Thai Food by Pranee

Please. If you’re in Hana do yourself a favor and stop by this food truck. Oh gosh my mouth is watering just thinking about it. We’ve gone to Hana twice this month just to eat here. So glad it’s open again. Friendly service, outstanding food. The crispy opakapaka with green mango/​papaya salad is a favorite. And if they have the special panang curry with mahi you have to get that too. Cool down your insides with a Thai iced tea with coconut milk. Once your food is ready sit at the tables outside, if there’s any room. If not, drive a minute down the road and enjoy your meal by the waters edge at the Hana bay harbor. Really it doesn’t get any better than this.
Be aware of their hours: sat-​tues 1030 – 4. Get there hungry. You won’t want to miss anything here!

Check the wait time guys. I’ve waited 40+ min for a 3 pm late lunch. No need to mention the food is good but the wait time… uhh don’t go if you don’t want to wait for so long.

Excellent excellent Thai food. Some of the best I’ve had and I’ve lived in places with a much higher concentration of Thai restaurants. Maybe it’s because she has access to fresh ingredients? Be prepared for a very casual atmosphere (think food truck with outdoor picnic tables)

This placed was closed when we tried to find it/​eat lunch there on ⁷⁄₂₆. A local told us they closed.

Eaten here before and had great food. Drove in today from Lahaina, many stops along the way, hung out at the red sand beach, walked back up and was starving for good Thai food. Walked over and «CLOSED»! What the hell? Here on Unilocal it says they are open 1030am-​4pm.
Lame. Lame. Lame. Glad I had some banana bread.

BEST THAI FOOD OUTSIDE OF THAILAND. No really, I mean it. I have traveled all over the world and dined in many many Thai restaurants. I’ve never tasted anything so good or so authentic (outside of Thailand) as Pranee’s little hut along the roadside. The spicy green mango/​papaya salad topped with fried fish is to die for. Just writing this review is making me want to go back. If you are within an hour’s drive of Hana make a diversion and stop here. Just make sure you come early enough in the day before the food runs out.

The food was great… the panang curry was particularly good :-) However, the prices reflect that you are here and there’s really nowhere else to go… I’d prefer them to be a bit more realistic with the prices… this was the most expensive lunch we’ve had in 2 weeks in the Hawaiian Islands and the location is a covered table on the main road… ;-)
…if you are in Hana, the choices are limited and this is definitely worth a stop :-)

Craziness!!!
What do you after you finish your drive on the road to Hana? You eat! And in a small town like Hana, choices aren’t as many. And don’t even think about going there on a sunday! it’s crazy! Well, so I did just that. I went to Hana on a sunday! Weeee.
The town itself says they had few other restaurants but this one was closest to the road! And also had quite a rating. So after 3 hours drive, we decided to give this place a try. A little shack on the side of the road across the high school. No covers or anything except a roof. All open! No bathrooms. No fancy anything. Kitchen as to your right as you arrive. And you can see all the tickets and the chef hustling up to fulfill them all.
We arrived around 2 pm and they close at 3 pm. But we were told that it would be an hour wait for our food. Our server gave us the option to put in our orders as togo and come back to eat it there. I happily took that option! Its a nice shack and all but I didn’t want to sit for an hour smelling all the spices and torture myself!
Half and hour to forty minutes to roaming around near by beaches and roads later, we came back! They close at 3 pm. And it was 3 pm! But our ticket was still not in. So we sat outside and waited for it!
Service: good. Many waiters and one chef handled a huge hungry crowd as fast as they can.
Food: fresh, spicy and tasty!
Drunken noodles ~ super spicy and tasty!
Drunken fish! Their signature dish and very popular. I took the sauce on the side.
Stir fry chicken and ginger — super tasty and fresh!
I wanted spicier so they brought me fresh Hawaiian peppers. Holy Hotness! it was pretty epic. Piping hot food, minimal yet perfect spices!!! Oh so fresh! the only downfall? I got major mosquito bites on my face and arm that day. Its on the side of the road, its open. And surrounded by trees. I don’t know what or how it got me but I had a golf ball size bump on my face for a good week and a half. Majorly itch, painful and all that.
Next time around, I’m taking my food to go as planned. Was it worth an hour wait? it was! Will I wait again for so long? Definitely! When you know food is good, you better just wait. Or miss out!

I heard about this little hidden gem from locals. I’m born and raised on Maui. It’s an open-​restaurant which I loved. You can eat your food looking at the flowers, etc. we had the Salmon with curry and Thai Iced Tea with coconut milk. I can’t wait to go back!!!

