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High on a hill overlooking Patong Bay sits the Novotel Phuket Resort.
Standing in the majestic lobby which drops to a beautiful swimming
pool below, the visitor can imagine how the Greek gods must have
lived on Mt. Olympus gazing down at life below.
The Novotel
Phuket Resort has the best views on the island and is enhanced
by Thai themed architecture which is graceful and respects local
culture.
You don't have to be a guest to visit the Novotel Phuket Resort.
General Manager Michel Vivier invites all visitors and residents
of Phuket
to venture up the hill and enjoy a very special and very romantic
evening.
The resorts has several fine dining options. The main restaurant
is called the Coffee House. Each night Food and Beverage Manager
Herve Duprat offers a different choice of international foods. One
night is Italian with pastas, antipasti and all the treats you might
expect on a visit to Milan or Rome. The staff dress as Venetians
and dance for guests. Another night is Tex-Mex with all the tasty
tacos, enchiladas and burritos you can eat on the buffet. Other
choices are an evening featuring fine French cuisine while another
dinner are exotic Asian foods from around South Asia.
Executive Chef Dominique Chauveau is the only Western chef planning
menus and maintaining quality control in the kitchens of a Patong
resort. He has worked around the world in top resorts and he
demands the finest dining for his guests.
Nearby perched closer to the views of lights of Patong
Beach is the Ruen Thong where guests can enjoy Thai cuisine.
The choices include a special Discovery Menu where all the tastes
in the Kingdom are presented for your enjoyment. You can sample
a spicy salad, a famous tom yam soup, curries that are spiced for
the international taste, meats cooked with Asian spices and herbs
and a traditional Thai dessert of mixed fruit.
Novotel Phuket Resort has three sculpted swimming pools on different
levels which all drop into one another. This not only affords privacy
while swimming but gives the impression that the resort was built
around tropical waterfalls.
At the bottom of the last pool is the Old Fisherman's restaurant
which serves the freshest seafood caught daily from the Andaman
Sea. Guests can actually watch the fishing boats leave the shore
in search of the delicious prawn, Phuket and rock lobsters, garoupa
and squid that will be served later in the evening.
"We've reinvented the menu at the Old Fisherman's with recipes
that can not be found elsewhere on Phuket," states Mr. Vivier.
"For example, we offer a salmon steak with ginger butter and
kaffir lime that is seared on one side but left lightly steamed
on the other which allows the fresh taste of the salmon to excite
the palate."
Again, Chef Chauveau has designed a menu where no two dishes have
the same taste. A special feature is the Seafood platter with a
selection of grilled Phuket lobster, shrimp, crab, red snapper,
mussels, shark steak and rock lobster. The salad bar is complimentary.
While neighboring Patong has a number of seafood restaurants, none
can compare with the variety and sophistication of the menu at the
Old Fisherman's.
A sample of what's offered includes a cream soup of barracuda and
mussels, leeks and saffron or an appetizer of lobster, oyster mushroom
and green asparagus with prawn butter sauce. Another choice of appetizer
could be poached scallops served with "oak leaf" salad,
fried vegetables and walnut oil.
The main course selection at the Old Fisherman's include menu items
that one might expect at a Michelin star restaurant at a fraction
of the price. These include roasted king prawns with morel mushroom
and vermouth over black taglioni or red snapper fillets "meuniere"
with sliced almonds and mashed potatoes or rock lobster and chayote
vegetables with avocado sauce.
But leave room for the fun desserts that are inventive as well
as refreshing. The Bamboo Mystery is strawberry ice cream with guava,
litchi, rose apple with whipped cream and raspberry sauce and the
African Queen is chocolate and mocca ice cream topped with chocolate
mousse, whipped cream, black chocolate sauce and fresh orange. Or
for those who prefer a fresher taste, there's the Phuket Delight,
lemon grass sherbert with gin kaffir lime.
After a dinner at any of the fine restaurants at the Novotel Phuket
Resort, you must visit the Hourglass Bar which faces the lobby.
Not only will you find delicious tropical drinks but you'll be
entertained by John Gordon and his PartyLine Band. And three nights
a week, from Thursday through Saturday, Phuket's premier jazz and
blues singer, Bonnie Anderson, puts guests in the mood for dancing
and a little romance. John Gordon has a reputation around Asia for
his upbeat music that pleases any audience. He has had a great career
playing in some of the top resorts around the world.
His music is always in demand due to the great sense of fun he
shares with the audience and his versatility on the keyboards. He
is equally at home playing Duke Ellington as the Eagles. He's there
to please his guests.
Before leaving the Novotel Phuket Resort be sure to stand from any
of the many viewpoints and marvel at the beautiful views of the
mountains and sea. It may be the most romantic moment of your visit
to Phuket.
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