Showing posts with label resort. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resort. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Loca Vore and Takieng @ Renaissance Phuket Resort and Spa, Mai Khao, Phuket - โลคา โวเล และ ตะเกียง @ โรงแรมเรเนซองส์ ภูเก็ต รีสอร์ทแอนด์สปา หาดไม้ขาว จังหวัดภูเก็ต

Almost half a year has gone by and here is the last topic from the Phuket trip during December 2013. As we chose Renaissance Phuket Resort and Spa at Mai Khao to stay over the vacation, we, thus had some chances to try restaurants within the hotel. The two we would like to present this time are Loca Vore and Takieng.

Cuisine: International / Buffet
Price: ~ THB700 per person without alcohol
Visited: 18 December 2013
Food: 6/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Value for money: 7/10
Services: 8/10
Scale: [ 1=poor ----- 5=average/standard ----- 10=outstanding/exceptional ]

Loca Vore is the destination in the hotel where food are served all day. In the morning, this is where hotel clients have a beautiful breakfast. The atmosphere is tremendous and we really love it. If the weather is not too hot nor to humid, al fresco is a must must thing (at least we would recommend it). What can be more relaxing than a breakfast with a nice view and good food. The place is rather big in fact. Thus, 30 guests all at the same for breakfast is sure not a problem here. The service is also great here. Staffs are friendly and helpful.






At the price of THB700 per head for buffet breakfast, we would not say it is cheap. But this is not as well so expensive for the range of food you get. Choices vary from pastry and bread counter to the counter of typical breakfast like sausages and bacon to the healthy fruit juice station. The favourite part for kids may get the ice-cream corner where there are around 10 choices of ice-cream to be chosen from. For us, the egg station has always been the must go destination. We had egg benedict which was enjoyable.

Well, this is sure another top hotel breakfast in Thailand. Still the one we like the most is the breakfast at Evason Hua Hin but Loca Vore is indeed in a comparable standard.













Open Hours: daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner from around 6am to 9pm

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Cuisine: Thai
Price: THB850 per person without alcohol (what we paid for)
Visited: 18 December 2013
Food: 7/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Value for money: 7/10
Services: 7/10
Scale: [ 1=poor ----- 5=average/standard ----- 10=outstanding/exceptional ]

Takieng is the Thai restaurant of Renaissance Phuket Resort and Spa. It operates during dinner period only. The style of this place is kind of chill and relax. There are also outdoor seats with good view of the beach. During high season, I would recommend anyone who is going to visit Takieng to make reservation as the place can be full. Hotel guests seem to like this place a lot. To be honest, the ambient is clam and relax, service is friendly, food tastes nice, and pricing is in the acceptable range. These are why Takieng can be popular amongst hotel guests though local Phuket food is very famous.




Thai food at Takieng comprises of both typical Thai food and local Southern Thai food. All of which came at moderate taste, meaning taste of herbs and spices was presented well but each dish was not too hot nor too spicy. For us, we had 3 dishes here: 1 Southern dish and 2 ordinary. The first one was phad meang goong sieb - ผัดเหมียงกุ้งเสียบ (7/10). Meang is a local Phuket vegetable that is similar to spinach but a little crispier texture and with unique aroma. When stir-fried with smoked shrimp, it can be pretty delicious. Takieng also made this pretty nicely as in those local stores.

Next was choo chee ped krob - ฉู่ฉี่เป็ดกรอบ (6/10). This dish was enjoyable. The curry paste was full of spices but not really spicy which suits my liking but might be the case for other locals. The dish came with tomato and lychee, similar to gang phed ped yang (grilled duck in red curry sauce), which helped balancing the hot flavour. Lastly, it was pla krapong with takieng sauce - ปลากะพงซอสตะเกียง (7/10). This tasted pretty much like tom kha. Instead of using chicken, sea bass was deep-fried and served with herbal coconut milk sauce. I like this one a lot.

For us, Takieng is a decent Thai restaurant that we would not mind dining every evening if we were to stay at Renaissance Phuket Resort and Spa during a vacation. Driving into Phuket town from Mai Khao can take half an hour and this can be tiring, so why not at all to have decent food in the hotel.

complimentary crackers

phad meang goong sieb - ผัดเหมียงกุ้งเสียบ (THB250)

choo chee ped krob - ฉู่ฉี่เป็ดกรอบ (THB420)

zoom up to duck curry

pla krapong with takieng sauce - ปลากะพงซอสตะเกียง (THB840)

zoom up to sea bass

Open Hours: daily for dinner from around 05:30pm


555 Moo 3
Mai Khao, Talang
Phuket 83110
Thailand

Tel: +66 (0) 76 363 999
Webhttp://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/hktbr-renaissance-phuket-resort-and-spa/
FBhttps://www.facebook.com/renphuket

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Afternoon breaks at Hua Hin / Pran Buri : Eighteen Below Ice-cream @ Hua Hin and La a Natu @ Pran Buri

Towards the end of February / beginning of March, we had a chance to take a short break to relax at Pran Buri. Having heard rumour about the famous Hay Lobby and Eatery @ La a Natu Bed and Bakery and Eighteen Below Ice-cream @ Naeb Kehardt Road, Hua Hin, we did not hesitate to find sometimes to visit them. In brief, we are not so impressed with both places, especially Hay Lobby and Eatery in term of taste but they are ok when not crowded and happen to be nearby.

