August 30, 2006

Da Maurizio:an Italian restaurant with a view

Da Maurizio
223/2 Prabaramee Road
Patong Beach
Phuket 83150
Tel : 076-344079, 344276
Website

Da Maurizio is located on a high profile site at Kalim bay at the Northern end of Patong Beach. One of three sister operations; the other two are Baan Rim Pa; a Thai restaurant, and Joes Downstairs; a cocktail and tapas bar. Needless to say Da Maurizio is an Italian restaurant.

I suppose the first and probably only problem with Da Maurizio is getting to the place. Well that is if you are not nimble and fleet of foot! The entrance to the restaurant is at the top of the cliff; the restaurant is at the bottom. It is certainly more than one storey of an average house but the trip is well worth it as long as you are not worried about the climb back. The restaurant looks out over rocks that were fully exposed during our afternoon repast. I presume at spring tides they are covered at least partly. However beyond the rocks is the bay and sea that makes a fine view. It is almost as though one is sitting on the beach.
One glance at the wine list told me that having one of the best locations in Patong Beach does not come cheap, well certainly not to the punters! However the menu offered some interesting fare with a limited choice that should cover all mainstream tastes. It was typical European menu with five appetisers, four soups and salads, four pastas with an additional four described as homemade pasta, and eight mains. We both had three courses, sampling the menu well.
I had Italian sausage with a borletti bean salad, then a pasta dish of wild mushrooms followed by saltimbocca and I finished with a crème caramel. Steve started with ricotta fritta, then a large pasta course of Mint Pappardelle with Lamb Ragu and finally Tuna Steak to finish. All in all the food was presented and cooked well. It is, of course, modern cuisine with meat slightly pink and limited garnishes creating colour as well as conflicting tastes.
We sat there happily for an afternoon, by the time we approached the assault course exit the staff were slipping into more formal evening uniform and the sun was dropping low in the sky. I suppose we should have stayed and watched the sun set but if I had done that I would have started eating again…
Maybe!

Posted by Sam at 1:00 PM | Comments (0)

August 27, 2006

Beccofino in Soi Thonglo

Beccofino
146 Soi Thonglo, Sukhumvit Soi 55
Bangkok 10110
Tel: 02 392 1881
Website

Compared to many restaurants which are hidden down some obscure soi, Beccofino positively shouts it's presence on Soi Thonglo. I had a 'guide' of nearby soi 4 but saw the bright red sign early and sighed the usual relief at finding a strange restaurant. I always rather likened Thonglo to Kensington as this is an area of expensive housing and trendy business's, however it does not have a Palace, or the parks of that London district.
The interior of Beccofino is modern, the floor in stone and a pizza oven in the middle tells you all that is needed about the food style. I had no sooner ordered my wine than an old face appeared. Julian who was the Maitre'd at L'etage has moved here and is now the restaurant manager. A French manager in an Italian restaurant: well funnily enough my favourite London restaurant is a French restaurant in name: but was started 40 years ago, and is still run today by, an Italian! Of course the good news was an assurance of excellent service, although I thought the service was pretty good before I was identified!
The wine list is unusual for an Italian restaurant in that it has as good a French section, as an Italian. In fact they also had a decent worldwide selection including a Romanian wine which I have always thought excellent value for money. The creator of this list, American partner Kit Marshal, a wine buff, is responsible for the comfortable little wine bar that is adjacent to the restaurant as well as the interesting wine list
The menu was of a good length with enough choice but short enough to suggest that each dish is properly thought out. For mains; apart from a short pasta and pizza section, there were five choices each for fish, meat and grills thus giving good options to those who like sauced and plain dishes.
I started on Tuna Tartare, which came well presented with lots of fizzy bits on top to give it extra height. However the construction of the actual dish was splendid with the tuna mixed with avocado sitting on a zesty sauce, the dish was also well seasoned. On had a warm seafood salad of scallops, mussels, tiger prawns and calamari. That dish certainly looked very good and was thoroughly enjoyed.
For mains I had baby Chicken in Barbera wine, as it was served, Julian appeared and said I was having the Italian equivalent of coq au vin. Well I consider myself a bit of an aficionado when it comes to CAV as it was one of my specialities when I was on the other side of the stoves. Accordingly I have to say that this was pretty good coq. The real secret is to still have moisture in the meat, which is achieved by sealing the meat before cooking it: something lazy Chefs seldom do. This had that moistness as well as an excellent dark rich sauce. On had beef roulade stuffed with spinach, pine nuts and raisins. More top marks for the chef partner Angelo from Tuscany.
Angelo looks like, and clearly is, a chef who cares about and enjoys his food. A fact that was fully confirmed by the excellent meal we had, as well as a short chat.

Posted by Sam at 4:22 PM | Comments (0)