Ruined Wall at Spirit House

A recommendation from the friendly hotel owner that we should visit Spirit House, to see for ourselves the beauty of the restaurant. Being listed in the Samui Dining Guide that it has become a must-visit place, this unique restaurant is hidden in the ruined city walls and they're specialising in authentic Thai cuisine. Walking along the paths, they're leading you to the traditional style building where the restaurant is while further steps are heading towards a small pond and spice garden that you can sit down on the bench to enjoy the beautiful scenery. You can find some statues that are based on the common jobs in old days such as farming or carving. They look real among the dim lighting! Besides, the small pavilions that are decorated with the silky curtains are meant to let the customers enjoying relaxing spa experience here.

Out from the Entrees menu, we've decided to take the Pork Satay. I'm a little surprised that the whole slice of pork meat is poked onto the stick that is then being barbecued instead of the slightly cut or minced meat that I've usually eaten before. The meat is a little hard yet the saltiness is sufficient that it tastes delicious especially with the thick peanut sauce. Next, we've ordered the Red Duck Curry and Pork Salad for sharing. The earlier is a specialty dish that is recommended by the restaurant whereby it's a rich curry that is accompanied by lychees, grapes and cherries tomatoes. You can then choose the level of spiciness as either mild, medium or spicy. I like not only the juicy and tender duck meat but also the fruit that has added a refreshing taste to the curry. The milkiness of the thick curry doesn't cause me a feeling of overfull. The latter dish consists of the succulent pieces of grilled pork meat that are being served on top of the pool of salad such as coriander, bean sprout, onion and capsicum. I've really enjoyed the pork meat and also the dressing that tastes a little sweet and sour.

Ending of the meal, I've decided to get myself a dessert. Not really too many choices, I've ordered the Lady Finger Bananas drizzling in the rum syrup that comes together with a scoop of coconut ice-cream. The flour coating is neither thick nor crispy and the banana itself doesn't taste sweet. The rum syrup has as well not added marks to the sweetness or aroma. The dessert tastes quite Okay but I'm not impressed.

In conclusion, we're satisfied with the Thai cuisine here that we've especially given a 'Thumb Up' to the Red Duck Curry. I'll sure recommend Spirit House restaurant & spa to the tourists that are visiting Koh Samui for the specialty of this artistic building and the deliciousness of the Thai food here. The authenticity of the Thai culture has indeed a big attraction to us whom are looking for a restaurant that is not available in Malaysia.

Convenience by Family Mart

I like every Family Mart in Thailand because we're getting not only the ready-made or packed food but also the cooked food that can be done instantly inside the shop. It's just alike a small restaurant that you can buy a meal or to visit for a snack. One of the attraction for Attila is the sausage station that is selling mainly the pork sausages. Additionally, chicken or fish sausages are available as well.

During an afternoon teatime, Attila has decided to get the sausages to fill up his hunger. He has chosen the Smoke Further Pork and Cheesy Sausage that is made from chicken. The sausages taste good because the inner is soft yet the outer layer is slightly crispy to create the bite strength. The only concern or dislike from mine is the sausages that have been sliced are put into the plastic bag and then being heated together inside the microwave oven. Looking at Attila that is enjoying his snack and I'm really questioning, how healthy that the sausages are?

Double INcome No Kids Yet at DINKY

Double INcome No Kids Yet has attracted us to stay at the DINKY Rock, Lounge Beach Club & Spa that is located at Hin Ta Hin Yai by Lamai Beach. The huge rock is an exceptional scene that is uniquely available here whereby I can capture the whole view of the hotel. The white sandy beach and the wide open area, the French owner intends to create a private space to let the customers to relax in leisurely pace here. The white building and furniture, the pink sofa and pillow together with the colourful LED lighting; the hotel is just beautiful regardless day or night.

On the 1st night, we've decided to take our dinner at the restaurant by the hotel. With the recommendations from the friendly staff, we've decided to take the Garlic Shrimps and Blue Crab Dumpings as our starters. The 'Dumpings' is a typo error as it should be 'Dumplings'. The shrimps are fried with a lot of chopped garlic while the dumplings are wrapped with the crab meat inside and being steamed to cook. Both of the dishes are garnished with a milky sauce. The dishes taste quite good except that the prawns are too small in size and they're as well not too fresh. Besides, I'll prefer to add slightly more saltiness for the sauce of the dumplings because the skin that is made from flour is somehow tasteless.

Next to follow for our main courses are Thai food whereby we've decided to share the Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts and Green Curry Chicken. I've a gut feeling that these dishes have somehow being modified to suit the foreigners' taste buds that they're neither strong in aroma nor spiciness. I'm not really impressed by the taste but in nutshell, the dishes do still taste Okay. A special remark from my side is about the Green Curry Chicken that even the curry is thin and it's quite sweet yet I somehow like the refreshing taste from the lemongrass.

The quiet and peaceful Lamai Beach suits the tourists that are looking for getaway out from the hustle and bustle of city life. On our arrival, the dinner may not be the most perfect from its deliciousness but we're totally impressed by the environment and service here.

