March 2016

SAMUI

www.samuiholiday.com

FREE COPY

MARCH 2016

Seafood Beach BBQ Buffet, Mondays & Thursdays Sareeraya Villas & Suites

Call + 66 (0) 77 914 333 www.sareeraya.com

Life Is Good You’re in the perfect place to enjoy life to the full – so go ahead!

This is one of the best times of the year to come to Samui. The sulky days of the rainy season are in the past, but the oppressive heat of our ‘summer’ has yet to come. In theory, next month’s Thai New Year of ‘Songkran’ heralds the hottest point of the year. And so right now it’s just perfect for the beach, or for heading off on one of those lazy trips around the islands, complete with a tropical lunch on the beach.

But, talking of lunch, you’ll need to adjust a bit.

Those customary lunch-hours with a sit-down meal just don’t work over here – and anyway, you’re not tied to the clock anymore. So you’ll

probably end up doing exactly what the Thai people do; eating little and often, and saving the special meal for the cool and early part of the night. A salad or a sandwich will fill the gap around mid-day. And, again, late afternoon maybe . . . just another little nibble.

And then you’re totally spoiled for choice! Our island is a foodie paradise. Maybe a rustic shack on the beach with a seafood barbecue. Or something gourmet and 5-course. Italian? Indian?

Chinese, Korean or even Thai! We’ve got it all, and far cheaper than you’re accustomed to.

Enjoy!

SAMUI

SAMUI

Seafood Beach BBQ Buffet, Mondays & Thursdays

www.samuiholiday.com

FREE COPY

MARCH 2016

Sareeraya Villas & Suites

Call + 66 (0) 77 914 333 www.sareeraya.com

Life Is Good You’re in the perfect place to enjoy life to the full – so go ahead!

This is one of the best times of the year to come to Samui. The sulky days of the rainy season are in the past, but the oppressive heat of our ‘summer’ has yet to come. In theory, next month’s Thai New Year of ‘Songkran’ heralds the hottest point of the year. And so right now it’s just perfect for the beach, or for heading off on one of those lazy trips around the islands, complete with a tropical lunch on the beach.

But, talking of lunch, you’ll need to adjust a bit.

Those customary lunch-hours with a sit-down meal just don’t work over here – and anyway, you’re not tied to the clock anymore. So you’ll

probably end up doing exactly what the Thai people do; eating little and often, and saving the special meal for the cool and early part of the night. A salad or a sandwich will fill the gap around mid-day. And, again, late afternoon maybe . . . just another little nibble.

And then you’re totally spoiled for choice! Our island is a foodie paradise. Maybe a rustic shack on the beach with a seafood barbecue. Or something gourmet and 5-course. Italian? Indian?

Chinese, Korean or even Thai! We’ve got it all, and far cheaper than you’re accustomed to.

Enjoy!

Graeme Malley Editor

Preeda Tuajob (Puy) Graphic Designer

The Best of Both There’s Thai and there’s tourist, but at Sabienglae, you’ll discover the best of both worlds!

Akaphon Phongninlaarphon (Don) Photographer

Seksak Kerdkanno (Klauy) Webmaster

Rob De Wet Feature Writer

Dimitri Waring Feature Writer

Natalie Hughes Feature Writer

Peter James Feature Writer

Nipawan Chuaysagul (Ning) Sales & Marketing Director ning@siammap.com Tel: 0 898 783 891

Henrik Bjørk Managing Director

Siam Map Company Ltd. 52/6, Samui Ring Road, Moo 3, Bo Phut, Samui, 84320 Thailand Tel: (66) 0 7742 2201 Fax: (66) 0 7741 3523 email: info@siammap.com www.siammap.com All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or pictorial content in any manner is prohibited without written permission from Siam Map Company Ltd. Whilst every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this publication, Siam Map Company Ltd. assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. c Siam Map Company Ltd. 2016

Distribution at Bangkok Airport courtesy of Bangkok Airways.

Reservation Center: 1771 Samui Chaweng Office: 0 7760 1300 www.bangkokair.com

Please recycle or pass on to a friend.

Usually there are just two ways to go. Take someone who’s here for a week. When they go out to eat, they want somewhere pretty. That’s the main thing. The best is on the beach, with little nooks and crannies, warm, subtle, lighting and lots of atmosphere. Then it must be clean everywhere, with a Euro-quality bathroom. And then it’s essential that the menu is in English. The quality of the cuisine is not that important – as long as the food is not cold or the seafood sour – or the service keeps them waiting. At the bottom of the list is the cost. Where they come from a meal like this costs €30, so they’re not bothered about counting the pennies.

And then there are the people who stay here, some full time, others coming and going, but most on a budget of one kind or another. They can speak a bit of Thai. They don’t care about the toilet, or that they are eating in a shed with plastic tables and hard overhead strip-lights, or if it’s by the sea or not. Their priority is cost.

They’ve been here long enough to explore.

They’ve found the Thai eateries that need digging out. And they’ve decided against the ones where the food is bland or iffy. And now they have four or five favourites where they’ll pay 85 baht for a great curry with rice, and 50 baht for a beer.

And never the two shall meet. Take your pick.

Cheap Thai basic eating shop, or attractive up-market main street/seaside restaurant, at four times the price. There are few exceptions – not many places where East meets West, so to speak.

But there’s one notable exception. And that’s Sabienglae.

Sabienglae is something of a Samui legend. The original restaurant was, and still is, on the beach near the Grandmother and Grandfather rocks (Hin Ta Hin Yai) in Lamai. And running it was one man, Khun Amnart, together with his wife.

He toured around the local fishermen each day, and his wife worked on the results in the kitchen.

But she also made her own special sauces and dips, and the locals loved them. It grew in popularity and the restaurant expanded. None of the staff spoke English, and the menu was only in Thai. But its reputation spread, and was a popular place for those in the know – Thais and foreigners alike.

Twenty years on and everything’s changed. Now the jewel in Khun Amnart’s crown is the spiffy new Sabienglae that sits in a hugely prominent position, right in the busiest part of Fisherman’s Village, a part of the charming ‘The Wharf’

development. Here the furniture is contemporary-modern, the lighting is subtle and low key, the menu is in Thai, English and Chinese, and most of the staff speak very good English. But here’s the best bit. The prices are subtle, too. It’s a prime position, right next to the sea in one of Samui’s most popular tourist haunts, yet your bill won’t reflect this.

In the last couple of decades, the quality of the fare has ramped-up hugely, too. Farewell to the stringy local chicken, and hello to corn-fed organic poultry. There’s low-cal curry with Japanese Wagyu beef or New Zealand lamb and imported mussels from New Zealand, plus live lobsters, prawns and fish in the tanks at the rear.

And it’s not just for the tourists. Khun Amnart has not forgotten his roots, and you’ll see Thai diners (some even come from the mainland) enjoying and appreciating an excellent meal at a sensible price.

The actual menu itself is an object lesson to restaurants everywhere. Every item has a vivid high-resolution photo to go with it – so much more effective than just a list of names. And it’s an extensive menu, too. The restaurant is open from the early morning though into the night.

And so there’s a big range of snacks and nibbles; sandwiches and burgers, fries, chicken in the basket, schnitzels, spaghetti, salads and Thai appetisers. Plus an impressive variety of all-day breakfasts, ranging from toast and marmalade through to American and the English Full Monty.

And, of course, there’s an extensive range of all the Thai dishes you could wish for, including salads, soups, deep-fried dishes, curries, stir-fries, steamed and fried seafood meat and poultry, noodle dishes and curries.

But the star of the show has to be the seafood that Khun Amnart still buys-in fresh each day from the nearest market on Big Buddha Beach, much of which – the crab, king prawn, lobster and fish – can be selected live from the tanks. In all, there are choices of oysters, cockles, mussels, king and mantis prawns, lobsters, and a variety of fish, according to the catch of the day. Of note here is a sidebar featuring the ‘Lobster Massaman Curry’, which is a Southern dish usually made with chicken; the lobster meat is a wonderful, creamy alternative!

The range of drinks is equally as impressive.

There are fresh juices, plus smoothies and shakes, and a big range of beers. There’s a

A drink from Paradise...available on Earth

Located at Tesco Lotus Chaweng, Tesco Lotus Lamai and Central Festival 2 www.siamwininganddining.com

similar selection of spirits, too. Plus an unexpectedly wide (for a restaurant like this) selection of New World wines, by the glass or bottle, with many of them under 1,000 baht.

What has happened here is something unique. A small but highly successful local Thai restaurant has been re-invented to appeal to everyone.

Local ingredients and produce combined with imported specialities. The bright and colourful menu in three languages, the front of house staff fluent in English, the service attentive. And the prices across the board are impressively affordable.

It’s in the middle of one of the most popular tourist spots on the island. And yet it’s still retained the integrity of that original restaurant from way back when. Upgraded, improved, expanded and adapted, it continues to draw in everyone – very few places can offer the best of both worlds, like Sabienglae continues to do!

Rob De Wet For reservations or further information, telephone 0 7743 0095.

Romantic views, soothing sounds and classic Italian fare with a modern approach combine to please the most discerning diner.

Olivio - a must for visitors and locals alike.

Olivio ~ beachfront at Baan Haad Ngam Boutique Resort Chaweng Beach.

Free round trip transfer from Chaweng, Bophut and Choeng Mon. For reservation please call 0 7723 1500 www.siamwininganddining.com

3

The Mighty Mango The world’s most frequently consumed fruit.

If you're on holiday in Thailand, one of the fruits you'll come across just about everywhere is the mango. With its wonderful taste, even people who generally shy away from eating fruit make a beeline for it. You can both eat it and drink it – everywhere in Thailand it’s available as a shake or a juice, not just as a fruit.

Cultivated in South Asia for thousands of years, mangoes spread to East Asia between the fifth and fourth centuries BC. In the fifth century BC, Buddhist monks are believed to have introduced the mango to South-East Asia with legends of the Buddha finding tranquillity in a mango grove.

It is considered by many people to be the king of all fruits. In India it’s been part of the national diet for at least 4,000 years. One of the most celebrated mogul emperors, Akbar, is said to have had an orchard with an astonishing 100,000 mango trees, some of which are still going strong. The mango plays a sacred role in India; it’s also a symbol of love and some even believe the fruit is lucky and can grant wishes.

