The story
Tucked away in a jungle-fringed bamboo dome in Tambon Sai Thai, Run Mai Restaurant has earned a devoted following for its authentic southern Thai cooking. Luke Martin, who calls it his “personal favorite restaurant in Krabi,” highlights the burnt eggplant salad as a must-try, alongside dishes like southern Thai curry with chicken and stir-fried moringa leaves. The menu also includes fried pork belly with garlic and a sweet banana dessert in coconut syrup, all served in a rustic, scenic setting that feels both local and Instagrammable.
With a 4.7-star rating and a reputation for using rare ingredients, this floating-style venue requires reservations and offers outdoor seating surrounded by greenery. It’s the kind of place where the setting and the food work in harmony, delivering a memorable taste of Krabi’s coastal-meets-jungle character.
Synthesised by AI from every creator’s review. First reviewed 2025.
Most-loved dishes
AI summary of what 5 dish mentions say about the food
Reviewers rave about Run Mai’s burnt eggplant spicy salad, calling it a smoky, addictive standout. The overall vibe is warm, rustic Thai comfort food done with bold, honest flavor.
“This is my favorite dish here. It's burnt eggplant with coconut milk and shrimp, topped with fried shallots, onions, mint, and an egg. The eggplant is completely melt-in-your-mouth soft, and you can taste the smokiness right away. It's a little bit spicy, but nice and creamy from the coconut milk. This is a dish I've never seen anywhere else in Thailand — it's phenomenal.”
What creators say
1 creator has covered Run Mai Restaurant. Most active: Luke Martin
- Luke MartinLoved
Eating Thailand's 7 COLOR LOBSTER 🇹🇭 Krabi's BEST Floating Seafood Restaurant! · @ 25:58
My personal favorite restaurant in Krabi, serving authentic southern Thai food with rare ingredients in a stunning bamboo dome surrounded by jungle — the burnt eggplant salad is a must-try.
Dishes mentioned
Burnt Eggplant Spicy Salad
This is my favorite dish here. It's burnt eggplant with coconut milk and shrimp, topped with fried shallots, onions, mint, and an egg. The eggplant is completely melt-in-your-mouth soft, and you can taste the smokiness right away. It's a little bit spicy, but nice and creamy from the coconut milk. This is a dish I've never seen anywhere else in Thailand — it's phenomenal.
Prick Gang (Southern Thai Curry with Chicken)
This is a classic southern Thai curry, really thick, with free-range chicken and green peppercorns. It has a strong flavor of kaffir lime leaves, and you can see all the kaffir lime leaves in there. Southern Thai food is really spicy — as soon as it hits your tongue, it's just burning hot. But it doesn't just burn, you can taste all the herbs and spices. It's killer spicy but really flavorful.
Baiang (Stir-Fried Moringa Leaves with Egg)
This is M's favorite dish. It's moringa leaves stir-fried with lots of egg and big chunks of garlic. Moringa leaf is like a super vegetable, really high in antioxidants and nutrition. It's got a lot of flavor — kind of earthy, really vegetably flavor, but also a lot of garlic. It helps cool down the spicy curry for sure.
Fried Pork Belly with Garlic
You cannot go wrong with this. Super crispy pork belly with fried garlic. The sauce is red but don't worry, it's not spicy — it's actually got a little bit of a vinegary sourness. This is perfect if some of the other dishes are too spicy for you. The yellow color comes from turmeric, which makes southern Thai food more special.
Banana with Coconut Milk and Syrup (Gluey Kai)
For dessert we ordered a special type of banana called gluey kai (egg banana) with coconut milk and syrup. It's served warm. The banana is super sweet, super super sweet, but it's a harder banana — it's got some bite to it, not a crunch. It's much more dense than a regular banana. This helps cool off the spiciness from the curry. I've never had this dessert before and it's really good.
