to the food in place of wine. Later, I learned that Tunk-Ka doesn't sport a dramatic wine list. Nevertheless, the restaurant is probably unique among its kind on Phuket in charging no corkage fee if you want to bring their own. I noticed that most other people at Tunk-Ka chose to sip beer with their meals.

A simple dish of crabmeat with glass noodles came next. Strangely enough, the aroma was not dissimilar to that of an Oriental spaghetti carbonara. I kid you not. I sniffed and sniffed till the kids started copying me and, of course, had to be told to behave them selves or they'd get the next course in the carpark. But it was undeniable: crabmeat with glass noodles smells just like spaghetti carbonara. Try it for yourself.

By then, the main course — steamed lemon fish — had arrived. Plaa nueng menaow, as the locals call it, is a great yardstick by which to judge a restaurant. Do they simply toss a couple of lemons next to it, steam it and plonk it onto a serving plate; or do they, as Tunk-Ka does, lovingly apply all manner of little extra shallots and chillies, and then make sure the body is firm when served? I've seen some overcooked plaa nueng menaow served up looking more like roadkill than food. Ours was delicious.

Two spectacular ice-cream sundaes kept the kids quiet for at least 90 seconds while we relaxed and perused the menu. There are over 75 dishes to choose from at Tunk-Ka, an extensive, mostly non-alcoholic, drinks list and main courses ranging from 100 baht to 180 baht, depending on portion size. The clientele is mostly Thai and professional, the background music is kept mercifully low key, and the view … Apart from west-coast sunset dining on a clear night, what else compares with looking down on the lights and sights of Phuket Town while you eat?

To find Tunk-Ka Café: head up Soi Wachira past the Golden Buddha and the Channel 7 TV building, then park in the main parking lot on the top of Rang Hill. Please note that tuk-tuk drivers will hike their fare because of the hill's steep gradient.