The leaves of the tree are used in weddings to ensure that the couple have many children.

By the year 1,000 AD, they were being grown in East Africa. Later they started to be cultivated in Brazil, Mexico and the Caribbean. India produces over half the world’s mangoes, but exports very few – Indians love them, and 99% are eaten within the country.

The mango is widely lauded for its rich, sweet yet slightly sour taste. It’s incredibly popular in many countries, and there are 20 million metric tons of mangoes grown throughout the tropical and sub-tropical world, with the leading producer being India. Commentators have made the observation that mangoes are to India what olives are to Greece.

The word mango can be traced back to the Portuguese word, manga, which originated just prior to the 1500s, from the trade that the Portuguese carried out with Kerala in India. The word turns out to be from the Malayam language. It passed into the written language as manga, and for some reason that nobody’s been able to clarify, ended up with a change of syllable in English – mango. It was certainly of both medicinal and commercial value to the Malabars who traded it, and it was imported as a pickle to the colonies of 1700s America.

plied the high seas – some 300 years ago. Over 400 varieties of mangoes are known, many of which ripen in summer, while some produce a double crop. The fruit takes three to six months to fully ripen. Once ripe, you can observe a variety of colours from yellow, red, orange and green.

beta-carotene. They're good for bones and for keeping a healthy digestive tract. Food scientists who directly tested mango extracts on colon, breast, lung, leukaemia and prostate cancers in vitro found that mangoes had some impact on each and every type they tested, but were most effective with breast and colon cancers.

It’s popular in cartography too; Mango Creek is a village in Belize while Mango is a district of the Indian town of Jamshedpur; variously it’s also a commune in Italy, a town in Togo, and a community in Florida. Lastly – and with no connection at all to the fruit at all – there are even languages called Mango. There are two of them; one is a Sudanic language, spoken in Chad, Africa. The other is a dialect of Min Chinese. All that links the two is the word itself.

The fruit itself is so widely grown and so tasty that it’s become the world’s most consumed fruit. It’s also incredibly healthy. Many studies tentatively suggest that if you increase your consumption of plant foods like mangoes, then you'll decrease the risk of obesity and overall mortality, diabetes, heart disease and at the same time increase your level of energy. The fibre, potassium and vitamin content in mangoes all help to ward off heart disease. An increase in potassium intake along with a decrease in sodium intake is the most crucial dietary change that a person can make to reduce their risk of heart disease.

On a slightly negative note, however, wonderful as the mango might be, its leaves and wood are considered toxic, and the burning of them isn’t advised, as the fumes can cause serious irritation of the eyes. If you suffer from a latex allergy, you may also be allergic to mangoes. And if your kidneys are unable to remove excess potassium from the blood, then mangoes should be avoided.

Mango trees are very tall and can grow up to 40 metres in height. And they're amazingly long-lived. The fruit you're eating may have come from a tree that was around when Louis XIV was on the throne, and Spanish galleons

Mangoes are also great for your hair, because they contain vitamin A, and are good for all tissues in the body, including the skin. Mangoes also contribute copper, calcium and iron to the diet as well as antioxidants such as

Over the years the fruit has become so popular that even using its name out of context seems to generate popularity. Today the word, mango, can be variously used for some very diverse brands: it can refer to a software viewer of medical imagery, a satellite, an airline, or a Catalan clothing company. Mango can also refer to music. There’s an Italian singer with the name Mango, a Lithuanian pop group, a US record label, a Venezuelan salsa group and lastly a radio station in India. All called Mango.

Are you ready for a brand new dining experience?

Join us at RockPool, Kanda Residences' spectacular beachfront restaurant and bar situated just 5 minutes from Chaweng.

Daily happy hour with buy one get one free on selected drinks from 2pm until 7pm.

For reservations or more information call +66 77 234 500 www.rockpoolsamui.com Facebook: rockpool.kohsamui 4 www.siamwininganddining.com

It’s not for nothing that the mango is the world’s most eaten fruit, surpassing the popular apple, banana and orange. Filled with taste and health-giving properties, you can make your diet both more fun and healthier by factoring in the mighty mango.

Natalie Hughes

Relaxing@Samui

Experience rustic charm right on the beach at Relax@Samui Beach Club.

Don’t think about ‘beach clubs’. Forget everything you’ve ever known about 18-to-30 frolics, all night raves, dancing in the pool or women in small bikinis. Likewise, put out from your mind those jet-set exclusives with cool cats in cream suits, sipping champagne from flutes while the kids out the front take care of Ferraris.

Instead, try to conjure an earlier time. A more innocent time. A time when Samui was smaller, cheaper, and friendlier. When resorts meant beach huts, not 5-stars. When people came here for a week and stayed for six months. When ‘restaurant’ brought to mind fire pits on the beach and hammocks in the trees. Just hold on to that image for a while . . .

Today, it seems, you’re cursed if you do and doomed if you don’t. Let’s imagine you were born on Samui, with a family tree that goes way back. You’ve already opened one of the keenest, coolest, neatest, beach restaurants around. You are perceptive enough to know that the local Samui folk want good food at local prices. But you want the tourists, too. So you widen the menu and add Euro eats. Plus wine, veggie things, filter coffee, clean bright restrooms. You ramp up the service and hand-pick some staff.

And it works. You’ve got a terrific beachside eatery. But you also have new ideas.

So you open another restaurant, not too far away. Inside the ‘building’, you even put three or four little ‘houses’ (salas) with thatched roofs and built-in bench seats. Everywhere there are nooks, crannies and corners. In the afternoon, a DJ plays cool, quiet vibes; reggae, lounge, chill. And at night, the wonderful lanterns come on - huge, hanging, fringed, reds and golds, plus a hundred other little lights that are high and low and tucked away, turning it all into a magic lantern land, a Samui fragment of a time gone by.

It’s not at all the same as your other restaurant, which only really gets busy at night. So what can you call it? Your other one’s called Relax@Samui.

So will this be Relax@No.2? You give in and call it a ‘beach club’. In the three years it’s been here, several names have been tried. To the people who know it, it’s just called ‘Relax 2’. The big sign in front says ‘Relax’. But the small, hidden sign at the side says, in the middle of all the Thai writing, ‘Beach Club Bang Po’.

“This is a whole different atmosphere to the other one,” said the owner and manager, Khun Jaran Hussadee. “This isn’t only a restaurant. It’s also a daytime hangout where you can meet, eat, drink, swim or sit in the sun and do your emails and Facebook – the Wi-Fi is fast, not like some beach places. It’s cool and it’s laid-back. There’s easy music that won’t kill your chat. The prices are easy, too. Seafood is bought fresh every day, and I don’t sell it on at a big profit – if I did, I’d lose my Thai customers. And then, at night, the whole ambiance changes. That’s when people come in to dine. But,” Khun Jaran added with a smile, “We have a live band every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday between 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm. This is the only live music between Nathon and Maenam. And it’s a different feeling again on these nights!”

This place is special. I can’t think of many that are like it. Rustic, with lots of old carvings and decorations. On the beach. Sunbeds and beanbags in the day, and a first-class restaurant at night. Drive along this strip, in Bang Po. There are restaurants with concrete buildings and names like ‘Yacht’ or ‘Switzerland’. There are a couple of small Thai places. But nothing like this.

Looking through the menu, several things stand out. Khun Jaran tells me that it is based on his successful menu at Relax@Samui, but with the right kind of changes. Drinks? Fruit, smoothies, shakes and sodas. Half a dozen of these are made with real fruit, liquidised live – you need to ask what they have. Wine? Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon – by the bottle or glass.

Then Johnny Walker Black Label down to a Sang

Som set. All the Thai beers plus Heineken. And a big range of coffee and tea, including real ground coffee, Earl Grey, English breakfast and Ceylon tea.

The menu is split into numerous sections and takes some scanning. In the main, it’s Thai, but there is also a big section of Euro plates, including lots of daytime munchies like burgers and sandwiches. And there’s a separate seafood section that is truly remarkable. Crabmeat is special. It’s hard to find. But it’s here at Relax, with various ways of serving it. Soft-shell crab is another delicacy. Here they are big! Three to a kilo, each one as big as your hand. And this is the only place I know that you’ll find crocodile on the menu!

The service is great. And the prices are excellent.

Yes, of course, if you opt to eat in a backstreet Thai eatery, with plastic picnic tables and chairs, and hard fluorescent strip lights overhead, you’ll pay about 90 baht a plate. Here, with all it has to offer, right on the beach and with a great ambiance, the average is well under 300 baht.

And the portions are big, too!

I’d advise dropping in during the day. It’s lovely.

And you can check it all out first. But if you are going there at night and want a table on the sand – phone and make a booking. They fill fast after dark. There’s only one 7-11 in Bang Po, so head for it, with a Morya pharmacy next door. Across the road, with all the red and gold lanterns hanging outside, is Relax@Samui Beach Club.

You can park on the road, or there’s a huge open area just to the right.

Rob De Wet For reservations or further information, telephone 0 7760 2228 or 0 862 663 730.

Located in the beautiful Fisherman’s Village on Bophut Beach.

Our experienced chefs proudly present authentic Thai cuisine and Southern Thai dishes. Fresh seafood is a must with great quality at reasonable prices.

Enjoy the tranquility of the beach, the twinkling stars and the whispering waves along with the beautiful music. A superb dining experience and great memories.

Fisherman’s Village

Tel: 077 430 030, 077 245 035 www.kruabophut.com

Free Parking available at The

Wharf!!

www.siamwininganddining.com 5

The Spice of Life A look at one of the most important ingredients in Thai cuisine – the chilli.

Thailand is a paradise for lovers of all things spicy. You'll find spicy soups, salads, stir fries and there's even spice in fruit dishes; ask any fruit vendor on the island for ‘yam saparot’ and you’ll get a spicy pineapple salad complete with peanuts, small shrimp and of course chillies.

There’s really no way of getting away from the Thai love affair with chillies.

