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These celebrity chefs are given free reign to present innovative
contemporary cuisine that combines the ingredients of the world
with the accents and flavors of Asia. Perhaps no where is this more
apparent than the stunning collection of restaurants that offer
sumptuous Sunday brunches for anyone with an adventure for exotic
tastes.
I’ve had to choose only five of my favorite locales for an
unforgettable Sunday brunch, places where you can bring the family.
It’s impossible to give them any order of importance so I’ll
start at the northern part of Phuket and finish at the very Southern
tip.
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| Dion McGrath |
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Hidden away at Nai Yang beach, not far from the island’s airport,
sits the newly re-styled and very chic Indigo
Pearl Phuket. The owners have invested 40 million US dollars
to transform this family owned resort into the most exciting and
stylish holiday property on the island.
Dion McGrath is the New Zealand Executive Chef who teams with Executive
Assistant Manager Arnaud Girodon to create a Sunday brunch set around
the extensive Tin Mine restaurant on the resort’s lower floor.
“We use our ideas from my work in China and Japan and Arnaud’s
in North Africa and Lebanon to create a sumptuous culinary experience,”
says Dion.
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| Tin Mine style |
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Food stations brimming with exotic tastes surround guests in this
fresh open air dining room. I was most intrigued with an innovative
tandoori oven, the only one of its kind in Thailand, that produces
Indian spiced bits of chicken, shrimp and lamb upon request. My
companion spent much of her time savouring the Japanese sushi and
meats cooked on the teppanyaki grill.
As brunch should be a three hour love affair with the food, it
leaves lots of time for the younger members of the family to run
off and explore any of the resort’s three swimming pools or
enjoy the circus performers who teach the young ones how to manoeuvre
on a trapeze.
The Indigo Pearl is a wonderful place to stroll around between
delicious courses of Sunday brunch and discover all the interesting
design concepts used only here on the island including a grass terraced
amphitheatre used for special performances. There’s 35 acres
of interesting resort set next to the long expanse of Nai Yang Beach,
perfect for long family walks after brunch.
1888 Baht ++ includes free flowing champagne
View Indigo
Pearl location map.
Read more about Indigo
Pearl Resort
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| Fresh seafood |
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Set farther south on the island’s west coast at Surin Beach,
the Twinpalms
Phuket has only been open for a couple years, but quickly became
the darling of the hip and happening set featuring stylish urban
interiors and an international flair to its cuisine and beverages.
The Twinpalms Phuket often features wine dinners and special events
attracting international chefs and their devotees. To be on this
mailing list ensures that you will be informed some of the best
food, music and events on the Phuket. So it’s no wonder that
the Sunday brunch became an instant success when first launched
in 2004. Residents are known to drive 30 miles for the opportunity
to taste what Executive Chef Adirek Sribubpha presents each week.
“I learned much of my kitchen skills from working with chefs
from Michelin star restaurants who know the importance of surprising
their valued guests with remarkable cuisine,” Chef Adirek tells
me.
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| Oriental Spoon
restaurant |
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Each Sunday, he presents a different theme for his buffet depending
on what treasures his suppliers can find. It might be foie gras
one week or a special cheese promotion the next. But his guests
can be assured of fresh Sidney oysters from Australia, tiger prawns,
blue crabs and salads with Alaskan crab every week.
The Sunday brunch is presented in the resort’s main dining
restaurant, the Oriental Spoon but for the younger family members,
beautiful Surin Beach is waiting just outside as well as Twinpalms
Phuket new Beach Club, the Catch which has the biggest hamburger
found on Phuket.
You could spend your entire Sunday just wandering between Oriental
Spoon and the Catch Beach Club eating and enjoying the tropical
air and Chef Adirek’s extensive offerings.
990 ++ Baht without wine
1290 ++ with wine
View Twinpalms
Phuket location map.
Read more about
Twinpalms Phuket
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| Hans Kahrs |
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Moving south to glorious Karon Beach past busy Patong, sits Phuket’s
largest resort complex, the Hilton
Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa, which welcomes visitors and
residents for their extensive Sunday brunch and recreation programs.
While the resort looks imposing with its large towers of guest rooms,
it features one of the island’s top health spas and wonderful
restaurants led by Executive Chef Hans Kahrs.
Hans produces what he calls global contemporary cuisine for his
guests. He’s a chef who knows how to combine French, Japanese,
German, Chinese and Indian flavors into a sumptuous buffet because
he’s worked in ten countries during his brilliant career spanning
from Nigeria to Vietnam. Each place has influenced his kitchen and
what he presents as Sunday brunch at the Hilton, is about as sophisticated
as you can find on the island.
