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A quick look at some other boutique island resorts.

1. Nook-Dee Boutique Resort, Kata
2. Sugar Marina Resort Nautical, Kata 
3. The Library, Samui 
4. The Galleri by Katathani, Kata (formerly foto Hotel)

February marks 30 years since The Boathouse Phuket opened its doors, quickly establishing itself as one of the island’s top dining choices. Indeed, living in Bangkok in the mid 90s, it was the only ‘happening’ Phuket place. Now in its “3rd generation” of ownership, we talked to the trio who now pull The Boathouse strings.

Max Chin, GM: Starting out as a chef, Max has 27 years experience in hospitality across Asia, including six years as chef-owner of his own restaurant in KL. He joined The Boathouse under the ‘Gen2’ owners and stayed on after the acquisition by current owners, HPL (a Singapore plc). Max has managed the renovation, rebranding and re-launch.

“It’s going to be massive,” he says about the 30-year benchmark, adding that many of the staff have been in place for most of those 30 years!

“It will be a strong call for the brand.” he says, “With one of the largest wine lists in south Phuket, a location to die for and a very good chef, it’s up to us to make the most of the opportunity.”

Poached Breakfast Café

Phuket’s first dedicated breakfast and brunch café features some great creative choices, and claims to advocate “good taste, good times and good manners” in equal measure. Poached serves up heaping plates of comfort foods – with a twist. We recommend the Pulled Pork Eggs Benny – slow cooked pulled pork shoulder piled atop sourdough and served with poached eggs, apple cider hollandaise, green apple, pomegranate and mint. Worth mentioning for coffee lovers, this place has Nitro Brew on tap.

Where & when:
Chalong, daily 6.30am - 3.30pm

Project Artisan

Project Artisan is a trendy place featuring a Garden Eatery and a Tipsy Bar. Promoting healthy food and inspiring design, as well as a love of arts and crafts, their unique approach and eclectic design are matched by the food. A recommended breakfast is the Belgian waffles with fresh fruit, granola and organic yoghurt. The coffee here is smooth and artisanal teas are available too.

Where & when:
On the way to Layan Beach, daily 8.30am - 11.00pm

Unni’s Restaurant

Unni’s offers a hand-crafted breakfast menu of high quality on Nai Harn Beach, with a range of healthy options to fuel up on before heading to the beach. Recommendations include the Homemade granola served with tropical fruits and natural yoghurt and the filling Avocado toast (beetroot hummus with smashed avocado on wholemeal toast and pumpkin seeds).

Where & when:
Nai Harn Beach, daily 8.00am - 9.30pm

Flip Side

Flip Side is a beach diner that offers enough variety to please everyone. The breakfast menu is a mix of smoothie bowls, avocado toast combinations, classic egg favourites and breakfast burgers. Portions lean on the large side and the ingredients are really top quality. Flip Side is laid back and casual. It’s a pleasant place to enjoy a leisurely breakfast or just your morning coffee. Highly recommended is the Breakfast Burger, stacked high and topped with a sunny-side up egg.

Where & when:
Right across from the beach in the heart of Rawai, daily 8.30am - 10.30pm

Atsumi Raw Café

A spin-off from Rawai’s Atsumi Detox centre, The Raw Café serves raw vegan and vegetarian breakfasts. Chill out in their ‘secret’ garden with covered seating, free Wifi and complimentary tea while you kick off your day with one of these ultra-healthy options: Apple Breakfast Muffin, Tropicana Granola or the ubiquitous Breakfast Bowl.

Where & when:
Viset Rd, corner of Soi Mangosteen, daily 9am - 8.30pm

Passion maybe isn’t the first word that springs to mind when thinking about an automated digital room booking platform, but the reality is that recent Airbnb data shows there are something like 2,000 Airbnb hosts in Thailand who work in the creative ‘industry’; artists, designers, musicians and so on, who finance their passion for creative expression by the typically mundane ‘business’ of renting rooms to Airbnb travellers.

The unconventional appeals to these young creative entrepreneurs and Airbnb seems to fit their bill; they’re comfortable with, and embrace, digital platforms to help support themselves, finance their passions and, in some cases, showcase their work.
Most of them share their unused living space through Airbnb Homes. Others share their passions and craftsmanship by hosting Airbnb Experiences, handcrafted activities for small groups of guests. They generate revenue, while potentially building a following for their creative work.

But isn’t all this illegal? Yes and no. If you own units in a condo and rent them (whether through Airbnb or not), yes you’re breaking the law – a law whose teeth, it seems, are not exactly long and sharp; the applicable law provides for a maximum fine of 20,000 baht and a daily fine not exceeding 10,000 baht a day for as long as the violation continues. In two recent landmark court cases in Hua Hin, the fine actually applied was 5,000 baht, with the daily fine reduced to a negligible 100 baht a day. A slap on the wrist; almost as if to say, “Go away and carry on as before – but don’t get caught!”

All Phuket’s foodies know that Michelin has been and gone – leaving one unsurprised champion, several moderately satisfied folk and a few downright disappointed, even angry, restaurateurs and chefs in its wake.

For the record, the Phuket ‘body count’ was: One 1-star, 12 Bibs & 25 ‘Plates’, making a total of 38 Phuket restaurants recognised by those famed inspectors.
But let’s backtrack and look at what Michelin means to restaurants and – more importantly(?) – to those who eat in them.

Born in 1900 as a travel guide (created by a tyre company), The Michelin Guide’s raison d’être was encouraging France’s car owners to travel more and, therefore, buy more tyres.

It was about where to go and where to eat; chefs didn’t figure.

Fast forward to today and Michelin will tell you it’s still all about the restaurant. Whatever chefs would have you believe, there’s no such thing as a Michelin-starred chef. Restaurants may promote themselves using the enticement of having a ‘Michelin-starred chef’ at the helm. But the reality is that they don’t exist. Stars are awarded to the restaurant, not the chef.

Coined in 1984 by Steve Rubell, co-owner of New York’s Morgans Hotel, the term ‘boutique hotel’ became increasingly popular towards the end of the 80s. When it opened in 1988, The Boathouse was just a restaurant; the rooms were added a little later, making it almost certainly Phuket’s first ‘boutique hotel’ – so how fitting that these pages are sponsored by The Boathouse Phuket.

In 2016, the third generation of Boathouse owners arrived on the scene, Singapore’s publicly listed HPL (Hotel Properties Ltd). The Boathouse belongs to the hotels and resorts division’s ‘Boutique Collection’, which owns the Hard Rock Hotel brand. The group has twelve units in Malaysia, Bali and Thailand – with many more spread further afield, including Four Seasons and Hilton properties. The Thailand hotels include Pattaya’s Hard Rock Hotel, Bangkok’s Metropolitan by COMO and Phuket’s Point Yamu by COMO – as well as The Boathouse. Keeping good company!