Treat Yourself in Royal Style at Baan Rim Pa in Phuket

We arrived near sunset and were met by Sue Ultman who is the the Director of Marketing Communications and PR for the Baan Rim Pa Group of restaurants and her able manager, Alfredo Fernandini who were our hosts and gourmet guides to enjoy our repast. Hung Fat’s is a trendy and relaxed place for drinks, light lunch or an exotic dinner. This is the newest addition to the Baan Rim Pa group of restaurants, which offer some of the finest award winning dining at their beachfront locations. Hung Fat’s is 500 meters to the north past the Baan Rim Pa location.

This two-story bar and restaurant has a unique décor and architectural design. Using recycled timber in the interior and steel trusses for its arching roof to give an openness of the structure while the red furniture reminds you of the Asian theme. We had some well mixed fresh mango margarita’s and enjoyed the view at sunset while munching our assortment of appetizers consisting of Fragrant Crisp Fried Calamari with Garlic Pesto and Lemon Aioli and Soft Shell Crab with Ginger and Chinese Black Bean. Just yummy! The menu created by the Executive Chef Aaron has an Asian twist to cover all tastes. From light & healthy choices such as; Banana Blossom Salad with chili poached chicken to Blue Crab Noodle Rolls with mango salsa. For main choices there are items like Three Pepper Seared Ahi Tuna Steak with garlic chive potato purée and soy/Chinese hot mustard emulsion or Yellow Miso Steamed Chilean Sea Bass with enoki mushrooms and shrimp dumplings in a light soy/Mirin broth, just to mention a few.



After are appetites were throttled back a bit, we were off to the venerable Baan Rim Pa Group of  restaurants at one stunning location back down the road toward Patong. Baan Rim Pa could be described as cuisine formerly from the Grand Palace. Add in the spectacular views of Patong Beach in a romantic two story Teak house with the sounds of waves crashing below you and you have to admit this has to be one of the most romantic restaurants with superb food & service in Phuket that would make any evening a special one to remember.

We should tell you how it began. It started back in 1989 when Tom McNamara opened the Baan Rim Pa in what was his house back then. Everybody on Phuket thought it was insane to specialize in Thai food at a time when the then few hotels and restaurants tended with Schnitzel and Sauerkraut to the palate of the German and Austrian tourists. Tom dared to be different, not only did he serve Thai food, he hired descendants of former chefs from the royal household in Bangkok and made Baan Rim Pa a place where everybody could learn the differences of the delights of true Royal Thai Cuisine.

Baan Rim Pa proved to be a roaring success and has received many revered awards. Is there a difference in Thai Cuisine and Royal Thai Cuisine, you bet there is! Of course the selection of fresh daily top quality ingredients and the careful skill in the kitchen are all evident. But it is the subtle blending of the combination of ingredients that make the flavors truly unique and like no other Thai food you have tried.

We ate Thai Style and shared and tasted all the dishes as they were brought to our table by the very attentive staff. Now I have to confess this writer is not a big fan of spicy foods (at least my stomach isn’t) or very strong flavors. Sue told me they are more than happy to adjust a dish to your taste and degree of spiciness you desire when asked. To my delight, the ”heat” in the dishes and strong curries were kept to a minimum so the subtle flavors of all the dishes came through.  Some of the great appetizers we had are Deep Fried Tiger Prawns Rolled with Yellow Noodles and Fried Crispy Noodles Topped with Minced Pork & Balsam Leaf. We had a nice light bodied Pinot Grigio to go with these appetizers as it went well with the Thai spice and curry flavors. My favorite of these were the Herbed Minced Chicken and Sweet Corn in pastry shells as the sweet corn added something special to the flavor. We had a bottle of Pinot Grigio which was a nice light bodied wine to go with these appetizers, a perfect choice that went well with the Thai spice and curry flavors.

The main dishes arrived and included deep fried honeyed chicken in pandanus leaves and a delicious steamed white snapper with lemon and garlic sauce. It is hard to pick favourites, but besides the snapper, I enjoyed duck in a thick, creamy light curry sauce and lychees. What a nice combination of the flavors of the duck and lychees when you combined them in your mouth! Another delicacy you don’t find often was soft shell crab fried with chili jam and another dish we had we had was the herbed salad of wing bean with shredded chicken & prawns. We had a bottle of Anakena Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon that accompanied the main dishes well. The prices were from 245 baht to 645 baht for the seafood selections, so not astronomical for a truly Royal meal.

The Desserts, next time I start with the desserts. The crepes with red wine syrup, fresh strawberries and vanilla ice cream were to die for.  Another reviewer had the daily special of Amaretto Panna Cotta, sooo smooth & creamy. We finished of the dinner with espresso followed by a lemonciello. Truly a meal fit for a Queen or King!  The Spice! Review team thoroughly enjoyed themselves and if you really want a slice of Heaven on earth, then we suggest you indulge yourselves at Baan Rim Pa.



Baan Rim Pa Piano Bar and Restaurant 
Located adjacent to Joe’s Downstairs and Da Maurizio Bar Ristorante
223 Prabaramee Road
Tel : +66(0)76-340-789 or
+66(0)76-341-768 www.baanrimpa.com
Hung Fat’s
314 Prabaramee Road, Kalim Bay, Phuket, Thailand Tel: +66(0) 7629 0288
www.baanrimpa.com/hungfats