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.

Indigo Pearl Phuket

Dion McGrath

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.

Tin Mine style

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

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TwinPalms Phuket

Fresh seafood

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.

Oriental Spoon restaurant

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

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Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa

Hans Kahrs

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.

A somptuous buffet

“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

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The Mangosteen Resort & Spa

Christophe Rodriguez Lopez

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.

Seafood themed Sunday brunch

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

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The Quarterdeck at Le Royal Meridien Phuket Yacht Club

Michel Roche

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.

A French signature: Bread and Cheese

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

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