These little buds of spiciness were first introduced to Thailand in the 16th century, and came on sailing ships via Portugal. Today, there are two main varieties of Thai chillies grown in the country, the ‘bird’s eye’ pepper known in Thai as ‘prik khee nu’ which literally translates as ‘mouse droppings’ in honour of its tiny size, and spur chillies or ‘prik khee fah’. Both are extremely hot, and are the most frequently used chillies in Thai cooking.

The chilli plant is native to the Central American region, where it has been used for centuries in their cuisine. It was brought back to Spain in the 15th century by the explorer Christopher Columbus, and from here its cultivation spread rapidly through Europe, Asia, India and Africa.

There are now more than 200 varieties worldwide, ranging in colour from orange and

6 www.siamwininganddining.com

yellow to red and green, and of course ranging in heat from the mild to the too-hot-to-handle variety. The hottest are usually the smallest, as we see in Thai cooking. In Thailand alone there are 79 varieties. The cultivation of peppers in Thailand accounts for a staggering 12 per cent of agricultural land use. Like many hot peppers throughout the world, the red Thai chilli thrives in warm to hot regions with lots of sun exposure. In Thailand they are grown commercially on hillsides, terraces and in irrigated paddy fields post rice growing season.

substances in chillies help protect the body from the injurious effects of free radicals generated during times of stress and disease.

Chillies have been used for centuries in cooking but are they just simply hot and spicy, or is there something more to the humble chilli? That spiciness that sends some people reeling comes from a compound found in the pods called capsaicin. This gives chillies their kick, but it also responsible for lots of health benefits too.

Chillies have a range of other health benefits, including fighting sinus congestion, aiding digestion and helping to relieve migraines and muscle, joint and nerve pain. It's also a good source of minerals such as potassium, magnesium and folic acid. Chilli has long been used to reduce food micro-contamination, and is also considered a potential metabolism booster for weight loss. Several studies have found it may also play a role in treating lung and prostate cancers and leukaemia. Does that mean that we should all suddenly start consuming large amounts of chillies in our diet? Probably not, because if you’re like me, too much chilli can become an irritant, both in the mouth and in the stomach.

Laboratory studies suggest that capsaicin has anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogenic, analgesic and anti-diabetic properties. It also found to reduce LDL cholesterol levels in obese individuals.

Chilli has very high levels of vitamin C, up to seven times that of an orange. They are also a very good source of vitamin A and flavonoids such as beta-carotene. The antioxidant

When preparing or cooking with chilli don’t forget to avoid rubbing your eyes as this may cause severe itching and redness. If you are particularly sensitive you can wear thin plastic gloves when preparing chillies. When eating very spicy food, the sharpness and sting can be alieved by consuming yoghurt, and often in Indian cooking you’ll see a side dish of raita

served alongside a curry. Or instead have a glass of milk, as this will have much the same effect as the yoghurt. The casein in milk pulls the capsaicin away from nerve-receptor sites to ease the burning sensation. Water does not alleviate spiciness. If cooking and you taste the dish and feel it’s too spicy, again use yoghurt not water.

garnish. They're also used to make a popular table seasoning/hot sauce known as ‘nam pla’ which consists of diced peppers and fish sauce.

Take a look at street restaurants in Thailand and you’ll often see a pile of fresh chillies alongside garlic that can be eaten whole as an accompaniment to meals.

When buying chillies remembered that they may be shrivelled – this is perfectly fine but you do not want any that are bruised or have spots or mould on them. Look for vibrantly coloured pods with the stalks still on them if possible.

To help you along on your trip to Thailand and for those of you who want to navigate the spicy world of Thai restaurants here are couple of phrases to help you. Ranging in hotness, if you are like me you’ll need to use either the phrase, not spicy, ‘mai pet’, or a little spicy, ‘pet nit-noi’.

Then we get progressively hotter with moderately spicy, ‘pet bpaan-glaang’ and very spicy, ‘pet maak maak’. Then there’s also Thai style spicy, ‘pet baep tai’. Or if your stomach can take it there’s super spicy, ‘pet sut sut’ which will certainly get you a few looks in the local Thai restaurants if diners hear you order it!

But whatever level you opt for, enjoy the fact that all that hotness might just be doing you some good as well.

Red chillies are the mature chillies and green the immature ones. Generally green chillies are less spicy. Once bought, Thai chillies can last up to a couple of weeks in a plastic bag or container in the refrigerator. You can also buy dried chillies which will last considerably longer, usually up to a few months, and they can be ground up whenever needed – however remember that they are generally spicier than fresh chilli.

Chillies are a quintessential part of Thai cuisine.

They are used in the making of Thai curry pastes, and are used either whole or chopped up in a variety of recipes. You can even find them simply served atop Thai dishes as a

Natalie Hughes

Stellar Soirées

At The Tongsai Bay, enjoy two special evenings of excellent food and entertainment, the Beach BBQ Buffet & Mega Platter Dinner.

Spend any time at all on Samui and you quickly realise that when you go out to dinner, you have a lot more choice than just a sit-down-meal in a restaurant. Every single night of the week, there are special events happening on the island which are simply too good to miss out on. Many of these are evenings staged by the resorts that offer an exciting combination of food and entertainment. Whether you're on holiday here, or have lived here for years, going out for one of these evenings is thoroughly worthwhile. At The Tongsai Bay, there are two wonderful evenings, both of which are recommended if you’re looking for quality food and something with a difference. The first is the Beach BBQ Buffet and the second, the Mega Platter Dinner.

The Tongsai Bay was the first of the 5-star resorts on Samui, and is located in a tropical dream all of its own, up in Choeng Mon, almost at the northernmost tip of the island. As such, the setting has a remote, getaway feel to it, though it’s just a 15 minute drive from Chaweng. Lush gardens lead down towards a beautiful, isolated bay. And it’s here, by the sea, that you can enjoy the two spectacular evenings we’re talking about.

Just the setting alone is very relaxing. The resort has many repeat guests; this is a place people come back to, over and over again. As such, it’s got a serious cachet for excellence.

To get to The Tongsai Bay just drive north out of Chaweng, follow the beach road, through Choeng Mon, then turn right at The Bank of Ayutthaya (that’s the yellow-coloured one) and head up the smaller road till you see the sign for the resort.

The Beach BBQ Buffet takes place just once a week, on Monday, and is held at the resort’s Po-lad Beach Bistro. It’s basically a very elaborate banquet, and everything here has been thought out down to the last smidgen of taste.

It’s essential to book for this experience, and it’s certainly one that won’t disappoint. A vast palette of beautiful foods awaits you; it starts at the bistro and continues on down to the beach itself. It features Thai and international treats of many different kinds.

You'll find stacks of international appetizers, as well as Middle-Eastern ones, such as hummus, and then there are Thai soups, such as spicy seafood. Moving on you'll find a sushi and sashimi bar, with freshest Japanese delights, and then there’s a tasty selection of Vietnamese rice rolls, with just two mouth-watering examples being marinated salmon and teriyaki chicken.

Next comes a whole array of salads. You can try a spicy Thai chicken or pork neck salad or something more Western, but there are some notable differences from the usual kind of fare.

You'll find an excellent fattoush salad, for example, as well as tabbouleh and a very eclectic cheese platter, featuring feta, cheddar, Gouda and blue cheeses.

Main dishes consist of favourite Thai recipes such as green curry, or roasted duck in red curry and then there's a barbecue grill with marinated squid, rib eye, rock lobster and, at a separate carving station, roasted leg of lamb with mint jelly sauce and peppercorn sauce. These are just a few examples. There are so many choices that you could easily make twenty or so meals out of what’s on offer. So come hungry!

There's also entertainment with musicians providing a backing for the evening and adding

to the atmosphere. And, incidentally, this is not one of those buffets where you'll need a map to understand where all the different food stations are to be found. Everything’s clearly and logically laid out, making it a cinch to get the food you'd like. Because it’s a buffet, it’s all too easy to go back for seconds and thirds, but just remember to leave some room as there are some wonderful treats to finish with, including crème brulée, tiramisu, and mango cheesecake, not to mention Thai desserts.

The buffet’s suitable for all ages. You'll see there are couples, families, groups of friends – it’s an incredibly popular night out, so don't forget to ring ahead to book your place; it’s essential to avoid disappointment.

Meanwhile, on Saturdays only, there’s the Mega Platter! The food is brought to you on a metre-long wooden board with everything being arranged for a couple. You simply share the goodies you've ordered. The choice is as simple as it’s good: opt between Butcher’s Choice, Fisherman’s Find or Go Green. In other words: meat, fish or vegetarian! Even though there are only three choices, it can be a hard decision to make when you look at the menu, as each option is extremely tasty.

The meats consist of spare ribs, chicken drumsticks baked in Cajun butter, the softest of grilled tenderloin, marbled rib-eye steak and tender roast chicken. The platter is served with sauces, dips and ciabatta bread.

The fish, meanwhile, is equally good, with marinated and grilled Phuket lobster, baked rock lobster, grilled tiger prawns, butter-baked octopus, yellow fin tuna and sea bass fillet with herbs and garlic. Sauces, dips and a colourful salad accompany the platter.

The vegetarian option consists of a delicious dal curry, roasted pepper in a tomato sauce, dauphinoise potato, eggplant rolled and stuffed with spinach and feta cheese, yellow tofu and more.

While you dine, you can also catch an amazing fire show with a performance by a pyrotechnic expert who will wow you with flaming torches that twirl and seem to set the very air itself alight.

Again, it’s absolutely necessary to reserve in advance. You'll need to be a little patient too; everything’s cooked from scratch, so there’s a minimum preparation time of 25 minutes. But since the setting’s so picturesque, it’s a chance to take in the beauty of The Tongsai Bay before you're utterly distracted by the food. Aim to arrive at 7:00 pm, or earlier if you'd like to watch the sunset, and enjoy a cocktail or long drink.

When you're talking about dedication to professional cooking and about keeping to the highest standards possible for hygiene, creativity and sheer great tastes, you'll find that The Tongsai Bay is consistent in a most stellar way.

You can expect the best, quite literally – and at very reasonable prices. You'll want to come back for more. The two evenings showcase what this well-known resort is capable of when it comes to satisfying its diners.

Dimitri Waring For reservations or further information, telephone 0 7724 5480. www.tongsaibay.co.th

Authentic Middle-Eastern chic in a tropical paradise. Enjoy a cocktail or a cup of freshly brewed Turkish coffee on our spacious beachfront terrace or treat yourself to our chef's culinary delights while being entertained by belly dancing shows.

