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WAY COOL & FUNKY

Trying to define Stacked turns into an exceptional gourmet journey !

Let’s get something straight. Stacked is unique. You’ll try, but you just can’t label it. The sign outside says ‘Stacked Burger’ but a disc in a bun is not where it’s at. It shows sport on TV but a ‘sports pub’ it isn’t. It sells hipster micro-brews, but that’s just a part of it. It’s wonderfully comfy, with just a touch of the rustic, but it’s not a lounge either, although it’s got one. The only way to work out quite what Stacked is, is to go there and do it for yourself.

Sustainable Seafood

Ensuring healthy oceans for generations to come.

In the 1960s, fishing on Samui was more leisurely than it is today. Catches were guaranteed, far fewer boats plied the waters, and in the evenings everyone gathered to barbecue the day’s catch. As for holidaymakers from abroad, there wasn’t a single one – yet. Fast forward to today, and there are millions. There’s now a huge demand. Just walk around Samui and see how many restaurants there are here. Most will sell fish of one kind or another. And the supply is still plentiful. Samui is unique in that it’s experienced massive changes in just a few decades, but the fishing situation in all of the world’s seas and oceans is of concern to everyone, everywhere.

Prego Magnifico!

What makes Prego one of the finest Italian restaurants anywhere.

Are you looking for one of the finest Italian restaurants on Samui, if not in all of Thailand? Somewhere that the location, setting and ambiance are unique and without parallel? Where you can enjoy the finest of imported ingredients from not only Italy but from all over the world? A restaurant where each dish is carefully cooked to perfection by an international award-winning chef? If so, then look no further. It’s exclusive. It’s romantic. It’s world class. And its name is Prego.

Not the Usual Suspects

Zany cocktails abound at The Privilege Hotel Ezra Beach Club.

Beach clubs these days are all the rage, and over the past few years, more have opened here on Samui. They offer their guests a lot of fun, along with all the delights of being close to the sea. In Bangrak, the latest addition, The Privilege Hotel Ezra Beach Club, combines hotel accommodation with a beach club atmosphere. With friendly staff and the promise of good times with friends, it’s definitely a great place to unwind. Relaxation is high on most guests’ agendas, and the beach club’s 40-metre swimming pool is the focal point for chilling out.

Fair and Fowl

Check out Thailand’s chickens, they’re turning up everywhere!

When the alarm goes off, many of us are tempted to hit that snooze button. For thousands of Thai people struggling to wake up, their alarm can’t be turned off. That’s because it doesn’t have a snooze button and is running about outside, covered in feathers, pecking away at the ground. Chickens are the standard wake-up call for many Thais. It’s been this way for centuries. Chickens are one of the mainstays of life in Thailand, and not just in the rural parts. Even in towns, you’ll hear chickens and see them running around. Nobody questions this. Why would they?

The French Touch

A new chef is shaking things up at Chef’s Table, Sareeraya Villas & Suites

Look carefully at the high grey wall right opposite the Samui International Hospital in north Chaweng, and you will see the discrete gold lettering announcing Sareeraya. Beyond this wall are 49 carefully hidden villas and suites as well as Chef’s Table, the Thai style, beachside restaurant that now has a new French touch of ‘Ooh la la’. Open on two sides with views of the ocean, beach, sky and pool and with plenty of ceiling fans to keep the sea breeze circulating, the atmosphere is instantly relaxing and genteel. The décor and furniture are minimal, natural and strong, with dark wood, rattan, stone and metal mixes which are bang on trend.

A Climate Change?

How attitudes are evolving, and the effect on wine production in Asia.

Only a few years ago there were two general sorts of wines; Classic (Old World) and New World. As the name suggests, classic wines were those from old and traditional vineyards in Europe and the Mediterranean regions, whereas Australia, the Americas and South Africa were the new kids on the block. ‘Old’ and ‘new’ doesn’t refer to a particular ‘style’, but rather the differences in winemaking philosophies and attitudes.

LAZING BY THE POOL

We’re half way through the year – a look at what’s happening on Samui!

In many ways this is the laziest time of all. We’ve had all the colour and ceremony of Chinese New Year. And we’ve survived being drowned again in the Thai New Year. Easter has come and gone. And, here on Samui, we’re left lazing by the pool and wondering what there is to do or see.

Actually, there are lots of sights to see, from the magical ‘Buddha’s Secret Garden’ up the mountain, to the curious Mummified Monk, complete with his trendy Ray Bans. Although the hottest time of the year has supposed to have passed, very often June and July can catch you out with a week of temperatures in the low 30s that leave you gasping and reaching for the aircon dial.

TOP SPOT

Great views and even better cuisine at Dr Frogs.

Just a couple of kilometres south of Chaweng, Dr Frogs is strategically placed high on a cliff next to one of Samui’s most picturesque viewpoints. Take a seat at the restaurant and you can gaze out on the sea far below and let yourself be bewitched. Dr Frogs, despite its odd name, radiates a mix of eye-catching beauty, cosiness and extraordinarily good cooking. It has the sweetness that a place acquires when many people declare it a favourite spot and linger there; the appeal of just being able to leave your worries at its doors and then – always, always – the food, memorable in the ways that count. Dr Frogs focusses on both Italian and Thai fare. It gets them both right and even manages to bring them together in some very remarkable fusion dishes.

Bountiful Nature

A look at some of the locally grown fruits on Samui.

Samui. Vacationers see it as a series of beautiful beaches with an unknown interior, all its towns dotted around its shores. Farmers see it in a completely different way: orchards, plantations, jungles and fields, all of it barely inhabited, except, of course for the loud, noisy perimeter.

Nora! Nora! Nora!

Nora Beach Resort is still one of the best around! Here’s why.

Nora Beach Resort & Spa is a large and comfortable traditionally-styled resort, laid-out in descending terraces as befits the geography of North Chaweng. This means that the usual way to get down to the beach is via one of the little golf carts that regularly make their way back and forth – simply head for reception and ask for a buggy to the restaurant. Rounding the last twist in the path you’ll see their signature restaurant, Prasuthon, just below you, against the lovely backdrop of the deep blue sea and islands in the background.

Going Native

Joining the locals at Hainanese Chicken Rice .

Down in Ban Hua Thanon, there’s an amazing shrine, with an enormous 16 metre high statue, one of the largest of its kind in the world. It depicts the warlike Guan Yu, famed for his virtue. It was commissioned by the descendants of the Hainan Chinese who settled on the island over a hundred years ago. They brought with them entire houses that they’d carefully de-constructed so that they could build them here in a new land. They also brought with them all their culture, and that of course included their culinary skills and recipes. The person responsible for the shrine, Khun Virach Pongchababnapa, also one of the original descendants, provided the recipe for the dish that you can eat at today’s restaurant. Both the restaurant and the dish are simply called Hainanese Chicken Rice.

Feed Me More Junk

What is it that makes junk food so hard to resist?

What a simple question this is! And yet there’s layer upon layer of reasons why it’s so hard to refuse a doughnut, a crème caramel or that second helping of chocolate pudding. And then it’s a lot to do with the way we live and our society, too. Not to mention that different nations have totally different habits and ways of thinking. But, basically, we can’t help ourselves – and it’s a reason that goes back millions of years.

Spoon Feeding

Just why is it that you never see a knife on a Thai dinner table?

How many times have you visited Thailand? Even if you’ve come over here quite a lot, you still might not be familiar with the way the Thai people eat their food. Of course, if you have Thai friends and have been invited to their house for a meal, that’s a different matter. But, unless you’re acquainted with Thai customs, then eating-in with a tableful of Thais might come as quite a jolt.