OVER THE MOON

At Tree House Restaurant and Bar, Sala Samui Chaweng Beach.

Now open for breakfast, lunch and private events, new kid on the block Tree House Restaurant and Bar is located on Chaweng Beach Road. It’s part of the Garden Wing of Sala Samui Chaweng Beach Resort, the new hippest place to stay, eat, and hang-out on Koh Samui.

Sala Samui Chaweng opened in January 2018, and has quickly established itself with exceptional TripAdvisor reviews. Tree House, so named as a tree is smack bang in the middle of the outside courtyard, actually has a nautical feel to it. With tall ceilings, blonde wood, navy blue furnishings and lights looking like ship portholes, it’s bright, spacious, airy, contemporary and brand spanking new. Nature is bought into the air-conditioned restaurant with hanging plants, and is naturally present in the outside courtyard. The restaurant can seat 40 guests inside with up 80 more in the courtyard.

Former Executive Chef and now Executive Assistant Manager, Nick Hall, from the acclaimed and extremely individual ‘The Tent’ restaurant, across the road in the Oceanfront Wing, is responsible for all the culinary creations and service outlets, with Tree House being the latest addition. Breakfast is served here for guests staying in the Garden Wing from 7:00 am until last orders at 10:00 am, and is also open to outside visitors. The breakfast includes all the buffet style basics and anything from the à la carte menu - with a difference. Think of specials such as Cocomango (drink of the day) - mango, banana, coconut and spirulina, Coconut Mango and Passionfruit Waffles with Madagascan vanilla mascarpone and the Smashed Avocado (smoked salmon with avocado, poached egg, charred bread and dukkah), all for a fantastic price of 975 baht (plus tax and service charge). The menu is changed every day, always offering different and unique creations.

Lunch is served from 12 noon until 3:00 pm, after which the restaurant becomes available for private functions. Amongst the delightful western and Thai offerings of salads, soups, sandwiches, pizza, pasta, seafood, meat and vegetarian dishes, you will find; Singha Taco - crispy beer battered Asian sea bass with a tomato and cucumber salsa, red cabbage, avocado, sour cream and grated lime zest, Truffle-Porcini Tagliatelle – pan-fried mushrooms with black truffle, porcini over tagliatelle pasta with lemon mascarpone and parsley (vegetarian) and Crab Curry (gang puu) - aromatic local curry of blue swimming crab and coconut laced with turmeric and finished with betel leaf and Thai basil. Be sure to leave some room for dessert – some amazingly imaginative concoctions are on offer.

After lunch, wander around the amazing Garden Wing of Sala Chaweng. The local Thai design company ‘Onion’ has developed something extremely different to anything else you will see on Samui or elsewhere. The architecture is based on the phases of the moon. Full moon, half moon, crescent moon, eclipse of the moon, blue moon. Mixed with images of the whitewashed splendour of Santorini (a Greek island) and retaining the feeling of being within nature with the inclusion of quiet shady garden areas. It’s a quiet and relaxing space, with 82 rooms, 44 of which have private pools, an idyllic spa, a 25-metre lap pool and a kids club and pool. See how many moons you can count as you wander around!

Just across the road is the Ocean Wing of Sala Samui Chaweng Beach. With 52 rooms, all with private pools, a giant moon-shaped central pool, the Beach Bar and The Tent restaurant, all nestled on a fantastic stretch of white sandy beach with shallow water, palm trees and a mesmerising view of the Gulf of Siam. The Tent offers elegant beachside dining under a vast white canopy with natural wood and bamboo furniture and adorned with yellow furnishings, the colour of happiness. In the evening, the atmosphere becomes romantic, with subtle lighting. A variety of fresh local seafood and international dishes, plus traditional Thai favourites are served for lunch and dinner. Choose from intimate indoor dining areas, al fresco, romantic private gazebos, or dine directly on the beach under the stars.

Everything connected with Sala Samui Chaweng has a luxurious and prestigious feel, with highly trained and knowledgeable staff. Only the best quality (and organic where possible) ingredients, pass into the kitchens which are equipped with state of the art equipment and maintain the highest level of hygiene. There is a great choice of vegetarian and halal food here, all clearly labelled on the menus. And if you have any allergies or intolerances, staff can offer advice, and the chef can rustle up a tasty dish just for you.

Sala Samui is eco-friendly from every angle. Lemongrass is hollowed out for use in cooking and used as straws. There is minimal use of anything plastic. Room amenities such as combs and toothbrushes are made from bamboo, razors from corn starch. There are no single-use plastic bottles and even the garbage bags are biodegradable.

Local residents can register as a Keychain member and receive 20% discount on food and beverage, spa treatments and day-use beach passes, plus vouchers for wine, starters and desserts.

So whether you stay at Sala Samui Chaweng Beach or just visit for breakfast, lunch, dinner or for the whole day, you are sure to be ‘over the moon’ about your visit.

Karan Ladd