Reservation: 0 7743 0105 Open: 6.00 pm - 11.00 pm Beachfront at The Wharf, Fisherman's Village www.siamwininganddining.com 7

Supreme Staple Olive oil is as old as the hills but as popular as ever.

When my friend Akira opened his tiny restaurant in Osaka, everybody expected it to offer the usual kind of Japanese fare. It didn’t. Instead Akira chose to concentrate on the delights of Mediterranean food. As such he had to use olive oil in many of his preparations. But that was the point of it all, it seemed. “I love everything to do with this kind of oil,” he said. “The way it tastes and looks and the fact you can use it very easily in dressings, as well as cook with it. People in Japan love olive oil; we know from all the research that’s been done that it’s great when applied to the skin and when used as a food ingredient for health.”

vegetable dishes from stuffed peppers, to dishes made of kidney beans, artichokes and black-eyed peas. It goes hand in hand with some of the easiest to make dishes in the world.

Take ‘salata horiatiki’, for example, which is usually sloppily translated as ‘Greek salad’ though it actually means ‘village salad’. All over Greece, this is the farmers’ choice, and that of their families too. A cinch to make: slice up half an onion, a cucumber or two, a couple of tomatoes and crumble some feta cheese on top.

Sprinkle with herbs, add olives if you can get them, and then drizzle olive oil on top. The result is amazingly tasty – and good for you, too.

Olive oil may be tasty and versatile, but it’s not always suitable for certain recipes, unless you use the best, extra virgin cold-pressed. Inferior grades will have more impurities giving rise to what’s called a low smoke-point. That means that it can’t be heated without smoke coming off it. Try it for yourself: use an inferior grade in a wok, and before your vegetables have even had time to sizzle, your oil will be smoking. Perhaps because of this, olive oil is often simply used cold or for baking. But that hardly seems limiting; there are a staggering variety of

Olive oil is justly famed for its health benefits. It contains Omegas 3, 6 and 9, essential fatty acids known to reduce cholesterol and maintain heart health, joint mobility and brain function. The journal Diabetes Care published research that proved that a diet rich in olive oil when used with Mediterranean recipes reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by close on 50% when compared to a low fat diet. That's heartening news, since type 2 diabetes is extremely common and on the increase. It’s also preventable, and olive oil can certainly help.

Olive oil can help with reducing inflammation in the body, which can decrease the risk of breast cancer and its recurrence. It does this via a substance in the oil, oleocanthal, which has a similar effect to ibuprofen. Studies are currently being undertaken to see just what the effects of olive oil are on various cancers. In all probability the news will be good; hardly a month goes past without some new virtue of the oil being discovered.

according to their olive oil consumption. The group used mostly extra virgin olive oil – this is the most commonly used type of olive oil in France. The number of strokes was monitored over five years and astonishingly, it was found that those who used the oil a lot (for both cooking and dressings) had a 41% lower stroke risk. Perhaps even more interesting was the fact that these results hold good even after taking into consideration risk factors including weight, diet and physical activity.

In the past a low-fat diet was often held to be beneficial in disease prevention. We now know that a high fat diet can boost the chance of getting certain diseases such as cancer and diabetes. However, the type of fat you're consuming is extremely important. Eat the monounsaturated fats such as the ones found in olive oil, nuts and seeds and you're actually protecting yourself against a range of chronic diseases.

When doctors and health practitioners talk about the healthy aspects of Mediterranean recipes and diet, it’s annoyingly vague – exactly the same way as those who talk about the Asian diet. Both the Mediterranean and Asia are simply too massive to have just one diet apiece. But whatever is meant, you can be sure that staples such as olive oil are always included in that vague adjective ‘Mediterranean’.

New research from France goes to show that consuming olive oil every day may be extremely beneficial in preventing a stroke. Medical records from over 7,000 people over the age of 65 were examined, with individuals categorized

Olive oil has been produced for many thousands of years. It typifies the Mediterranean and adds flavour to dishes all around the region. It’s such a staple that the English word oil (and for that matter, the French and German equivalents) all

come from the Latin, ‘oleum’, which was taken from the Greek word, ‘elaion’ – an olive tree.

Growing and harvesting the trees is part of an age-old process. Walking in the Greek countryside during harvest time you'll see people with long sticks tapping on the branches of the trees – you'll hear a constant click-click sound long before you see them – as they force the olives off the trees to the ground, where they're collected, in a process that hasn’t varied in millennia. They're then taken to the local processing centre where more modern methods squeeze the oil from the olives. And thanks to modern transportation, you'll soon find it on the shelf at a supermarket.

Olive oil, whether bought for its taste or for its health-giving properties, has become increasingly popular over the years. It was once enjoyed only by those people fortunate enough to live in the Mediterranean, but now it’s readily available for everyone, virtually anywhere. Sure it may cost more, but it pays to use healthy oils, rather than simply the cheapest that look and smell so disquietingly industrial.

Dimitri Waring

Discover authentic

Indian Cuisine

Noori India Restaurant - Chaweng Center Chaweng Beach Road, opp. Chaweng Buri Noori India Restaurant - Chaweng South at Chaweng Cove Resort Noori India - Central Festival at Chaweng Beach Road For reservations (English) - 0 867 407 873 or 0 7741 3108 For reservations (Thai) - 0 813 960 283 E-mail: nooriindia_samui@yahoo.com www.nooriindiasamui.com

8 www.siamwininganddining.com

Samui 2012 WINNER

2013 WINNER

2014 WINNER

Fine Beachside Dining with Spectacular Sunsets

THE SIAM RESIDENCE B o u t i q u e

R e s o r t

Thai & International cuisine in Lipa Noi / Koh Samui Phone: +66 (0) 77 420 008 | samui@siamresidence.com | www.siamresidence.com

Dropping in to the Club Whatever your mood, whatever the time, drop into The Coffee Club!

There was a time, not so long ago, when good coffee was hard to find. The idea of the coffee shop had yet to appear. A place to sit, meet, chat and greet, all of it centred around coffee, took a little while to emerge. But when it did, it swept through Thailand like a rolling tide.

Coffee houses sprung up everywhere, some merely average, but some very good indeed.

Unlike the American style, however, the best coffee shops over here not only offered a full range of different beans and blends, but they came up with a hearty menu, too. Some places tried to appeal by cutting prices and quality, keeping it cheap and cheerful. But the better ones went the other way. They put together menus that wouldn’t have been out of place in a gourmet venue. And one of the most impressive of these turned out to be The Coffee Club.

The name gives no hint of its origins. And, unless you’ve spend time in and around the Asia-Pacific region, it won’t be a familiar one. It all started in Brisbane, back in 1989, with a couple of friends out to see a show, and then hunting down a coffee on the way home. And there wasn’t any. Sure, there were vending machines with paper cups. But a really good blast of espresso? Not a chance. Which gave Emmanuel Kokoris and Emmanuel Drivas serious pause for thought. The immediate reaction was to open an American-style coffee shop. But it didn’t take long for this idea to morph into something more ambitious. And the final concept was an up-market meeting place with a smart and relaxed ambiance, offering a selection of great coffees plus a range of high quality yet affordable food to complement this.

Over the next few years, they opened more outlets, and the name of The Coffee Club emerged as one of Australia’s most established restaurant chains, having also spread to New Zealand, and with more than 200 franchised outlets under their belt. But their big break came in 2007, from a working partnership with Minor International, one of the region’s foremost hospitality and leisure groups. Suddenly they had access to the Asian markets, including Thailand, where there are now half a dozen branches in Bangkok and others in Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai. And Samui’s latest luxurious and laid-back leisure-niche sits prominently near the main entrance to Central Festival shopping centre, right in the heart of Chaweng.

This is truly a prime spot. The main entrance, on Chaweng Beach Road, has a broad open frontage which sweeps inside, framed on the two levels here by restaurants and coffee shops.

You can’t miss The Coffee Club: it’s one of the first things you notice on the ground floor. A full wall of glass in front of the air-conditioned shop itself, and with cosy, canopied seats and tables tastefully arranged outside, shady and cool, and framed by the trees and bushes pushing up from the concealed atrium below.

and effort has gone into their ‘signature blend’.

It’s a combination of Robusta and Arabica, but it goes even further and deploys lower roasting temperatures, and for a longer time than normal.

This gives their basic espresso shot a mellowness, but also enhances the flavour without increasing bitterness. But there are lots of other refreshments to go for, too, including a range of iced coffees and teas, juices, smoothies and frappes. Plus a goodly range of alcoholic tipples.

One of the group’s policies is to tailor each outlet to the community around it. So in a cosmopolitan destination like Samui, you’ll find a broad menu, with dishes that appeal to all nationalities. There’s a selection of all-day breakfasts that include an English option, and also the intriguing ‘Lifestyle’ breakfast that features toasted Turkish bread topped with avocado, lean ham, poached egg and mozzarella, toasted and served with a grilled tomato. And there’s a variety of grills, nachos, sandwiches, wraps and burgers for daytime nibbling, together with a wide assortment of fresh-made salads.

Unlike some of the more basic alternatives to The Coffee Club, digging into the nitty gritty of the substantial evening dining choices reveals some prime ingredients. Imported cuts of Australian Angus beef vie for attention with New Zealand lamb chops – there’s even an Angus-made beef burger with bacon and cheese - something not to be taken lightly! The salmon steaks are superb. There’s a good choice of veggie dishes. Plus a kiddies’ menu. And that’s without even delving into the range of Thai dishes: all the usual favourites are on offer. If you think that’s impressive then wait until you get the bill. There are not so many places you can get a substantial top-quality meal for around 250 baht or so!

But, in addition to all this, do keep an eye out for the ‘specials’ board outside. At the time of writing there was a tantalising ‘Avocado and Feta’ offering which comes with a choice of bacon, smoked salmon, mushrooms, or just plain and simple, by itself. These boards change on a regular basis.

This is Samui. It’s a laid-back island. People wander around languidly from place to place. In Bangkok, business people aim for The Coffee Club to have their high-powered meetings. You’ll see a few here, too, but wearing shorts, polo shirts and flip-flops. And the rest? Most just sit, smile, and nod to each other, gently conversing or gazing happily around. Once you’ve dropped in to the club, what’s the point in rushing away?

