The week we spent in Koh Phangan, we stayed at Seaview Rainbow, a bungalow resort. The resort also housed the Seaview Rainbow Restaurant where we actually ate quite a few times. We really liked the food there and I didn’t have to cross the ramshackle bridge to the main road. I know the worst thing that could happen was I’d get a little wet, but still. Our favourite dishes were the Indian curry with chicken and rice, the cheeseburger with french fries (not sure what the burger is made of, but it is delicious!), and the Spanish omelette, all between ฿100 and ฿150. Almost every morning we ate two eggs (they make them sunny side up) with toast for only ฿60. The staff is really friendly, the owner speaks English quite well and is always in for a chat over a beer or two.
Brecht did a little research about where to eat in Koh Phangan and read a lot about Mama Pooh's Kitchen. As it was recommended by numerous people, we went there on our second day. The way of ordering was quite charming: write down your order yourself, including the price of the dish and they will bring it to your table. Brecht choose fried fish fillet with garlic and pepper on rice (฿140), I ordered a classic: Pad Thai (฿70). Maybe we made the wrong choice, or maybe Mama Pooh was not on top of her game, but we weren’t as thrilled about the food as everyone else seemed to be.
As real Belgians we love us a nice Belgian beer every once in a while. So we had to check out the Belgian Beer Bar in Koh Phangan, within walking distance of Seaview Rainbow. You can also eat here, but we only enjoyed a Kasteelbier and a Triple Karmeliet for ฿250 each. Although the owner was Belgian, his staff didn’t seem to manage to pour the beer and produce a nice collar like it should. Nevertheless, it satisfied our desire for a cold Belgian beer, though I must admit it hit me quite hard in the tropical climate of Koh Phangan.
Near the Belgian Beer Bar, with a view across the seemingly endless sea, there was La Dolce Vita, an Italian restaurant (as you might have guessed by the name). We returned here for the delicious white wine (a carafe for ฿330), as that is a rarity in Thailand. We tried the bruschetta (฿90) and bruschetta with pesto (฿110), which are both nice, but the pesto has no real added value. The ravioli (filled with ricotta and spinach) pomodoro (฿220) was good, the lasagna al pesto (฿280) a little bland. Both dishes were vegetarian, so our second time there we both chose something with meat. I ordered pasta Amatriciana (฿200), which was really good (once I added some pepper), and Brecht pizza prosciutto e funghi (฿280). I liked the pizza, Brecht not so much, he disliked a certain taste, I believe a kind of nut oil.
As you might have already read, we ate at the Same Same Restaurant before we went dancing on Haad Rin to the various beats of the Full Moon Party. The Pre Full Moon Party Package at Same Same Restaurant included an international buffet, which was quite tasty, but expensive.
Another restaurant near Seaview Rainbow is Good Time Restaurant, where we really loved the stir fried cashew nuts with chicken and rice, for only ฿110. I ordered an Hawaiian pizza there, but I keep forgetting the pizzas in Thailand are not as good as the ones back home.
We really loved the food in Thailand and recommend to order Thai food and avoid Western food as it often isn’t as good as you hope. Again, remember that when you’re not used to spicy food (like us), what they call mild spicy is actually really hot! We experienced the burgers are often a safe choice when you do like a Western dish now and then. Enjoy!