"Cookies", Haad Salad, Koh Phangan

I find blogging in Thailand slightly frustrating. Even though internet is readily available everywhere, I seem to encounter constant problems. I can't upload photos, or the wireless cuts out, or my card runs out, as happened tonight, and I lost my whole blog. So despite being in a beautiful, calm, relaxed place, and am blogging through gritted teeth, and don't feel very zen at all.

Deep breath... tonight we went to a lovely restaurant which I have to recommend to anyone going to Koh Phangan. It's on Salad (Pirate) beach, on a hill on the left hand side of the beach, if you are facing the sea. In fact, it was recommended to me by a collegue back in London. We came here two days in a row, because we realised on the first night that we needed to order to some "specials" the day before. And if you're doing that, you may as well reserve the best table too, as the place gets packed and there's not much chance of getting it otherwise

 

The restaurant itself has a colonial feel to it, which is unusual in Thailand (unsurprisingly, since it has never been colonised), so feels incredibly chic, while retaining the Thai relaxed, friendly attitude.

We had a few great dishes here, but first I must mention this really simple drink that I wll be making all summer in the UK, when it finally arrives

It's yoghurt with honey and mint blended together with some crushed ice (Yoghurt Fizz)- heaven on earth

That there is one of the "specials" I mentionned earlier - chicken wrapped in (pandan?) leaves, which you need to order a day before. It has an unsual flavour that I wouldn't necessarily  think was Thai if I had eaten it somewhere else - it is earthy rather than fragrant. Would strongly recommend trying it though!

Other things that stood out were Thai-style sweet and sour fish, crab in curry powder and BBQ fish. All the food is lovely and fresh and I wouldn't say anything is actually bad, but the Moo Manao (pork salad) wasn't so special and it was the only thing that didn't get scraped off the plate. So, to sum up, if you're ever in Koh Phangan, be sure to visit!