Cuisine: cafe food / afternoon tea
Price: THB210 per person without alcohol (what we paid for)
Visited: 1 March 2014
Food: 2/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Value for money: 5/10
Services: 3/10
Scale: [ 1=poor ----- 5=average/standard ----- 10=outstanding/exceptional ]

La a Natu is set right on the quiet beach of Pran Buri. The place has been resembled to give the natural relaxing ambient by using haystack for most of its accommodation. Hay Lobby and Eatery of La a Natu is well-known for afternoon tea and even the place itself is proud of its reputation. The Hay Lobby is not really a big which can probably accommodate around 30 guests max. The very best part is the cool and relaxing atmosphere. The dining room provides a good sea view but bear in mind of hot weather and strong sunlight in the afternoon.

La a Natu @ Pran Buri

village style surrounding

Hay Lobby and Eatery

relax ambient for afternoon tea certainly

The pricing of menu is not so cheap nor so expensive, modest in fact for a hotel. However, we are not really so delight with the taste of it. The first impression goes for the tea. La a Natu is supposed to be famous for afternoon tea. But we were served with Twinings. Good god, I could not believe and it was tea bag instead of loose leaf. In addition, the staff tried to pour us a cup immediately after the tea had arrived out of the kitchen. For heaven sake, the tea was nowhere near being properly immersed and infused.

The next disappointment was the pastry set in the afternoon tea set (2/10). If I remember correctly, there were 7 kinds of dish that were served: cheese sandwich (I really mean the simply cheese only), scones with whipped cream and jam, panna cotta, cheesecake, brownie, carrot cake, and chocolate cake. The scones were the first one to make me laugh. It was sure not a scone with that spongy texture and served with whipped cream and somewhat sour strawberry jam which was supposed to be the classic homemade. The panna cotta was the worst. It melted after a while leaving us with creamy liquid with strawberry sauce (that tasted like the strawberry jam). Not so whether the weather was too hot or there was too little gelatin in the panna cotta. The rest of pastry were just ok to eat.

On the service side, it was nowhere near hotel standard. Notwithstanding the aforementioned tea pouring service, we encountered a long wait for bill checking. We waited for quite sometime for changes to be returned and when asking, the answer simply was they had run out of change and needed to go somewhere for exchange. I presumed that I should have been warned or else something could have been adjusted. Well, I guess I had enough experience of this place. They are not so professional in the service. We sure will never return to this.

pastry and tea menu

happen to be just Twinings

afternoon tea set (THB350)

again, really great ambient

Hay Lobby and Eatery @ La a Natu Bed and Bakery, Pran Buri, Thailand - เฮย์ ล๊อบบี้แอนด์อีทเทอรี่ @ ลา เอ นาตู เบดแอนด์เบเกอรี่ ปราณบุรี
234 Moo 2
Samroiyod, Pranburi
Prachuap Khiri Kha
77120
Thailand

Open Hours: all day but 02:00pm to 05:00pm for afternoon tea daily
Tel: +66 (0) 32 689 941-3, +66 (0) 81 731 8688
Webhttp://www.laanatu.com/
FBhttps://www.facebook.com/laanatubb

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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Breakfast Buffet at The Restaurant @ Evason Hua Hin, Pranburi, Thailand

Cuisine: breakfast buffet (international)
Price: THB650 per person
Visited: 27 July 2013
Food: 7/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Value for money: 8/10
Services: 7/10

Evason Hua Hin has always been a fantastic getaway destination at Pranburi, Thailand: so quiet and relax. Apart from the great atmosphere and surrounding as well as superb quality spa, breakfast at Evason Hua Hin is also one that is worth looking forward to. Customers of the resort do usually get breakfast included with the reservation package, otherwise it costs around THB650 per person.

The Restaurant is the main restaurant of Evason Hua Hin. It is rather big in an open-air style with both indoor and outdoor zones. At outdoor zone, the view of seaside can be clearly accessed. What I really like about having breakfast here, rather than going out to seek local food, is the the relax and comfortable ambient the venue provides: comfortable seats, friendly services, clean and fresh air, and delightful breakfast selection. Imagine a good quality breakfast where you can really spend your time with slow food and perhaps a novel to enjoy: perfect, I say.

The Restaurant

indoor seats

good view of sea at Pranburi

outdoor seat

For me, I like to start my day at Evason Hua Hin with selection of breads, in particular viennoiserie. Some good croissant with good butter and jams can be appreciated, otherwise chocolate croissant or almond croissant can be good substitutions here.

viennoiserie and danish

almond croissant

danish range

chocolate croissant

doughnut

bread variety

jam choices

strawberry jam

After a few pieces of bread, having some protein is not a bad idea at all. I did try scramble egg and omelette together with some ham, cheese, and salad. I prefer to have scramble egg here as they seemed to cook omelette a little overcooked for my liking. If you prefer Thai style hot plate, then there is a noodle station for you.

hot plate station

noodle vs. western

bacon and sausages

egg station

chef cooking omelette

omelette with bacon

Wrapping up the first meal of the day with yoghurt is sure a good idea. I promise, your favourite choice of yoghurt here with any preferred nuts or cereal is such a great combination. Range of yoghurt here is rather wide: strawberry, blueberry, banana, mango, and etc. There is also fruite juice station with refreshing choice for breakfast such as orange juice, guava juice, carrot juice, and etc.

If you are vegetarian, then there is as well a vegetarian corner. So no worry.

Well, this is really a delightful hotel buffet breakfast. Not many hotels that really serve good breakfast but here is one. Check it out if you have chance. Bon Appetit.

yoghurt station

nuts and dried fruits

combination example

juice choices

milk range

vegetarian corner

tropical fruits

Breakfast Buffet at The Restaurant @ Evason Hua Hin, Pranburi, Thailand
9 Moo 5 Paknampran Beach
Pranburi
Prachuap Khirikhan 77220
Thailand

Open Hours: all day from 7am
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