Stopped by here for lunch while driving down the Road to Hana. When we got there, it was packed! Were told the wait would be about 40 minutes for food… turned out to be a little over an hour, which meant we were rushed for a hike we had planned. So don’t go here if you’re in a rush or short on time.
The food was pretty good. I’m pretty sure every order was made from scratch by two little Thai ladies in the open kitchen given that 1 – 2 dishes would be delivered to a table every 5 minutes. We got drunken noodles w chicken (3 stars), tom kha soup with chicken (3 stars), yellow curry with beef (4 stars), and the papaya salad (4.5 stars). It wasn’t the most amazing Thai food I’ve ever had in my life, but it was good for being in the middle of nowhere and the portions were huge!
They do take credit card now. Also the bathroom in the ballpark was closed when we went (a couple days after Christmas), so had to go down to the Beach Park area to use the public restrooms there (during the hour long wait for food), which is about a 10 – 15 min walk from the restaurant.

Why are the best restaurants always in the most interesting or remote places? You’d think that a lack of competition would lead to subpar food. I find that to never be the case and this place was great despite it’s middle of nowhere location.
Located behind the resort and the school in Hana, Thai Food by Pranee can be seen under a tent in the untamed jungle. The food smells will waft you toward the tent if you are unable to find it. Once inside, diners will be treated to views of the specials of the day and told they can sit wherever they like. The interactions with the staff were great. They were low key and friendly.
I would talk more about the interesting atmosphere of this place, but once the food came out, I was taken to another place and forgot where I was. The food was so fresh and flavorful. I love when food fills you up, but doesn’t make you feel gross and this food definitely did that. I could have kept eating forever. The specials come with rice and vegetables and it was the perfect mix of elements to a great meal.
If you drive all the way to Hana and don’t stop for lunch at Pranee, then something is wrong with you. You are missing out on a one of a kind meal that you can remember for the rest of your life. I would highly recommend eating here when in the Hana area.

Delicious pad thai!
The boyfriend and I stopped here in hana for some lunch as part of our ‘road to hana’ road trip. We were seated right away, and ordered thai iced tea which was really good. We both got the pad thai which wad scrumptious. It did take a while for our food to come out, but the waiter said everything is handmade, and the wait was well worth it.
I’d definitely recommend everyone to stop by this place if theyre driving on the road to hana!

We arrived here around 12:45 on a Sunday. We were lucky that we were able to walk right in and get a seat.
Pranee’s presents tasty fresh food in a rustic environment. As you walk in and up the crooked congrete steps, you see the entire kitchen (hot plate cooking), and they show you the specials that have been prepared for the day.
We were able to choose seats at a high counter looking out into the yard next to the restaurant and we had an excellent view of the downpour going on outside.
Tom Kha: Thai coconut soup with giant pieces of vegetable. The flavor was exquisite, and I just wished I hadn’t been 4 hours away from my hotel room. I would have loved to have saved my leftovers and eaten them later.
Special: Hana Bay Bay Mahi Mahi with Panag Curry: It’s a fairly easy walk from Pranee’s to Hana Bay, so this fish was fresh. It was a delight and one of my favorite dishes of my weeklong trip to Maui.
Special: Red Curry Chicken with Thai Local Squash. This dish was very good, but paled in comparison to the Mahi Mahi. When in Maui, stick to fish.

Great experience here.
They had a lightly fried pink snapper salad with mango — best thai dish I’ve ever had, it was amazing.
Pad thai was good, different than any pad thai I’ve had on the mainland, but definitely good.
Thai coffees were great (had one with coconut cream and the other with condensed milk).
People working there were so pleasant.
Didn’t like many things in Hana, but my GF said she would consider going back just for pranee!

I’ve eaten at Pranee’s in Hana several times before, but this is my first time writing a review.
Today I brought two visitors from Oregon to Hana, and as we approached I gave them the rundown of the limited dining options and was thrilled when they chose «Thai» over burgers and fries from the ranch restaurant, a la carte picnic snacks from Hasegawa’s, and some of the food carts on the road to/​from (nothing against any of those, by the way — all enjoyable in their own way).
From the moment we arrived, we were greeted with warm and friendly Aloha by a nice fellow (like a marvelous concierge) — he checked on us throughout our meal to make sure everything was just as we wanted it to be. He showed us the daily specials, lifting the lids of the two — red curry with chicken and coconut curry with fresh mahi mahi (fish).
We chose outside seating at one of three tables on the patio, ordered some cool drinks and our food: my guests ordered one of each special, I ordered panang curry with chicken extra spicy. There were choices of rice — jasmine white and jasmine brown (no extra charge — as is common in many Maui restaurants). Also an order of salad rolls that I didn’t pay attention to because I’m not a fan — though they were beautiful looking.
And then lickety split — our food was ready! And nom, nom, nom — we gorged our way through our delicious meals. SO delicious — fresh, fresh, fresh. Nom, nom, nom. (My panang curry was such a generous portion I took home half for dinner.) Beautiful presentation of all the dishes. The tropical outdoor setting made everything seem even more delectable.
Did I mention the service? Outstanding — very local and friendly and attentive without being overbearing in any way.
Woohoo! As good as it gets!