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| A somptuous buffet
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“We have a particular focus on our hot foods. Our guests can
taste Peking duck, prime rib, New Zealand lamb, beef from Australia,
ham from America. We offer the most extensive selections of fine
meats on our Sunday brunch,” Chef Hans assures. “And of
course we have our popular chocolate fountain which the children
love.”
There’s a choice of fresh indoor air conditioned dining or
a table set outdoors with the sounds of the pool’s waterfall
nearby.
As the Hilton Phuket Arcadia has large swimming pools with waterfalls
and a Club special for the children, Sunday brunch means that the
older members of the family can relax around one of the resort’s
several swimming pools knowing their children are having a great
time with the professional child care staff. And Karon Beach, probably
the best beach for open water swimming, is just across the road.
850 Baht ++ includes one bottle of wine per couple
View Hilton
Arcadia location map
Read more about
Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort
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| Christophe Rodriguez
Lopez |
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Perched up on a hill looking over the islands on Phuket’s
eastern coast, sits the
Mangosteen Resort & Spa, a member of the Boutique Hotels
of the World with a Diamond rating, has been given awards for bringing
a stylish elegance to a part of the island more known for relaxed
informal beachside restaurants. The Mangosteen Resorts is a collection
of charming cabanas with beautiful views to the sea. The main restaurant
wraps around the lovely swimming pool with channels of blue turquoise
waters flowing just next to the guests’ tables.
Christophe Rodriguez Lopez came to Phuket with Club Med 19 years
ago and today manages the kitchens and food and beverage services
at the Mangosteen Resort. He grew up in his native Spain near Grenada
and worked in the hospitality industry with his family on the Costa
del Sol.
“Our Sunday brunches are very popular with local families
who want to relax on their day off with our cuisine. We offer five
different kinds of brunch which rotate each week including a unique
Belgium inspired brunch offering French quality with German quantity,”
he explains.
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| Seafood themed Sunday
brunch |
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The Sunday I visited Christophe was presenting his Seafood themed
Sunday brunch. The restaurant sits above the surrounding swimming
areas. Guests were enjoying red snapper with tarragon sauce, roasted
rock lobster with basil, crawfish with garlic butter and a piquant
and popular tom yam seafood.
Meanwhile, the children were swimming and using the fitness facilities
between snacking on their brunch.
This Seafood themed Sunday brunch also has lamb and steaks from
Australia and pork loin with pepper sauce in addition to cheese
and the best chocolate mousse I’ve had in a long time.
499 Baht ++ per person (no wine)
950 Baht ++ 2 glasses of wine per person
View The
Mangosteen location map
Read more about
The Mangosteen Resort
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| Michel Roche |
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This elegant resort celebrates 20 years of offering fine dining
and upscale accommodation to some of the world’s most discerning
and sophisticated guests. It’s one of Phuket’s landmarks
of wonderful cuisine. So it’s no surprise that Executive Chef
Michel Roche has created a Sunday brunch that has people lined up
waiting for the honor to taste what he presents. Each Sunday many
are turned away as Chef Michel wants to provide his guests with
an intimate upscale experience in the resort’s Quarterdeck
restaurant which hangs over the inviting blue waters of Nai Harn
Bay.
He learned his skills at top kitchens from San Francisco to the
French Antilles to Bangkok. Chef Michel led kitchen operations at
Le Royal Meridien’s early days from 1990 to 1996 and his French
inspired cuisine can still be seen as the major influence. When
he returned a couple years ago, suddenly small terrines of flavourful
tasty pates began to show up as well as delicacies as a jambon d’York,
pork rillettes and a variety of Middle Eastern tastes as humus,
babaganoush and tabouli set next to perfectly grilled vegetables.
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| A French signature:
Bread and Cheese |
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There are so many treasures on Chef Michel’s buffet, it’s
hard to choose a plate of fresh salad items or go straight for the
carving tables of rack of lamb, prime rib or roast beef. Large luscious
sushi sits near the biggest selection of French cheeses. It’s
a feast for royalty.
And always nearby is the dazzling, brilliant shine of the sea dazzling
guests as they try to concentrate on their plates.
I ask Chef Michel what he is most proud of with his Sunday buffet.
“Ah,” he shrugs his French shoulders, “we have the
best bread on Phuket.”
1200 Baht ++ includes half bottle of wine per guest
View Le
Royal Meridien location map
Read more about
Le Royal Meridien Phuket Yacht Club
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