Continuing on 2nd day, we've woke up early to catch up for the breakfast before 11am. As explained by the owner, they don't serve buffet style breakfast due to the space limitation. The guests are served with a fruit platter, slices of cheese and ham, some breads of the day such as Baguette and Croissant, butter and fruit jam, the egg of your choice that ranges from sunny-side-up to scrambled or Omelette, a cup of hot coffee or tea and a glass of fruit juice. This is just the perfect portion of breakfast that has sufficiently fill up our hunger. Of course, I'm always welcomed to get my next coffee for breakfast to energize myself for the day. My accomplishment goes to the delicious Croissant that is soft at inner yet crispy at outside. Back in Penang, I'm still missing their Croissant for my morning breakfast.
Attila and I have achieved the same agreement that we'll choose DINKY for our future holiday in Koh Samui. The hotel has provided the service, food and environment that we've wished for a relaxation.

Irrawady at Jalan Irrawady

Our friend Chef Tommes from TLWB owns as well a cafe cum deli shop that is called Irrawady Fine Foods at Jalan Irrawady. The shop is opened from 11am till 6pm daily except on Sunday. Not only for dining in, but it's also a deli shop that is selling different kinds of Salami or Ham, cheese, sauces or seasonings and bread. If you're interested, baking classes are as well available for registration.

Since its opening, Attila and I have hardly visited Irrawady Fine Foods because it's almost impossible to wake us up for breakfast. On a sunny weekend during public holiday and after being woke up by the alarm clock, I've persuaded Attila to go for a nice brunch here. I'll normally checkout the chalkboard for their menu or if there's any special of the day. I've then decided to take the English Full Breakfast that comes with 2 sunny-side-up, 1 sausage, 1 toast that is halved into triangles, 1 tomato and some baked beans. This is kind of a standard breakfast that I've always wanted to have, especially the pork bacon and the egg whereby the egg white must be completely cooked while the egg yolk is still half-cooked. I like the salt and the black pepper in the sausage but the frying seems to have sacrificed its tenderness. I assume that the sausage may taste better if it's being barbecued?
Attila has decided to DIY that he has chosen the Bagel with black poppy seeds, the 'stinky' cheese, Pickles or the fermented cucumber, Hungarian Salami and the Longaniza de Chivo or spicy pork sausage. We can't recall the name of the cheese that we've named it 'stinky' cheese for its strong smell. Even though the smell is quite strong, yet the deliciousness is really superb. This is the way that my Boyfriend likes to have for his breakfast, the most important is always the Salami.

If you're keen for a Western breakfast that is Non-Halal and you're not restricted only to the defined menu, do drop a visit to Irrawady Fine Foods. Alternatively, you can as well take away some ingredients to prepare your own breakfast or BBQ at home.

I've to Recommend... Foong Wei

I'm completely out of my mind that I've forgotten to write about Foong Wei Restaurant风味小食館 that is located at Jalan Sri Bahari. Every Penangites know about this restaurant and it's always fully packed by customers not only during normal lunch or dinner hours but also on festive seasons or occasions such as Chinese New Year or birthday celebrations. It's well known for the deliciousness of the food and the friendly service of the waiter and waitress that every Chinese is willing to spend for a meal here.

A tradition before Chinese New Year, we've decided to have our year end closing meal收工宴 at Foong Wei Restaurant. We're served with an empty stainless steel pot that is filled with hot water to get ready for our first dish, the Poon Choi盆菜. This is to ensure that the dish is always kept warm throughout our lunch hour. Poon Choi is traditionally invented by poor people in old days whereby various ingredients or the left-over food are mixed together to boil a pot of delicious meal. Modernization to nowadays, the ingredients for Poon Choi are getting to be more diversified that range from abalone鲍鱼, fish maw花胶, swim bladder鱼鳔, sea cucumber海参, prawn虾, mushrooms菇类, vegetable菜类 to poultry such as roasted pork烧肉, chicken烧鸡 and duck烧鸭. There's a 'layering' rule in preparing Poon Choi. The most bottom layer is started with land or the meat and then being topped up with vegetable or mushroom. Finally, the most top layer is being covered with the sea treasures. Every single cents that I've spent here are worth for money because the ingredients are really valuable and the taste is really delicious.

Our lunch has as well included the Lotus Leaf Rice荷叶饭 that is steamed with chopped roasted pork and 3 types of sausages. I'm not so amazed by the rice as the nice aromas of the dark soy sauce and the lotus leaf are not appealing. Anyway, the rice is still quite tasty because of the pork sausages.

Ending of our meal is the soupy dessert that is made from longan龙眼, lotus seed莲子 and red date红枣. I'm not so fancy over this dessert but it doesn't taste too bad anyway.

I've missed out the picture of the Steamed Long Dan Fish with Soy Sauce清蒸龙胆鱼. The fish is very fresh that it's tasty even being steamed with soy sauce only. I'll definitely visit this restaurant with my friends or colleagues again that we can share a big table of different delicious cuisines.