Came here in a group of six. I like how they show the daily specials to you right when you walk in. None of us ordered the daily specials, but it’s because we’re all set in our habits from dining at Thai places in LA.
I did not find my chicken fried rice spectacular. In fact, it was overly seasoned (salty) and it was weird how the vegetables were left unseasoned. It did not go well together. My friend was equally unimpressed by the fried rice. My relatives enjoyed their food more than I did.
Also, for the length of our lunch, we had the pleasure of trying to shoo away a pesky fly.
Anyway, it’s great (and more convenient) that you can now pay with a credit card. Also good is the big fan to keep customers cool.

The shrimp pad Thai was delicious. I asked for extra peanuts in mine. Usually I order the classic pad Thai plate whenever I visit a Thai restaurant and this had to be in my top 5.
It’s nice how the kitchen was right off the side, you can smell the food cooking. Unless the food specials near the front had just been put out, you’ll probably just get a cold plate of food if there are only a few helpings of it left (mainly due to the hostess repeatedly opening the hot container to show e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e. what exactly is on the special). Just order a plate off the menu and it will be cooked to order.
The flies flying around are ridiculous, but that’s what you get for eating outside under the shade. And avoid the free water from the large blue Lowe’s water dispenser… My hawaiian local friend from the big island said it tasted weird like it came from a hose. Get a bottle of water instead.
Oh, there is free wi-​fi available from the Spa attached to the restaurant, and you can bring your own beer/​wine/​alcohol to enjoy with your meal! They accept credit card payments using their Square reader on their iPads.

Those who have done the road to Hana know «it’s all about the journey and not the destination». This is basically a nice way to say there isn’t jack $hit to do in Hana. However one of the bright spots in Hana is Thai food by Pranee.
The dearth of good restaurants (or restaurants in general) make this a hot spot for pilgrims on the Road to Hana. The restaurant is not much to look at, just some outdoor seating with plastic chairs an no bathroom. However the food here is absolutely legit. This venue is usually packed and entrees can run out quickly especially the specials.
My wife had one of the last Mahi curry specials and it was absolutely delightful. I had the drunken noodles with beef and all i can say is HOLY COW ITS SPICY! Thank God I did not order it with extra spice. I have an iron stomach and absolutely love my food spicy but I was sweating profusely by the time I finished this. It was delicious but probably on the border of what I can tolerate.
The waiter told us that «mama» made him a truly spicy thai dish one time and his mouth was burning for hours after. Trust me DON“T ORDER EXTRA SPICY.
Anyway the food here is absolutely great. I would probably give it five stars if we weren’t seated next to the busing station with all the dirty dishes as there were flies everywhere.
Definitely a recommended stop in Hana if you are looking for some good food.

If you’re staying in Hana, you probably already know that the food options are limited, especially at night. So, if you pop into Pranee’s at lunch and you see the fresh salad rolls up near the front, get an order (lettuce, mint avocado and other veggies with a peanut dipping sauce) and stick them in your fridge to have on hand for dinner.
Everything here is tasty, but you’re in Hawaii so definitely sample the fish.

Make no mistake: this really is a shack in the middle of the jungle with a Thai woman cooking on a wok in a tiny makeshift jungle kitchen. Yes, those really ARE gigantic live spiders on the vines just outside of the shack’s open sides– best to just not look out if you are squeamish like me about spiders.
This place is cheap, it’s surreal, it’s dirty (it IS in the jungle, mind you) and it was the best food we had on Maui. We love Thai food– this is authentic, cheap and spicy and was the perfect lunch on a long day to Hana. I cannot recommend this place more. Go expecting to eat outside in the jungle with just the basics. This is the experience of Pranee’s. The food is outstanding and it feels a bit like camping. The huge spiders even add an element of danger! :)