Mor Mu Dong Restaurant

Mor Mu Dong Restaurant Review ✓

Mor Mu Dong received a rating in the Phuket Michelin Guide.

Mor Mu Dong is quite an unusual restaurant in Phuket. If you enjoy eating off the beaten tracks, where many locals go for a great lunch or dinner, Mor Mu Dong is your place. Every Phuket resident knows it, and you have to count the cars in the parking to know that something special is cooking here.

People travel a long way to come to Mor Mu Dong. It’s so local and good, even Andrew Zimmern from the famous TV show ‘Bizarre Food’ had lunch here and featured it in his Thailand episode.

Mor Mu Dong is down-to-earth and back-to-basics, with a lot of charm for a lazy Sunday lunch or even for dinner with friends or colleagues after work. It is simple and rustic, but the food is delicious. You can choose to eat in small private wooden ‘Salas’ built over the mangrove or simply under the trees. It sounds fancy, but in reality, it’s not: concrete tables, plastic chairs, plastic plates, period.

If you’ve never seen one, a sala is a little wooden pavilion without walls, with just a thatched roof. It’s a fun experience if you haven’t tried it yet. This is what travelling is all about. You and your friends sit around a low table placed on a rug, with a view of the mangrove, enjoying a gentle breeze. A sala can accommodate six to twelve people around a single low table.

Of course, when the tide is low, you’ll see more mud than water, but it still is fun for a very local dinner while watching hundreds of tiny little red crabs wandering around. If you are not ready for an entire meal sitting on the floor, some larger huts offer regular tables with normal chairs.

What to Eat at Mor Mu Dong?

The food is the reason people travel such a long way to reach Mor Mu Dong. The menu is extensive, serving a mix of Thai food and seafood. Many dishes are Phuket specialities, and they have a way of making them look delicious. While you are waiting, they will serve some slices of green fruits like guava and green mangoes, plus a choice of fresh vegetables. That should get you into the mood. You’ll get to enjoy a beer with ice in it, the way locals do when it’s hot out there, and that always surprises or even shocks foreigners.

Hor Mok Talay

Hor Mok Talay is a fish mousse or custard typically made by mixing together a variety of seafood, such as fish, shrimp, squid, and mussels, with coconut milk, curry paste, and eggs. The mixture is then steamed in banana leaf cups, which give the dish its distinctive shape and aroma.

Gaeng Som Cha-Om

Gaeng Som Cha-Om is a southern Thai sour curry made with tamarind and turmeric, often featuring fish and acacia omelette slices.

Pak Miang Goong Siah

Pak Miang Goong Siah is a southern Thai dish featuring a local leafy green vegetable stir-fried with Goong Siah, which are large prawns or shrimp. The dish is typically cooked with eggs, garlic, and light seasonings like fish sauce and oyster sauce. Pak Miang’s slightly bitter flavour pairs well with the sweetness of the prawns.

Pak Good Salad

Pak Good Salad is a Thai salad made with fern shoots, which are young, tender fiddlehead ferns. This dish combines the lightly blanched ferns with a tangy and slightly spicy dressing made from lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar, and chilli. Often, it includes ingredients like shallots, roasted coconut, dried shrimp, or peanuts for added flavour and texture.

Moo Kua Klua

Moo Kua Klua is a simple yet flavorful stir-fried pork dish from Mor Mu Dong, cooked with salt and garlic for a crispy and served with fresh chillies.

Nam Prik Goong Sod

Nam Prik Goong Sod is a classic Thai dish featuring a spicy shrimp paste dip served with fresh and steamed vegetables.

Hoi Chak Tin

Hoi Chak Tin is a type of shellfish popular in southern Thai cuisine. These cockles are typically steamed or boiled and served with a spicy seafood dipping sauce made from chillies, garlic, lime, and fish sauce. They’re prized for their slightly sweet, salty flavour and tender texture.

Pla Tu Yad Sai

Pla Tu Yad Sai is a speciality of the Mor Mu Dong restaurant in Phuket. It features mackerel stuffed with a spicy herb paste made from ingredients like red curry paste, garlic, and lemongrass, then grilled to perfection. It’s a unique and flavorful southern Thai dish.

Pla Pao

Pla Pao is a steamed fish in a salt crust that takes no less than 30 minutes to cook. Something you usually don’t find in such a local restaurant. It is genuinely delicious, soft and moist. We love its simple and delicate texture, and the taste of salt is just enough; no sauce is needed (but some will be served).

Tom Yam Talay

Tom Yam Talay is a classic Thai spicy and sour soup with mixed seafood, including prawns, squid, and fish, infused with lemongrass, lime leaves, galangal, and chilli, served in a traditional hot pot for added warmth and aroma.

Khao Anchan

Khao Anchan is rice that has been naturally dyed blue using the extract from butterfly pea flowers (dok anchan in Thai). The butterfly pea flower not only adds a striking color but also subtle earthy notes to the rice. It is sometimes combined with coconut milk for additional richness in desserts.

Mor Mu Dong Photos

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Local Thai Restaurants in Phuket

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