Rob De Wet For reservations or further information, telephone 0 7730 0563 (Chaweng Beach Road) or 0 7741 0505 (Central Festival).

It’s just blissful to cruise in, stretch back and relax, and pick up one of their signature coffees.

And it’s not just any store-bought bag of beans that’s used. Over the years, a great deal of time

An outstanding menu of International & Thai cuisine prepared by master chef Joseph Spiteri

Choeng Mon, 88/18 Moo 5, T. Bophut, Koh Samui Tel: 0 77243888 Email: info@baywaterresort.com www.baywaterresort.com www.siamwininganddining.com

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Thai Dreams Traditionally Thai and satisfyingly Samui – Saturday night at Poppies never fails to please.

Thailand is a land of dreams. It’s mysterious and welcoming, with a culture stretching back into the mists of time. It’s a fascinating place, loved by all who come here. Of course, it can be hard, bright and garish, too. But those of us with experience know what to avoid. We know where to go. We know where to find quality, comfort and refinement - a blend of Western hospitality and service, together with the sights and sounds of traditional Thailand. There aren’t many places where this is done successfully. But one of them most certainly is Poppies Samui.

Poppies has become an island legend. It has the distinction of being the first ‘boutique’ resort on Samui, going back to a time when the term hadn’t even been invented! When Poppies emerged, there were small beach hut and wooden bungalow resorts all over, and only a couple of big hotels. But Poppies was the first small, privately owned resort that was built to Western standards of quality, and with service to match – today such places have universally become known as ‘boutique’ resorts. And right from when it began in 1994, the resort has acquired a reputation that’s never diminished – in fact, it’s continued to grow stronger as time has passed.

All of which sounds very Teutonic and organised! But the fact is people enjoy Poppies because it’s just so lovely! It’s significant that the design, the actual layout of the grounds, was on the drawing board for well over a year. Unlike some of the more expansive estates, the space here is at a premium. And it took owners and partners, David Hill and John Taylor, a lot of thought to get things exactly right. The aim was the maximum of accommodation but also with maximum privacy. And the solution was a network of criss-crossing paths that mean that you can’t ever see more than a few of the cottages at a time. Add to this some fairy-tale landscaping with lush tropical greenery, streams, ponds, little waterfalls and tiny wooden bridges, and you have what Poppies is today.

The other significant element was that, right from the start, the resort’s restaurant was planned to be a force to be reckoned with – another most unusual aspect for its time, as the thinking back in those days was to leave this sort of thing to the ‘proper’ restaurants. It was initially headed by Californian chef, Jeffrey Lord and, over the next decade, subsequently featured a cast of world-class chefs, launching Poppies restaurant to the forefront of island dining, a reputation which causes guests to return again and again. Today, the kitchen is in the highly experienced and capable hands of Khun Wantanee, who is in charge of the Thai menu, and Khun Noi, who oversees the International menu.

The à la carte menu features a blend of fresh-each-day seafood and prime imported meat from Australia and New Zealand. But what has proved to be the most popular are the ‘sets’.

‘Khantoke’ refers to a way of presenting food; several small dishes presented on a tray. And Poppies have several options here. There are five different Thai offerings, a ‘traditional’ set, the

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‘Four Regions Khantoke’ and the super ‘Vegetarian Khantoke’, too. But the cream of the crop has to be the ‘Royal Thai Khantoke’ for two. This comes on authentic Benjarong porcelain, decorated with elaborate cloisonné enamelling and real gold leaf.

And this approach has been so effective that Poppies has added a Western selection, too. This comes in the form of a 2-person ‘Selection of Small Poppies Favourites’ or, alternatively, the ‘Selection of Small Seafood Dishes’. These are simply splendid! For example, the acclaimed seafood selection features ‘Poached Rock Lobster in a Green Curry Sauce, Soft Shell Crab Tempura with Green Mango Salad, Green Lip Mussels in White Wine, Tiger Prawns, Char-Grilled Snowfish, Plum and Strawberry Sauce, Feta Cheese and Rocket Salad’, as well as a dessert.

And it also has to be mentioned that Poppies has an extensive vegetarian selection of both Western and Thai dishes, including no fewer than 15 vegan offerings.

But the highlight of the dining week has to be the Thai Evening that’s held every Saturday night. Outside guests are more than welcome, and it’s an event that’s not to be missed. The music is live, not taped, and the musicians play their old, traditional instruments on a cleverly constructed over-the-pool stage. Most resorts have some kind of a show, but few can match the dedication and authenticity here. Traditional dancers perform not just once, but twice during the night – a full two- hour performance in total.

Poppies has always been very much involved with the local community. Last month saw the delightful participation at the Thai Evening of young students from the Ban Plai Laem School, organised and supervised by their teacher, Miss Nannaphat Boudam, who’d shaped them into an entertaining orchestra that featured the unusual and traditional ‘angklung’ bamboo rattles, much to the delight of all present. The event was such a success that there are plans for a repeat performance later in the year.

The evening also features a crafts market, featuring the leatherwork, soap carving, hand-made micro-rattan bags and purses and jewellery of local craftsmen. Several of these stalls feature the craftsmen actually making their wares, so it’s not only the perfect opportunity to buy some authentic gifts, but a terrific photo opportunity, too.

It’s one of the prettiest places anywhere, the food is fabulous, the service superb, and it can be found towards the southern end of Chaweng Beach Road. It’s no accident that Poppies Samui has been going since 1994 – there are very few places in Thailand that can deliver the Thai dream the way they do it here!

Rob De Wet For reservations or further information, telephone 0 7742 2419. www.poppiessamui.com

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Seek, Discover, Arrive, Enjoy We discover a hidden gem on the west coast – The Siam Residence.

Samui is different. Here, we’re still more or less rustic! Sure, there are tangles here and there, mostly in built-up areas like Chaweng. But just a short drive away, there’s mile after mile of unspoiled beaches, with no city blocks at all.

Little fishing villages abound, just a handful of old wooden houses still grouped together.

Quaint beach restaurants and tiny resorts, tucked away.

Isn’t that just great? Well, it is and it isn’t! Of course, it’s terrific that there are so many lovely places to go. But if you’re here for only a week, you might just miss out. And even if you stay for longer, there’s just so much to see that you might not find the best. That old ring-road’s deceptive: it only actually circles two-thirds of the island, cutting off the southern part altogether. And this is precisely where some of the quietest, the cleanest, and the prettiest places are still to be found – unaffected by the marching hand of progress!

Such as, for example, The Siam Residence. And, no, it’s not buried down in the south. If you can navigate to Nathon, you can find it. Simply head south out of Nathon in the direction of Lamai. At the first crossroads with traffic lights, turn right towards Koh Samui Hospital. There’s a 7-11 store on the corner, on your left, and the resort is signposted from this junction. After another of kilometre or so, you’ll find it on your right.

So what’s special about The Siam Residence?

Well, firstly the utter solitude and tranquillity of everything there – if you’re a party person, this is not for you. This resort has been here for a long time. But it’s an immaculate combination of Austrian ownership and Swiss management.

Everything here is just perfect – like a tiny Alpine hamlet, but with palm trees and no snow!

There are wonderful, and slightly surreal, little Euro-style flowerbeds everywhere, immaculate lush green lawns, massively ancient trees that cast cool pools of shade, and a pristine beach that is hand-groomed every day. It’s just perfect.

The next nice thing is the restaurant, which goes by the comforting name of ‘Grandma’s Kitchen’.

This is unusual, and is actually made up of two octagonal buildings that are connected, completely glass-walled, and with tables outside on the lawned terrace that’s right on the fringe of the sand. Meaning that when you drop in, you can cool off in air-conditioned comfort, flop down by the pool, or simply sit outside in the shade – under a canopy of blazing stars, if you opt to come at night.

And then there’s the welcome, the hospitality.

Benjamin Lehmann, the Swiss manager, is somehow magnetically drawn towards people.

He’ll spot you, amble amicably across, sit and chat for a while, making you welcome and helping you with anything you might want, or need to know.

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To expand on the idea, consider this. The hospitality industry on Samui is characterised by its rapid staff turnover. Many staff are constantly seeking new positions. Staying in one place isn’t just about wages and money. Many resorts will tell you it’s hard to keep staff – they get trained and then they’re off to a new post. But the best resorts will say there’s no problem. The atmosphere is good, the staff are well-paid and appreciated, they have English lessons and financial help with their children’s education, and they’re more than happy to stay in congenial surroundings with good people around them.

The chef at The Siam Residence has been here for more than 20 years. Her name is Khun Lamyai Chaisuwan, more usually known as simply Khun Lamyai. Her Thai menu is not the most extensive you’ll find, nor is it trendily experimental, or some kind of ‘fusion’; it’s simply quality, traditional Thai fare at its best. But she regularly upgrades things and adds new dishes, as well as cutting-out items that are less popular.

In other words, she’s continued to evolve in the same way that the resort itself has kept improving.

There’s a plentiful array of starters, with a satisfying selection of salads and a substantial set of vegetarian offerings. There’s a goodly ‘mains’ section with a choice of pasta dishes, and the pork ribs or the mixed grill comes highly recommended. But this is the island of Samui and, as ever, seafood is the star. All of it is fresh each day, from the local market in Nathon. But at Grandma’s Kitchen, Khun Lamyai has a special system. Chose what you want (mackerel, barracuda, squid, snapper, king prawns or rock lobster) and then decide how you want it prepared – either charcoal barbecued with sweet and sour sauce and vegetables, or deep-fried with garlic and pepper. (And if you have a yearning for crab or shellfish, order it in advance and they’ll buy it especially for you.) Plus there’s also a ‘healthy’ alternative with the seafood being steamed and combined with vegetables and garlic and chilli sauce or, alternatively, with either red or yellow curry. Also keep an eye out for the daily specials on the blackboard; unlike so many other places, these really are special, and not a part of the normal menu.

This is the place to be. This is where the sunsets burst and glow across the sky and the sea beneath shimmers seductively. This is where to drop in for a cocktail, a snack, or for dinner under the stars – and all the prices are surprisingly modest. This is The Siam Residence.

