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By Kit C. Cauw
Phuket Island must be quite a challenge; in my wanderings I have
passed a good many that are barely more inhabited than the ghost
towns of the American Southwest. I tell myself that I ought to stop
in this or another one sometime, only to discover that the French
owners have left and an Indian restaurant is opening soon. Just
imagine the competition. How can the little guy lure guests out
from resorts of palatial luxury? This is Thailand after all, home
to quite possibly the planet's finest food. Why would anyone come
to Thailand and eat anything but Thai?
Gianni and Chonticha Ferrara of La Gaetana, in Phuket Town, have
been pulling off the near miraculous for just over three years,
not by boasting the best sea view but by serving tasty Italian food,
mostly from the Campania area in the south, in an atmosphere of
intimacy, one in which customers are made to feel as if they are
guests in their hosts' kitchen. Lighting is soft, the yellow walls
ornamented with bright green shelves and contrasting blackboards
that bear the nights' specials in chalk. Potted plants, flowers,
brightly-coloured plates and displays of dried pastas and spices
provide decoration. Eating utensils are not the fine silverware
one expects in a formal dining room; rather the handles are of bright,
translucent plastic in pastel blues and pinks. Little notes are
placed on the napkins, reading, "Buon Appetito from all of
us at La Gaetana."
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The front room is small and cozy, with just a handful of tables
and a bar curved around the triangular intrusion of the stairwell.
While I have always enjoyed plenty of privacy when dining here,
whether on dates or in more rowdy groups of hotly debating men,
there is also the sense that I am sharing the experience with the
other guests, that this could be dinner at a family reunion, where
by necessity we are split up into separate units by table. Gianni
said, "It's a smaller place, so we want people to feel at home."
That La Gaetana is simultaneously romantic and potentially festive
is a tribute to Gianni's rapport with his guests. He seems to know
everybody and obviously enjoys welcoming first-timers, lingering
to talk with folks. He'll pull up a chair, offer a complimentary
snifter of an Italian aperitif, answer questions from the menu and
help guests decide what they are looking for. When I inquired as
to his signature dishes, he explained that there are none because
the concept is too constrictive. There are daily meat, fish and
pasta specials, but rather than tell people what they should like,
Gianni prefers to involve them. The offerings are simple and flexible.
"Even if you have a 500 page menu, there will always be a guest
who wants something that his grandmother made. We can usually make
that," he said. "We always ask the guests about what they
like, then we propose options."
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In our case, this particular evening, my girlfriend was looking
for a fish, while I had something a little woollier in mind. Gianni
asked her what type of sauces she liked, creamy, or a simple oil
and lemon, before prescribing the sea bass with black olives, tomatoes
and potatoes. I went with the lamb, rubbed in spices, accented by
pesto. The fresh fettuccini seemed like the way to go; I ordered
mine with a salmon cream sauce. For appetizers, we settled upon
the mixed bruschetta; the mixed carpaccio, a plate of smoked duck,
salmon and beef with pesto and olive oil, together with a warm garden
salad with smoked bacon and pesto. Our host grated fresh parmesan
cheese over everything, then followed with a few twists of the pepper
mill. After we finished our first courses, he stopped by to check
on us and to inquire about timing. "There's no need to hurry,"
he said, "but I will be happy to bring the main course when
you are ready."
As usual, the food was lovely, the meat and fish fresh and tender,
the smoked meats savory. Gianni pointed out the dressing table against
the wall where various flavoured olive oils, chilies and fine vinegars
held court in glass decanters. "We make the dishes to our tastes,
but you can add flavours to adjust to your own tastes. We're always
happy to suggest good combinations."
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Gianni has always worked in the food and beverage industry, ever
since he was a child. He and Chonticha, whose hometown is near Bangkok,
met in Club Med, where they worked for ten years in a number of
different countries. But the stint in Phuket's Club Med ignited
their love affair with the island. They decided to settle here with
their daughter rather than continue travelling with the resort chain.
Struck by the Sino-Portuguese architecture in Phuket Town, they
set on the idea of converting an old Chinese shop house. The location
is prime, right at a major intersection around the block from the
main shopping centre and movie theatre. Chonticha showed me a photograph
from just before they moved in, a white garage with a "for
rent" sign on the doorway, a single flourescent bulb in the
cavernous background. They snapped it up, did all the renovations,
creating the sunny Italian dining room in the front. The back dining
room, where the cooking takes place in an open kitchen, they decorated
in Chinese style with still more plants, though no Chinese food
is on offer. A single table is set here for those customers who
like to watch the action.
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The kitchen team has been together for three years. Chonticha told
me, "Foreign food is not their favourite, so they do not adjust
it to their own tastes." Additionally, she has taught the entire
staff to leave their feelings and problems outside the restaurant.
"Guests come here to be happy, not to watch the suffering of
others."
A number of mouth-watering desserts are available, including tiramisu,
imported Italian tartufo in amaretto and limoncino flavours, panna
cotta and homemade ice cream spun on a machine brought from Italy.
As we mulled over the choices, Gianni appeared with a small table
and surprised us by preparing crepes suzettes for us, setting the
Grand Marnier on fire in a copper pot, then topping everything with
homemade vanilla ice cream garnished with cinnamon and star anise.
A guest from a neighbouring table blew out the flame in his snifter
of sambucca and raised the glass in kind of a toast. "I love
it when he does this," he said.
Gianni's business philosophy and the secret of La Gaetana's success,
is to keep the old customers coming back. "We need to learn
what they like, the way they like to be served," he said. "Nobody
is the best, but we try to make our best everyday because this is
not our job, it's our life. It's very simple. We love what we are
doing and will be here for many many more years if we can."
One certainly hopes so. This is one independent Phuket restaurant
well worth leaving the resort for and well worth including in one's
regular dining itinerary.
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