Sibelius
Chaweng main street, next to Swensen 's
84320 Koh Samui, Suratthani, Thailand
Tel: 078 830 527

The name gives away the origin of the owner/chef of this restaurant.
Sibelius was the great Finnish composer as I am sure all those who appreciate his classic orchestral works will know. In its’ own way this small restaurant, almost at the mid-point of Chaweng high street, justifies the high standards that any association with such a prestigious name demands.
Little has been done to change the building from it’s original Irish pub look and feel. The only real change I could see was an old set of ski’s and ski poles: definitely not a required item in tropical Samui! The tables are reasonably cramped and I suppose if a bum was on every seat there might be those who would say too cramped. But that is unlikely to happen that often as most tables are for four. Another downside is the lack of air conditioning: there are plenty of fans and thus it is very habitable, but not as cold as some may prefer.
The menu is fascinating in it’s simplicity. Back in Europe menus are short, but here there are few menus that dare to be that minimalist. Indeed most menu’s are far too long sending a clear message about the food preparation. I suspect that the kitchen here is also limited so that the 6 starter, 6 main course and 4 pudding menu is practical. There seems to be at least one daily special as well. In addition there are 6 Thai dishes.
The starters include dishes such as: Creamy Scandinavian Salmon Soup with homemade dark rye bread; Reindeer Pate Toast with caramelized red onion, lingonberry jam and balsamic glaze; Basil Mousse with mozzarella and green asparagus, and Beef Carpaccio with Sibelius salsa and wasabi sauce.
And for the main course there is Fried Pesto Chicken with a green pepper and red wine sauce; Grilled Norwegian Salmon with dill sour cream and red caviar sauce; Pepper Steak in a creamy pepper sauce; Dijon-marinated Lamb with mint red wine sauce and garlic potato, and Lime-marinated Tuna Steak with salsa and a mango sauce.
Anyway I spotted the items I wanted with little problem and started with Reindeer pate. Excellent and just what I wanted. The main I choose was Scandinavian fish platter which came with smoked salmon, grilled salmon, fish eggs, anchovy style fillets, pickles and potatoes with onion. This was another simple but good dish and both courses are, to say the least, unusual on Samui. My pudding was described as chocolate ice cream with warm banana muffin and Galliano marinated orange. I enjoy a pudding and normally have one (what ever the Doctor might say!) but this was special. It not only looked good but it really worked and the muffin seemed as if it had just come out of the oven.
For once I actually took a photo of all three courses. I normally either forget one course, or more usually they do not make good photo material. I hope you enjoy the photos because I think they show the excellent food in a good light.
I washed my meal down with a pleasant bottle of Hardy’s Cabernet Merlot from a sensible wine list that was reasonably priced.
I was seriously impressed with Sibelius and regretted that the owner was too busy at his stoves not to venture out to see his customers, which his staff said he normally did.