Thailand is home to some of the world’s best-known and loved dishes. Your first trip to this country can be a revolutionary experience – with that local Thai place in your hometown suddenly not seeming as great as you remembered. Doing as the locals do is always sound travelling advice – especially when it comes to food – so here’s a list of the best neighbourhood joints in Krabi Town.
A restaurant that can be tricky to find – due to the website being entirely in Thai – Ma Ong is one of the best lunch spots in Krabi Town. Its khao mok gai (fragrant yellow rice and chicken, similar to a biryani) is well known throughout the city and is likely to be the best you’ll try on your travels. With other favourites such as beef panang curry available, this restaurant is modest but delicious, and will undoubtedly have no tourists in sight.
If you’re heading to Ko Suang at lunchtime, it can be a scramble to get a table – but don’t give up: the food is worth the wait. Ko Suang serves many simple dishes cooked to perfection (duck noodle soup and chicken and rice are both recommended) but the star of the show is the khao moo deng moo krob (rice with red pork and crispy pork). Served with a tasty chicken soup, the pork is cooked to a heavenly standard. The red pork has a hint of sweetness, while the crispy pork has a satisfying crunch. Eaten over rice with a sweet source, it’s a lunchtime treat that’s shockingly cheap, too.
A large restaurant with an even larger food menu, Ruen Thip has been a place where Thais have come together for years. Serving traditional Thai fare to a high quality, Ruen Thip may set you back more than other restaurants but the atmosphere and occasional live music make it well worth the price. With a local crowd and karaoke available, it can quickly turn into one of your most memorable meal while travelling – for all the right reasons.
Anchalee Restaurant in Krabi | Courtesy of Anchalee
Despite being next to a main road, Anchalee’s tranquil atmosphere will help you feel right at home. With beautiful gardens providing a perfect backdrop to your meal, and private rooms for a more intimate atmosphere, it’s easy to see why it’s such a hit with Krabi’s locals. Expect the usual Thai favourites alongside regional dishes that are well worth a try.
The go-to place for an evening meal in Krabi Town, Poo Dam – or black crab in English – is named in honour of the famous crab statue that sits opposite the restaurant (though both now are landmarks in their own right). With a location that overlooks the water, this restaurant has delicious, freshly caught seafood (their speciality) proudly on display for customers to choose from, yet all of your usual Thai favourites are available too. You may have to wait for a table, and you might be sitting next to strangers, but it all helps add to the atmosphere of what is one of Krabi’s most celebrated restaurants.
Once a favourite of the local Muslim population and now loved by all, rotis are a staple southern Thai food. And nowhere does them better than Bangnara. With sweet rotis available alongside savoury ones served with curry, and a menu featuring other south of Thailand dishes – all at affordable prices – you can’t get a more local or delicious meal. Once finished, their thai tea and kopi drinks are the perfect choice to wash it all down with.
Located just at the edge of Krabi Town, on a road leading to Ao Nang, Kolobi has chef that have transformed noodles and soups into an art form. Sheltered from the busy road by trees and with a rustic wooden decor, this restaurant is a peaceful place to enjoy a bowl or two of chicken, duck or beef noodles, either as a soup or dry with soup on the side. Once you’re done, it doubles up as a coffee shop, serving hot drinks with picture-perfect patterns on top – or cold drinks if you overdid it with the chilli. Whether it’s your last meal on the way out of Krabi Town or your first one on the way in, one thing’s for sure: it’ll take a lot to beat Kolobi.
