Krabi street food

One of our favourite street food in Krabi is the roti (or prata) that's filled with fresh fruit. We found this particular stall in Ao Nang beach that serves the crispy treats at THB20 each. This makes a delicious snack any time of the day.

First the lady cuts the fruit or nuts of your choice (banana, mango, pineapple, raisins ... the choice is endless) ...

Then folds it into the roti that's frying to a crisp on the griddle ....
Then folds it and voila! The perfect snack!




Some enterprising stalls also sells sandwiches which I guess is to cater to their Western clientele.
Others sell local treats like BBQ chicken, young papaya salad, sausages and desserts.

The choice of street food in Krabi is endless and best of all, cheap and delicious!

Krabi Town

The main town of Krabi is located about 30 minutes drive from Klong Muang. Krabi Town reminds me of the small towns in Malaysia. It’s not much different except for some very unique traffic lights! The traffic lights at the Krabi Town Square are held up by ape-men statues to commemorate the archaeological findings of 43,000-year-old human skeletons in the Krabi district.
The main road in Krabi town is filled with rows of shops including food shops where visitors can have a cheap authentic local meal. There are also some food stalls along the pavements for a quick pick-me-up. For visitors who would like to engage in a spot of retail therapy, there’s the Vogue Shopping Mall in the middle of the town. It’s quite small, but adequate I guess. There’s a small supermarket and a Boots pharmacy on the ground floor as well as a KFC and Dunkin’ Donuts.

We also spotted a brand new Wat (temple) being built nearby at the back of a hill.

Away from the main street, there’s also a market opposite the City Hotel. When we were there at 1pm, there were many fruit stalls where the king of fruits, the durian, are sold as well as many other local fruits. A section of the market houses food stalls selling Muslim food. The fragrance of the curries filling the air is really hard to resist! Chao Fa Pier is also located nearby. I’m told that a night market opens every night in Krabi Town where visitors can buy souvenirs and other local foodstuff.

Unfortunately, we were not able to go to Krabi Town at night as again, transportation costs from our resort is really expensive! It costs THB500 per way from the resort which works out to almost RM50 each way!

Finally, there’s also a Big C Shopping Mall and Tesco Lotus (where I’m told there’s lots of great Thai food!) on the way to the airport.

All said, I think Krabi Town is a good location to stay if accessibility is what visitors look for. The only downside is there’s no beach.

Food discoveries at Ruen Mai Restaurant, Krabi

One of the most amazing food discoveries we had in Krabi was at Ruenmai-Thai Restaurant near Krabi Town. I've read about this restaurant in several blog posts so it was already one of my top to-do-lists in Krabi. The entrance to Ruen Mai is simple, just a little dirt road off the main road. It’s hidden from view, so entering into this restaurant made me feel like I’ve stepped off into some exotic oasis. Ruen Mai is set within the confines of a “mini jungle”. There’s a small stream that runs through the garden as well as a small pond where carps thrive. Big lanterns are hung on the trees, to light up the restaurant at night I presume. I imagine it must be a lovely sight at night. It’s also a great place to have a quiet meal amidst the flora. Young explorers will be kept happy whilst their parents enjoy a nice meal as there’s lots to explore here. We ordered the Tom Yam Koong (Tom Yam Prawn Soup) which came in a claypot packed with big prawns. The prawns were extremely fresh and the soup was perfectly sour and spicy! This is the best tom yam soup I’ve had yet! The mango salad with cashew nuts were good as well. The crisp julienne young mango contrasted perfectly with the crunchy roasted cashew nuts.We also ordered a plate of stir-fried ferns. Very tasty! The last dish was the egg omelette with fresh crab meat. There were chunky pieces of crab meat in the fluffy omelette which our daughter loved. The omelette was not too oily either. As it was a hot day, we ordered watermelon juice (perfect to keep cool) and mandarin orange juice. The juices were thick and nice, the perfect thirst quenchers!

Ruenmai-Thai Restaurant is located at 315/5 Maharaj Road, Muang Krabi, 81000 Thailand. Tel : 075-631797. If you're ever in Krabi, this is one restaurant you don't want to miss!

Good food at Ao Nang Beach

Ao Nang is the nearest town (or at least a resemblance of it) to Klong Muang Beach where our resort is at. So to fill our hungry tummies, we set off for Ao Nang beach in search of dinner. Getting into Ao Nang can be very costly. Our hotel shuttle costs THB200 per person both ways, whilst a taxi (which we hailed from outside the hotel) costs THB900 both ways. For all the traveling we’ve done in various countries, this has got to be the most expensive considering it’s just a short 10 minute drive away.

Ao Nang is basically a stretch of hotels, restaurants and shops catering for the tourist masses. Of course, there’s also the Ao Nang beach popular with tourists. The beach overlooks the islands on Krabi’s island hopping trail including Poda Island. The islands dotting the sparkling blue water makes for a picturesque view. Tut-tuts offer a cheaper alternative to the taxis at about THB400 per way to Klong Muang. The tut-tuts here are very colorful and interesting. Shopping in Ao Nang isn’t quite full of choices. Most shops sell the same stuff, save for one or two unique ones. There’s a Burger King, McDonalds and even Starbucks for those who can’t live without their burgers and coffee. Those with more adventurous taste-buds can settle for a nice Thai seafood dinner at the many restaurants as well as open air food courts. There are of course, the obligatory Italian, Swiss and Western restaurants to cater to the western tourists.

We had dinner the first night at Bernie’s which serves a BBQ buffet for about THB200 per person. There’s a spread of items such as sausages, fish, pork chops, corn and beef that guests can choose for the BBQ, as well as a selection of noodles, pasta, rice, soups and salads. It’s pretty good value for the price we paid, but not exactly what we looked for.

The second night we had dinner at the open air food court where we chose fresh seafood to be cooked any style we liked. I liked the ambience here with it's tables covered in batik and area lighted up with little lightbulbs. The food selection was great and the food absolutely scrumptious! It’s one of the best food we’ve had in Krabi. I absolutely loved the Som Tam (Thai young papaya salad) which came with perfect harmony of sweetness and sourish delight! The seafood were very fresh! We also ordered freshly blended mango juice which was thick and smooth and absolutely delicious! For our meal of tom yam koong (Tom Yam prawn soup), steamed fish, mixed stir-fried vegetables with mushroom, hot-plate seafood and chicken, som tam and drinks, the bill came to about THB550 which is extremely good value for such great food.

Beautiful moments with Rara

Say hello to Rara, Sheraton Krabi Resort’s resident baby elephant. Rara comes out to play with guests daily at 10:00am and 3:00pm for an hour each time. And boy, does she play! She frolics in the sea with the guests ……
Kisses them with her trunk …… Walks with the guests by holding their hands with her trunk … Lets them give her a bath …. Raises them on her trunk ….. And takes them on rides to the beach …. We literally waited out at the beach everyday for Rara to make her grand appearance at the beach. She’s incredibly tame and cute. The little children loved her, as well as the adults!

The mahouts obviously adore their cute charge. They feed her with bananas, cajole her to kiss the guests, mockingly chide her for stealing bananas from the bag. It is such a joy to see Rara and her mahouts interacting so perfectly. My daughter loved spending time with Rara so much that when we checked out of the resort, she cried all the way to the airport which was a 30 minute drive away. Big tears for a baby elephant that she missed so much! We’ve assured her that Rara is well-taken cared of, and promised her that we’ll return one day to visit. I certainly can’t wait to go back myself to see Rara. A visit with Rara is almost magical and we’re fortunate to have had so many sweet memories with her.