Wednesday 13 February 2013

Ruan Maai Sai Klong restaurant, Lan Saka

During our two recent visits to Lan Saka, there was one restaurant that we visited multiple times per day, for lunch and for dinner! It was that good!!
The Ruan Maai Sai Klong easily held it's own with my fave places on Koh Samui, easily! Not only was the food delicious. it was also served on nice plates and heavy cutlery was used, in total contrast to about 95% of all restaurants in Thailand.


View from the side, with the main road to the left and the river to the right

Besides the excellent food and the cutlery, the dishes were also served in a nice way, with appropriate china. To find such a place in the province was quite astonishing. Not to mention that the staff and the owner are very nice and friendly. 


The sign to look for

Coming out of Lan Saka, eastbound, Ruan Maai Sai Klong is on the left hand side, about a kilometer outside of town, not too far away from the hospital.
The sign pictured above is what to look for and as the sign says, they even offer free wifi. It almost doesn't get any better, this far away from a city!


Outdoor seating, watch your head though for the ornaments!

The interior is all teak wood which gives it a warm and cosy feeling but watch out, the ornaments in the picture above can be a game breaker. They are positioned very low and one day when we were sitting there, I cut my head open over 5 cm because I stood up too early and I had to go to the local hospital, to have it checked out. It didn't need stitches but it was closed up somehow.
A local who was visiting at the same time as us told my wife that he had experienced the same problem and hence didn't go sit at that specific location anymore.
It didn't stop me for going back though and enjoy more food. We got a 10% discount and I have a gauze on my head (still have when writing this)!


Cashewnuts with a sweet sauce on top for starters

Each meal started with a free starter offered by the restaurant, most of the times fruit but one day we got these delicious cashew nuts with a sweet, sticky sauce on top of them. Excellent!


Yam Makheua yaow, Grilled Eggplant Salad ยำมะเขือเปราะ

One of my fave salads is the above pictured Yam Makheua Yaow, with it's smokey flavor, just delicious if done the right way and the taste here was outstanding!


Deep fried fish in sweet tamarind sauce

My wife kept outdoing herself with excellent orders and one of the highlights for me was this deep fried fish with a sweet tamarind sauce, it was almost as if the sauce was caramelized into the fish. This was during lunch and I had her order it again during dinner!


Yam plaa duuk foo (Crispy Catfish Green Mango Salad) ยำปลาดุกฟู

An old fave is the Yam Plaa Duuk Foo, done in an excellent way with the mango salad separated, so you could mix at your own convenience. Once more, really nice and we had this dish twice or three times, I lost track!


The small river next to the restaurant

Two other dishes we had worthwhile mentioning where Yam Saam Krob ยำสามกรอบ, a crispy and spicy salad which is not found often at a restaurant and last but not least we also had Plaa Pow Klua เมี่ยงปลาเผาเกลือ, a bbq'd fish.

If you happen to be in Lan Saka, make sure to make a pit stop at Ruang Maai Sai Klong and enjoy the excellent food. The menu is in Thai only, so hopefully you are visiting with a Thai person or otherwise this post can help you.

Don't forget to use my Camille's Samui hotel recommendation blog and my Camille's Thailand hotel recommendation blog for all your hotel bookings on Koh Samui and around Thailand. By doing so, you will support my blog. Thanks folks!

Camille

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