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A la Carte(r)--For Foodies
Favorite Dining on Phuket
October 2004
In the autumn of 1989, I traveled 55,000 miles in 55 days to pick my favorites on all the routes plied by British Airways. They had asked me to write a guidebook for their first class sections and lounges around the world.
As the first traveler to write (quite different from a writer who travels, and much different from a “travel writer”) about Amanpuri and Phuket, my experiences also brought Edward Carter’s TRAVELS© into focus for discerning travelers worldwide who want to know where to go and what to avoid. An excerpt about Phuket, 1989:
“The island of Phuket (pronounced “pooKET”) is a counterpane of lush rubber plantations, swathes of bright green rice paddies, vast coconut-palm forests, deserted white beaches, turquoise translucent water, and rolling hills guardianed by pairs of caribou, barrels of monkeys, and flights of fancy. On top of it all, being in Thailand, visitors are cosseted by the most caring people in the universe.”
Today, because of non-stop development, Phuket has changed. Some of the palms are still standing but the beaches aren't very clean, and security guards have replaced most of the buffalos, and the Thais aren't so innocent and more.
In spite of it all, there are lovely pockets of serene beauty on the island like Amanpuri and the JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa.
Here are some of my favorite places to dine:
Owned and managed by The Cabana Hotel on Patong Beach, each of the 3 following is a few steps from the front door:
3 Spices—street-side on the main Beach Road with food from Europe, Thailand, and Australia. A live combo counterpoints the frantic street sounds.
Sala Bua Restaurant, just off the beach and the location of the buffet breakfast, has just been voted “Best Restaurant” on Phuket Island by Thailand Tattler restaurant guide.
La Salsa—oversized cocktails, Cuban cigars, and the fiery rhythms of Salsa, Mambo, and Meringue. One of the few bars with air-conditioning right in the middle and directly on the hustling, bustling main drag of Patong Beach.
La Mousson, Restaurant Français
Strolling the town of Patong, the oversize Burgundy glasses of this provincial Provençale restaurant caught my eye. Inside, slate floors, pale apricot walls, the occasional, antique, ex-Pat treasure (I’m talking furniture here), and the Louis XV caned chairs complete the illusion—you’d never have a clue you were in Thailand. Rene Leduc, the manager, kindly suggested from the menu, and I enjoyed an exquisite lobster salad, followed by a fillet of lamb enhanced with mushy cloves of garlic—wonderful! On the plate, a little basket carved from a cucumber held a bunch of seven-sided veggies that demonstrated the chef’s roots of classic training. The taste proved it. There are only 8 tables so you better book.
3 Soi Sawatdirak, Patong Beach. Tel: (076) 341468; email: lamousson@yahoo.fr
Best Italian: Da Maurizio is right on the rocky seafront opposite the Novotel Phuket Resort. It is one of three adjoining restaurants owned by an enterprising American with good taste. One is Otowa with authentic Japanese cuisine, and the other is Baan Rim Pa with terrific Thai food.
In 1989, Sassicia was my house wine in London. There are only four restaurants in New York City that stock it. So how good is Da Maurizio? Last night I enjoyed a bottle of 1996 Sassicia to accompany a great veal cutlet Parmesan. My companion had wonderful giant, pan-fried shrimp, and the sautéed spinach with garlic was as good as Griffone’s (the Negronis weren’t). $250 for two but the wine was about $200.
Da Maurizo, 100/9 Kalim Beach Rd, Patong. Telephone: 66-76 344 079; email: banrimpa@loxinfo.co.th; http://www.damaurizio.com
A bit further south is one of the best-known restaurant on the island, The Boathouse Inn & Restaurant. The Wine Spectator has awarded its cellar, and its situation on the beach is unmatched. The menu has tantalizing choices of both Thai and European cuisines. We started with Siamese Tapas, then shared Saltimbocca a la Romana, and a Thai-spiced, fillet mignon. The blueberry-covered, New York cheesecake was irresistible. With cocktails and a good Pommard, dinner for two was US$125.
And that’s just the beginning. Upstairs are 33 Thai-styled rooms (double is $185) and three suites ($350). The reasonable prices make it necessary to book well in advance. So if you are like me, and enjoy romantic, “boutique” hotels with style, professional service, and good food and wine, this one’s for you.
The Boathouse Inn & Restaurant, 2/2 Patak Road. Telephone: 330 015-7; email: theboathouse@phuket.ksc.co.th; http://www.boathousephuket.com/main.html
The Best:
In 1989, I wrote:
“Amanpuri is so stunningly beautiful, brilliantly engineered, and gloriously comfortable that one simply shakes one’s head, closes one’s eyes, and surrenders in disbelief.”
Today: Even though the entrance is now through the Chedi Hotel grounds instead of through the virgin forest, Amanpuri hasn’t changed.
We ate in the Italian restaurant. Absolutely delicious foie gras as an amuse guelle, and perhaps the best, fried zucchini and calamari I’ve ever had as a starter. We followed with roast chicken and rack of lamb accompanied by a 1993 Mondavi Merlot.
Across the dark pool, the musicians, now under a new swooping roof, still plink-plunk traditional Thai tunes, but last night they had to compete with the people at the next table on a cell phone trying to impress their neighbors back in Scarsdale.
Hey kids, we’ve got “No Smoking” zones, how about “No Phones?” …especially in paradise! ($230 for two.)
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DID YOU FIND THIS FREE ARTICLE INTERESTING AND/OR VALUABLE?
Please email me your travel tales, "postcards," and questions. I'll publish the most interesting, appropriate or outrageous in Correspondence - All the best, Ted (short for Edward)
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