Some like it hot

Tucked away in the grounds of Cape Panwa Phuket Hotel, the romantic Thai restaurant Panwa House offers a taste of bygone grandeur along with breathtaking views of Andaman Sea. Housed in the elegant 80-year-old Sino-Portuguese mansion that once belonged the owner of a coconut plantation, it’s as easy on the eyes as the food is easy on the tongue.

The owners of the hotel have maintained the charming house as it would have been in the early twentieth century and the wide wooden staircase in the centre takes diners back to the glorious days of yesterday. Upstairs is not for dining but is set out like a museum, showcasing antique furniture and decorative items from vintage floral tiles, wooden cabinets, mother-of-pearl inlaid tables and chairs, teak clocks, dated magazines, blue-and-white porcelains to retro electrical plugs and light switches.

Downstairs is the main dining room and the ambience is as splendid as on the upper floor. It’s lined with rattan furniture and antiques and you feel as if you’re dining in a grandma’s lovingly restored house. There’s no air-conditioning but the fresh breeze wafting through and the retro overhead fans help to keep the heat at bay. Pleasant smells of cooking and Thai classical melodies pervade.

The restaurant can seat 24 inside but most guests opt for the alfresco dining room, which can accommodate another 80 diners with barely a hint of breeze when night falls. The tables are decked with white linen laid with brass cutlery and candleholders. The silk-clad staff are friendly and well trained and the main attraction is the authentic Thai cuisine.

The most popular dish is nam prik goong siab, dried shrimp paste dip served with an assortment of vegetables including boiled baby corn, broccoli, long beansprout and pickled thua ngok hua toh (soybean sprout). The dish (Bt160) is like other Southern food and known for its sharp and strong flavours. Most spicy dishes on the menu are actually pretty fiery even though the restaurant tends to draw more foreigners than locals. If you don’t like your food too hot, ask them to hold back on the chillies.

Titillate your tastebuds before the main course with spicy pomelo salad (Bt160) that is refreshing and tasty from the right concoction of sweet pomelo, shrimps, minced chicken, peanuts and toasted coconut tossed in a spicy dressing.

The house specialities are dried tom yum red snapper fillets with lemongrass, galangal and chilli paste (Bt300) and fried prawns topped with red curry paste (Bt220), both of which go perfectly with hot steamed rice. Other dishes worth trying are grilled mantis prawns topped with sweet and sour chilli sauce (Bt390) and roasted duck in red curry with grapes, tomato and pineapple (Bt220).

Kids will love grilled chicken satay served with peanut sauce and pickles (Bt170) and deep-fried crab claws served with sweet prune sauce (Bt160). Apart from assorted fresh fruits, there’s little in the way of desserts other than black grass jelly with ice and syrup, pumpkin custard and sweet pandanus noodles with coconut milk from Bt100 to Bt110.

If you want to learn how to prepare some of the most popular Thai dishes, a hands-on cooking class is held every Friday and Saturday allowing you to prepare appetisers, soups, main courses and desserts. The class starts at 11.30am, followed by lunch at 1.30pm, which is included in the price. The two-day course is Bt2,200 or Bt1,300 for a single day.

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Panwa House at Cape Panwa Phuket is open daily (except Monday) from 6.30pm to 11pm. Call 076) 391 123-5 or visit www.CapePanwa.com.