And it’s a hidden gem that’s not to be missed!

Rob De Wet For reservations or further information, telephone 0 7742 0008. www.siamresidence.com

Food, Faith, Feasts What the world eats when it comes to religion.

Food, glorious food. If you think that religion’s all about self-denial, then you might think that food and faith are at loggerheads with each other. But it’s thanks to the world’s religions that we have literally hundreds of dishes that might not have otherwise existed. We tend, erroneously, to associate religions with the banning of certain foods whereas every faith, without exception, seems to have a love affair with their favourite foods.

the idea of renewal. Easter represents new life; so too do the eggs. Go to Greece at Easter and you'll see people painting boiled eggs in bright colours, a time-honoured tradition. Chocolate eggs are merely a new addition. When you're hunting for eggs, it’s not about simply finding them but remembering the concept that life is always burgeoning.

If you take the omnivorous Christians, their faith has always been linked with various foods. It’s only in modern times that those traditions seem to be on the wane. Look at a medieval illuminated book of hours, such as the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Bellay, and you'll quickly see how the seasons and the church seemed to work together to turn crops and foodstuffs into great tasting dishes. Many of those traditions are no more, but some abide.

Easter eggs seem to be universal, but even Christians are unable to name many foods that are part of their faith. This is because many of the dishes tend to be very regional. Take fanesca, for example. How many people have even heard of this? It’s a soup eaten during Holy Week in Ecuador. It contains a dozen different types of beans, which represent the 12 apostles, along with salt cod, which represents Jesus Christ himself. Or there’s Święconka, a seemingly obscure dish that turns out to be a delicious Easter main course in Poland. It’s traditionally blessed in a church before it’s eaten. And then there’s Swedish lussebulle, a rich and spicy teacake flavoured with saffron and cinnamon or nutmeg and eaten on St Lucia’s day, 13th December, a major feast day and the advent of Christmas. As you can imagine, one region’s sacred foods tend to be completely unknown outside the region.

Take Easter eggs for example. A very commercial product, right? Indeed, but the origins go back to

Much of the world is more familiar with Muslim food. Everyone has heard of Ramadan, the holy

Feast days in religions are precisely that - time to get cooking and to sit down with loved ones and share food – and especially the food that’s traditionally eaten on the feast day. If you studied the world’s religions and its special foods and produced a cookery book, then it would run into many volumes.

month for all Muslims, when it’s traditional to fast every day. But once evening comes it’s time to break the daily fast, and this special meal is known as ‘iftar’. It usually consists of fruits, juice, milk, dates and water. There’s quite a bit of variation however. For instance, in Kerala, India, a dish prepared with meat, vegetables and porridge is eaten. In some areas mutton curries and biryani are popular, along with sherbets and desserts, while in Afghanistan people eat kebabs and onion-based meat curries. And once Ramadan has ended, there’s a festival called Eid ul-Fitr, a three-day period that’s in many cases a prolonged family feast. There are even special Eid breakfasts. In India, Pakistan and Bangladesh people start the day with noodles, which are toasted and served dried or boiled and turned into a milky, soupy pudding. Iraqis meanwhile, breakfast on buffalo cream and honey on bread, while Moroccans enjoy couscous. In many Muslim countries it’s important to have a plethora of small treats to hand when visiting family, friends and neighbours. If you're Turkish, then you might well bear a gift of Turkish delight, for example. Sweets are highly popular.

Iraqis make a pasty filled with dates which is scented with rosewater and elsewhere in the Middle East you'll find biscuits filled with dates.

A few of the Muslim recipes aren’t quite as traditional as you might think. Indonesians eat a very rich cake that can be linked straight back to

the Dutch who colonized the country. The dish, lapis legit, is made by pouring thin layers of batter on top of each other until a layered cake results. You can still eat the original recipe back in the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, very few people can beat the Chinese when it comes to the mix of food and faith. Vast amounts of food are produced round Chinese New Year, most of it very traditional with the ingredients sounding like synonyms for financial abundance. For example, lettuce sounds like ‘increase in wealth’ and the word for gingko nut sounds like ‘silver ingots’.

Plenty of food like this is eaten as it’s thought to bestow success on the family. On New Year’s Eve itself, carp is typically eaten as it ensures that everyone will have plenty of good fortune through the year. The fish is never completely eaten as to do so would mean that the fortune might, like the fish, come to an end. Families will also have a tray full of assorted candies and dried fruits. The ‘tray of togetherness’ as it’s sometimes called is to welcome family and friends. Again the contents consist of goodies with names that suggest fortune or prosperity.

Dried melon seeds predict big earnings while sweet lotus roots symbolize abundance.

traditional to eat apples and honey, symbolizing a sweet new year. The head of a fish is also often eaten, too – you're literally heading into the year to come. History is also honoured by particular dishes, too. For example, there's a special sweet paste that’s eaten, charoset, that symbolizes the mortar that the Jews were forced to make when they were slaves to the pharaoh in Ancient Egypt. Similarly, matzo is a type of flat bread eaten that commemorates the Jews leaving Egypt in great haste – they had no time to let the bread they were baking rise in the ovens.

As you can see, food and faith actually go hand in hand. Traditions abound in every part of the world and in every faith that seem to call for dishes to be prepared that have – or had – great symbolic meaning. The food bonds families together, and beyond that, entire cultures, too.

Everyone loves a feast but more so when it’s filled with meaning.

Dimitri Waring

Judaism has a long, long tradition of special foods that are symbolic of Jewish history. It’s

Daily Theme Nights From 7pm.

Monday Classical Thai Night Buffet - THB 590 Tuesday Catch of the Day - from THB 250 Wednesday Italian Night Buffet - THB 490 Thursday Steak Supreme - from THB 300 Friday Beach BBQ Buffet featuring live music and a fire juggling show - THB 690 Saturday Surf & Turf - THB 790 Sunday Roast Chicken Sunday - THB 390 Daily Happy Hours at Beach Bar Buy 1 get 1 free beers and cocktails from 12pm - 2pm l 5pm - 7pm l 9pm - Midnight Sentinel Band Enjoy music from the Sentinel Band - Monday to Saturday from 7pm – 10pm Dining on the Beach Moonlight beach dining with your own private chef, from THB 1,500 per person

Chaweng Noi Beach For reservations please call: +66 77 448 994 www.impiana.com.my/hotel/impiana-resort-chaweng-noi-koh-samui/

www.siamwininganddining.com

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Going Native Joining the locals at Dara Kitchen.

Dara Kitchen is centrally located in Lamai, on the corner of the ring-road at Lamai Temple. So, although this is a busy area, you can park at the temple in the massive car park there, and you're just a few steps away from the restaurant itself. It couldn’t really be more convenient. It’s open from 8:00 am until 8:00 pm, daily. The restaurant has been here for many years, in exactly the same place, but you wouldn’t think so as it’s just been totally renovated as well as enlarged. It has to be one of the best value places to eat in the Lamai area. With a wide variety of Thai dishes, excellent quality and a well-appointed interior, it’s not surprising that this friendly restaurant is so popular.

You're always welcome to drop in for just a relaxed drink; Dara Kitchen offers great-tasting organic coffees, and these aren’t at all pricey. Try a latte, for example, and it’ll taste just as if it’s been made in a specialist coffee shop – but without the hefty price tag. You can also try an organic leaf tea. The tea and coffee comes from a small farm close to Chiang Mai that specializes in organic products. At Dara Kitchen there's also a range of fruit shakes that are guaranteed to

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cool you down, even when the sun’s blazing outside. Some people just come for a quick drink, but once you see the menu you’ll almost certainly be tempted to try the food here.

Dim sum is available, and is the ideal snack in itself, or can serve as an appetizer before a main course. The dumplings come with a spicy sauce and soy sauce and are utterly delicious. Varieties include crab, pork, pork and seaweed and shrimp. You'll also find a larger variation, the deep-fried Samui bun, which turns out to be a traditional Samui staple, though you won’t find it in many restaurants nowadays, what with the old island ways being forgotten. It’s filled with minced pork, custard or black beans and is quite filling on its own. You can also try one of the noodle soups here, also delicious, and – as with everything in the restaurant – surprisingly cheap.

You can here for as little as 70 baht.

Though it looks so new, Dara Kitchen is actually packed with history. The building in which it’s located is a family home that’s at least a century old. The business is run by Khun Thida, who grew up, right here, and her mother, Khun Dara,

who the restaurant is named after. At the back of the restaurant, you'll find mementoes of days gone by - there are shelves filled with brass utensils and plates. If you haven’t seen anything like these gleaming and ornately carved masterpieces elsewhere on your travels, it’s because they're antiques, and are now rare in Thailand. Khun Thida learned everything she knows about cooking from Khun Dara, who in turn learned from her mother. Khun Dara still works in the restaurant, and together this family team present some of Thailand’s most traditional fare, albeit in an extremely contemporary setting.

Another reason that the restaurant does so well is that Khun Thida speaks fluent English, and can easily understand what you would like.

Similarly the menu is very easy to read and, if that's not enough, there are also pictures of the food, so that you’ll know just what you're ordering. Check out the symbols on the lower right hand side of the menu and you'll see the choices of meat, along with the prices. Just choose your dish and tell your waitress if you’d like the dish to be with chicken, pork, shrimp or seafood.

For mains there’s plenty of choice, and since it’s all such good value, you can come hungry. Dara Kitchen offers its guests noodle soups, made in traditional ways, with a choice of mixed seafood and pork – it’s one of their bestsellers – as well as seafood, spare rib, chicken and pork. These soups are hearty and in the mix you'll see vegetables as well as the broth itself. You can add spice to the soups as there are condiments on each table that include crushed chillies. But it’s recommended that you taste first!

There are plenty of other mains, too. The phad Thai is highly recommended. It comes with raw bean sprouts and tastes delicious. It’s a recipe that’s popular all over the country, and at Dara Kitchen it’s one of the dishes that people like to order time and time again. Pineapple fried rice is equally popular – just try with shrimp – and you'll have a very flavoursome and filling meal.

You can also feast on Japanese-style sukiyaki, glass noodle salad. And then there’s the popular green curry fried rice – instead of a soup green curry paste is stirred into fried rice. Naturally you can also have the curry in the traditional way, as

a soup and with boiled rice as an accompaniment. Coconut soup and tom yum are also on the menu, as is panang curry. Children, incidentally, are most welcome at Dara Kitchen and there’s a special menu just for them.

To finish off your meal here, there's a real selection of treats in store for you. Dara makes a delicious banana and chocolate pancake, and there’s also an array of ice-creams to try. You can also have tropical fruit lollipops with flavours such as mango, pineapple or mangosteen.

Offering great food at unbeatable prices, Dara Kitchen is definitely here to stay. Already in its 17th year of operation, the refurbished venue only adds to the draw of this friendly restaurant.

Dimitri Waring

Experience the very best in authentic Thai cuisine at Chef Chom’s Thai Restaurant at The Tongsai Bay Chef Chom's serves truly authentic Thai cuisine with an emphasis on local southern Thai cuisine. Wherever possible, ingredients are sourced locally and dishes are prepared from scratch.

This real Thai taste is the pride of the kitchen, and dishes are not 'watered down', the taste of Chef Chom's food is just the way Thais would have it.

Chef Chom’s is open daily for dinner from 7pm to 10pm. Tel: +66 (0) 77 245-480 www.tongsaibay.co.th

www.siamwininganddining.com

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Rounding Things Off A look at Thai desserts, and why you usually don’t see them in a restaurant!

The Thai nation has its own style of eating. If you’ve only visited Thailand a time or two, you may not be aware of this. And it’s all made more confusing by Thai restaurants abroad.

Because many of them have adapted their traditional cuisine to what they think Westerners expect. We have been brought up expecting a meal to have several consecutive courses, and for each person to have their own plate that’s full of everything needed – apart from seasonings. And so many Thai restaurants in the West try to copy this, presenting their menus in sections such as starters, curries, soups noodles etc., and winding up with a selection of desserts at the end.

This doesn’t only happen abroad; there are more than a few restaurants here, particularly in resorts with many Western guests, where the Thai meals offered also follow this approach.

But, when you think about it, it’s a lot more friendly and harmonious to eat a meal Thai-style. A typical Thai meal consists of a soup, a curry dish, a salad, a fried dish and a dessert. Normally there would be a mix of spicy and mild dishes for balance. Also, a Thai meal is served all at once (as opposed to presenting dishes in the form of separate courses) by way of five or six big bowls in the middle of the

table. People help themselves to as little or as much of whatever they fancy, in whatever combination appeals to them.

In the West, the dessert course has become elevated to an art form, often the most looked-forward to of all the courses, with literally thousands of different approaches and recipes to pick from. However, in Thailand, with everything on the table at the same time, a ‘dessert’ as one of the elements in a sit-down meal never actually gained any significance.

The usual ‘sweet thing’ on the table will be a bowl of sticky rice with fruit, in one form or another. This kind of dessert is normally made from a combination of coconut cream, coconut flesh, rice flour, palm sugar, eggs and fruit.

But – and it’s an enormous ‘but’ – the entire attitude towards food and eating is different over here. The Thais eat frequently throughout the day, usually at least once between breakfast and lunch, and then again a time or two between lunch and the evening meal. In fact, it’s quite common at any time of the day to see shop workers and even bank clerks popping outside to visit a just-arrived travelling food stall, and then munching away beneath the counter in-between serving customers. Also,

apart from family meals in the evening, when everyone sits together, most of the food is eaten on the move, as and when, from street vendors or nearby food markets.

And that brings us to ‘kanom’. This is loosely translated as ‘any snack-food which is on the sweet side’! And if the Thais have only a few basic mealtime desserts then, boy, do they make up for it here. There must be almost as many different types of kanom in Thailand as there are desserts in the West. It’s rare to find them in Thai restaurants, except for the ubiquitous sticky rice with fruit or/and ice-cream, simply because most of them take such a long time to make. This type of delicacy originated in the Royal Palace, where the servants in the kitchens would often spend days in their preparation. And, over the years, these courtly kanom, and their associated traditions, gradually filtered out to the rich merchants and then down to the ordinary folk.

To be analytical, the spectrum of Thai desserts/kanom can be divided into several broad bands. There are those based around sticky rice, and then a whole set of others which use jelly or custard and tend to be gooey. You’ll find a lot that come in the form of

cakes, bread, or pancakes (beware if you’re tempted to sample some of these, as they contain far, far more sugar than a Western palate expects!). Another category is fruit-based, with or without ice-cream. And then a final and less-common type is in the form of soup and/or pudding. These are hard to come across on Samui, as they borrow a great deal from their Chinese origins. But something like, for example, ‘Mochi Rice and Sesame Balls in Ginger Water’ is commonly found in and around Bangkok’s Chinatown, and is undoubtedly one of the classic Asian sweet dishes of all time: the dumplings with a black sesame seed paste in the middle have been often ‘borrowed’ and featured in Western gourmet desserts!

But there is one particular occasion when you’ll find a direct link to the courtly traditions of old – a Thai wedding. (Actually there are other formal events when these dishes crop up too; banquets and official functions and the like.)

There are seven kanom that are guaranteed to bring you luck or fortune, especially at the time when a man proposes to a woman. All but one are of a yellow hue, symbolising wealth or gold. The dish of ‘Thong Yip’ in translation means getting rich by gold, i.e. ‘wealth’ in Thai.

And it’s made of yolks from duck eggs with coconut milk, which is all then boiled in syrup and moulded by hand into the shape of a flower.

It’s hard to find such succulently sweet surprises on Samui. Few restaurants have time to make them, and you’ll need to tour the food markets and temple fairs to strike it lucky. But there is one place where you’ll at least come across one of the most startling combinations of taste, texture and . . . aroma, to be found. Sticky rice with a mango topping is quite common. But, for four months every year, it’s the durian season. Head for one of the best genuine small Thai restaurants, in Maenam. It’s got no name – just ‘Thai Food Restaurant’ underneath its Thai title. And it’s right next to the police station, across the road from Soi 1. There they’ll do you real Thai sticky rice, on a banana leaf, with segments of durian on top. It might take you by surprise, with its texture and aroma, but the taste is out of this world. Regard it as an adventure to ‘round off’ your stay!

Rob De Wet

Sabienglae restaurants offer traditional fresh seafood and cuisine in an authentic southern Thai style.

Come and enjoy our unique dishes, many of which you won’t find elsewhere on the island, in a relaxing atmosphere. An experience to truly complete your holiday.

Sabeinglae Restaurant

The Wharf Samui, Fishermans’s Village For reservation please call 077 430 094-5 16 www.siamwininganddining.com

Hin Ta Hin Yai, Samui Ring Road For reservation please call 077 233 082-3

Wimaan Buri Resort, Chaweng Ring Road For reservation please call 077 962 333

International Innovations

Sareeraya Villas and Suites, Chaweng raise the bar thanks to new Executive Chef Cesar Liesa.

Leave the crowded world of Chaweng behind as you step into the atrium at Sareeraya Villas and Suites; the resort is a place of elegant beauty right on the sea in the north of town, with the whole long bay stretching down to the south.

Over the years it’s been in operation, Sareeraya has become a getaway spot for not just the hotel’s guests but also its diners too. It offers a wide variety of top-notch fare in an unrivalled location.

The restaurant here is simply known as Chef’s Table. It exudes contemporary chic, and is stylish in a cool and understated way. It’s a friendly place, and staff will give you a warm welcome and will be happy to oblige any request to make your time here a relaxing and satisfying experience.

If you're in Chaweng, Sareeraya isn’t far away: just head up the beach road and it’s a couple of minutes’ walk beyond the landmark clock tower at Iyara Shopping Centre. You can park in the large car park just opposite the main entrance to the resort.

If you're nearby however, then why not take the most romantic of all approaches? Just walk along the beach till you come to Sareeraya. It’s a wonderful walk, with very white soft sands – no need for even flip-flops – and on the way you can see tiny islets just off the coast. It’s a dreamy tropical landscape and once you're in the restaurant you'll enjoy exactly the same wonderful view.

Chef’s Table offers the opportunity to enjoy an extraordinary medley of food, thanks to its new Executive Chef, Cesar Liesa. Cesar hails from Zaragoza, in the north of Spain and started

cooking his native Spanish dishes, before heading to London and spending a couple of years on the Queen Elizabeth II, perhaps the world’s most famous cruise-ship. He has also studied cooking and pastry in Paris, as well as working in the city, all the time perfecting his skills. Curious to see what Asia had to offer, he left Europe in 1996, and headed out East, working in diverse places such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City, Xiamen, Shanghai and Borneo. In addition, he’s also worked in the Caribbean and the Middle-East.

He’s been an executive chef for over a decade, and has managed restaurants featuring a dozen different cuisines. He’s also been in charge of some very large teams – at the Grand Melia in Shanghai, he was responsible for no less than 125 chefs and 50 stewards.

For a globe-trotting chef with so much experience, he’s obviously extremely savvy but is entirely without pretension; an affable and approachable figure who’ll always take time to find out what his guests like. If you're after something special, he’ll do his utmost for you.

In all probability though, you'll be dazzled by what’s on the all-day menu that Cesar’s created.

It features the best of both Western and Asian cuisine, and Chef’s Table is open daily for lunch, dinner and anything in-between. The restaurant opens from 11:00 am until last food orders at 10:30 pm.

There’s truly something for every taste. Try, for example, the goose liver which comes with raisin confit, truffle jus and a serving of herbed toast. This is just one of a range of hot and cold appetizers. There are also some highly tasty salads, such as smoked duck, som tam or a traditional Caesar salad, which you can also

have with the addition of prawns or smoked chicken breast. You'll also find a good range of pasta and pizza, mostly traditional, but also including the excellent beetroot fettuccini, which is accompanied by aubergine, basil leaves and parmesan sauce.

Cesar has also devoted a separate page of his menu exclusively to seafood delights. These include lobster, served with red caviar and lemon butter sauce, and cooked to your liking.

Closer to his home, you'll find that essential Spanish dish, paella – saffron rice with baby lobster, prawns, fish and mussels. It’s rendered in a delightful combination that’ll appeal to all fish lovers. Codfish, salmon and sea bass complete this section of the menu. And by the way, you can also feast on a surf and turf dish with grilled lobster tail and Angus beef tenderloin.

Cesar’s opted for grill specialities featuring beef and lamb solely imported from Australia, guaranteeing great tastes. His desserts are equally mouth-watering, and you shouldn’t leave without trying his tiramisu, home-made, of course. It’s instantly seductive.

In addition, Sareeraya also offers a duo of theme nights. On Mondays, come for the popular Thai Buffet & Beach BBQ (1,200 baht net) and on Thursdays, the International Buffet and Beach BBQ (1,400 baht net). The food on both days is utterly delectable, and there's a wonderful atmosphere thanks to the events being held right at the beach. Twenty tables are set up right on the beachfront with entertainment by a solo guitarist.

Phone ahead and you can book something completely outstanding: a romantic beach

dinner. Again it’s set up right on the beach, unless you’d prefer to be inside on a private first-floor setting. A table is prepared for just you and your partner in a bamboo gazebo that’s specially put up on the sands, along with curtaining, flowers and candles. There are different menus, but Cesar can tend to any needs or requests too. The romantic beach dinner costs just 4,950 baht, plus tax, per couple and includes Kir Royale.

Sareeraya also cater to weddings parties and receptions. They also offer remarkably good cooking classes where you can learn to learn to prepare Thai dishes. As you can see, Sareeraya Chef’s Table offers a complete range of gastronomic experiences. They also have a wonderful selection of wines, with 16 different whites and 14 reds. The wines come from both the new world and the old and have prices to suit every budget.

If you’re ready to head out for some great dishes in a beautiful setting, then Chef’s Table at Sareeraya is for you; take a look at Chef Cesar’s menu and you'll find a many dishes you'll instinctively want to savour. The restaurant has a top-notch reputation, and with Chef Cesar at the helm it’s certainly taking dining to the next level.

Dimitri Waring For reservations or further information, telephone 0 7791 4333 Ext. 5. www.sareeraya.com

Relax@Samui Thai food - Seafood - European food Romantic atmosphere Private seaview cottages The best seaviews on Samui Bang Por Beach, Tel. 0 7760 2228

Take a bread cake and bakery Tel: 088 502 3112

Location: Samui Ring Road (nearly opposite Big C)

www.siamwininganddining.com 17

The Wine Page Red or white? Sweet or savoury?

These days, I am not one to go overboard in describing the myriad of aromas and flavours in a glass of wine. In fact, most of the gaudy descriptions often found in tasting notes will not help you to understand the character of a bottle of wine, or to anticipate the experience of drinking it. While it may seem heretical to say, the more specific the description of a wine the less useful information is actually transmitted.

And besides, the aromas and flavours of good wines can evolve over the course of 20 minutes in a glass. Perhaps subtle characteristics can be captured momentarily, but reach for them again a minute later and they’re gone.

But when talking about the general character of a wine, now that’s another matter. A brief depiction of the overall features of a wine, like its body, texture and the broad nature of its aromas and flavours, can be far more helpful in determining whether you will like that bottle. In fact, consumers could be helped immeasurably if the entire gambit of wine descriptions were boiled down to two words: sweet and savoury. I know this may sound radical, but these two simple words suggest the basic divide of all wines. The two categories can best explain the

Manathai Koh Samui 18 www.siamwininganddining.com

essence of any wine. And, just as important, thinking of wine in this more streamlined fashion is an efficient method for clarifying your own preferences.

First, though, let‘s define the terms, beginning with sweet (admittedly one of the more alarming words to wine drinkers). Alarming may be a little too strong, but the cliché in the wine trade has been, consumers talk dry but drink sweet. Some of the most popular everyday brand wines are made with unannounced residual sugar in them. (Or even worse, added sugar.) But when I use the word sweet, I’m thinking not only of actual sugar in the wine, but also (more often) of the impression of sweetness. This impression can be provided by dominant fruit flavours and high concentrations of glycerol, a product of fermentation that is heavy, oily and slightly sweet. Red Zinfandel, for example, is usually dry, but it’s sweet because of its intense fruitiness. I would also include most Californian red wines, Châteauneuf-du-Papes and Côtes du Rhônes from ripe vintages, and a number of Spanish reds. Among white wines I would classify as giving a sense of sweetness, are fruity California Chardonnays, voluptuous

Samui Ring Road

Lamai

Viogniers, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Grigios, and especially the more flowery Torrontés from Argentina (a personal favourite).

more sweet than savoury, but as they get older, especially Gran Reservas, they turn delightfully spicy and almost leathery - savoury for sure.

character of a wine. The riper the grapes, the sweeter the juice, and the more likely the wine will end up on the sweet side.

Savoury wines, as you would imagine, are the ones that don’t leave any impression of sweetness. In fact, they may not taste like fruit at all. With the exception of citrus and possibly apple flavours, which are more acidic than sweet. Fino sherries are saline rather than sweet, for example. Good Muscadet, Sancerre and Chablis (and many other white Burgundies) offer suggestions of fruit flavours, but they mainly convey herbal or smoky flavours, along with the stony, chalky, slate qualities that often come under the vague, all-encompassing term, mineral. And mineral flavours go hand in hand with lively acidity. Indeed, many wines in the savoury category also have a freshness that comes with fresh acidity. Good examples of this would be Soave and dry Rieslings. Of course red wines can be savoury. In the wonderful world of tasting notes, Shiraz can be said to have aromas and flavours of herbs, olives and bacon fat. Prime savoury material! Yet if you pick the grapes riper, and lavish the wine with oak, red wines can become sweet. Young Riojas are

Naturally, generalizing like this is dangerous.

Many categories of wine are too hard to consign to either sweet or savoury, and any wine enthusiast can surely offer exceptions. You have to go bottle by bottle to figure out where a wine fits. Beaujolais is often produced to amplify the fruitiness of the Gamay grape, and so would be classified as sweet. But serious, small-production Beaujolais often shows more acidity and mineral flavours. Red Burgundy can also go both ways, especially when young. As good red Burgundies age, their savoury side becomes more pronounced. Indeed, aging does bring out the savoury elements in many wines. How about Bordeaux? Classic Pauillac is renowned for qualities often described as blackcurrant, graphite and cigar box. To me, they are savoury.

But the wines with a higher percentage of Merlot are harder to classify. They may have more fruit aromas, but they, too, often have underlying mineral qualities, along with pronounced fruit. And obviously, the winemaker’s intent can completely change the

If you like Australian Shiraz, you might assume you would also like northern Rhône red wines, as they’re made from the same grape. But the sweet-and-savoury method would suggest a greater affinity for ripe Châteauneuf Du-Pape, made from a blend of grapes rather than straight Shiraz, but bold and full of fruit like Aussie Shirazes. Unfortunately, only the rare wine shop or sommelier will respond well to a request for a savoury wine. And you might not want to ask anybody for a sweet wine, unless you are certain they know what you mean.

Telephone 0 7745 8560-4

www.manathai.com

Some purists might well object to my over simplification of wine style. But simplicity, as cosmologists and philosophers say, is a virtue.

And as the writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry so eloquently put it, perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

Peter James

Opening Times 10am – 1am

Silavadee Pool Spa Resort

Silavadee Pool Spa Resort presents a wide range of restaurants and bars featuring a variety of cuisines to suit all tastes.

Premium cocktails and selected wines are also available in each outlet.

STAR

A stunning rooftop bar where you can sip our signature cocktails and enjoy some snacks while watching the sunset or gazing at the stars above.

Open: 17.00-23.30hrs.

The Height

Sun Deck

Wine and Cigar Lounge

Oering an extensive menu of delightful Thai cuisine, the restaurant has both air-conditioned and open air seating options, all with stunning views of the surrounding sea.

Open: 17.00-22.30hrs.

Exclusive dining on the deck with breathtaking views.Enjoy International delights in a romantic setting with your loved one. Please reserve in advance.

Refreshments, cocktails and snacks with a selection of premium wines and cigars to enjoy the breathtaking view.

Open:18.00-22.30hrs.

Open: 17.00-23.30hrs

Silavadee Pool Spa Resort 208/66 Moo4, Koh Samui, Suratthani 84310 Thailand Tel: (+66) 077 960 555 Fax: (+66) 077 960 055 www. Silavadeeresort.com www.siamwininganddining.com

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Rice Barge &

Terrace

Fine Beachside Dining at the Rice Barge & Terrace Authentic Thai Cuisine Daily A La Carte and Thai Set Dinner No visit to Samui is complete until you have dined at the Rice Barge & Terrace

The Barge Western Cuisine & Seafood Every Monday Cowboy Steak Buffet Every Wednesday Hawaiian Seafood Buffet Rice Barge & Terrace Nora Buri's Signature Restaurant Chaweng North For Reservation Tel: 0 7791 3555 E-mail: ricebarge@noraburiresort.com www.noraburiresort.com

Chaweng Beach Road Chaweng North

It’s all happening at Nora Beach Resort & Spa Tuesday Night- Siam Kingdom Thai Night. We invite you to experience a variety of traditional Thai dishes.

Price THB 850 per person.

Thursday Night - East Meets West. Enjoy our chef’s special buffet creations. Price THB 950 net per person. Children 6-12 years old half price. Entertainment: Polynesian Show & Mariposa Duo. Thai Cooking Class Learn how to cook 3 authentic Thai dishes with our Thai Chef. Price THB 1,500 per person Inclusive of chef hat, apron, certificate and recipe.

Fruit Carving Class Price THB 1,500 per person. Inclusive of chef hat, apron and certificate.

Daily Happy Hour Beverages Special offer 50% off (Except wine, Corona beer, all spirits by the bottle) Pool Bar 1.00 pm - 2.00 pm & 4.00 pm - 5.00 pm. Prasuthon Restaurant 6.00 pm - 7.00 pm.

Lobby Bar 7.00 pm - 8.00 pm & 10.00 pm - 11.00 pm.

Romantic Private Dining Dining on the beach with private chef and waiter/waitress.

Thai menu THB 5,000 per couple.

International menu THB 6,000 per couple.

Advance reservation required

For further information please telephone 0 7742 9400 E-mail: reservation@norabeachresort.com www.norabeachresort.com

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