 Fantastic! Wonderful! Great food! Terrific value for money! These are a few of the comments made about this restaurant. But are they warranted? Is Kantara really that good?
Well, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”, they say. So I visited there one night, with a friend, to do just that!
The restaurant is in Blue Lagoon, one of Chaweng’s top resort hotels. And being on Chaweng Beach Road, slightly north of Time Square, next to Amari Palm Reef, it’s easy to find and within a short walking distance of the central area of town.
The resort is very attractive, with its ornate Thai-style roofs dominating the entrance façade. And especially so at dusk, when floodlit alongside the swaying palms. After a short stroll through the picturesque hotel gardens, and past the freeform swimming pool, we arrived beachside at the restaurant.
Kantara is very striking, with its teak-wood Thai-styling and very high ceilings. And it’s in two parts. There’s the 70-seat, open-air interior with its views across to the swimming pool on one side and the sea on the other. Then there’s the 60-seat outside terrace, on the upper reaches of the beach itself. Any further out and you’d be touching the water!
And this is where the only problem of the evening arose – what to choose for dinner! There’s international cuisine, seafood, and Thai food on the always-available à la carte menu. And every night (except Fridays) there’s also live entertainment in the form of classical Thai musicians.
Everything seemed so tempting. But we had to make a choice. I picked the Crispy Calamari with green mango coleslaw, Creole tartare and red curry citrus reduction to begin our evening’s culinary journey, while my companion ordered the Smoked Duck Salad with fresh Vietnamese spring roll, peanut and coriander emulsion. The speedy waiter was back at the table in no time with our dishes. They looked so good that we took a couple of moments appreciating the presentation before giving in to our appetites. And were they as tasty as they appeared? In a word - yes!
If the starters were impressive, then the main courses were a knockout. My friend had Pork Fillet wrapped with bacon under chilli mango compote, gratin potato and coco bean sauce, while I had Sea Bass Fillet baked under a tomato, olive and soft cheese herb crumble and champagne sauce. The fish just melted in my mouth as the flavour of the sauce had my taste buds praising the chef!
“…and if you were any further out on the beach,
you’d be touching the water!”
And that’s Darren Ikinepule. He was trained in New Zealand by the world-famous Hyatt Group, and selected to represent them on several overseas promotional tours to places like the Middle East, Taiwan, Taipei and Singapore. He’s now on Samui, producing what he calls “Pacific-rim with Asian influence cuisine”. Darren was born and bred in New Zealand, with both parents having their origins deeply-rooted in Niue, a small island near to Tonga and Samoa. This might explain some of the unique flavours he miraculously conjures up in his dishes!
As a final test of Darren’s skills, we ordered our desserts. For me, Warm Chocolate Fudge with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream, and for my companion, Sesame Crusted Banana Fritters with vanilla Anglaise and rum raisin ice-cream. The pudding was eaten - now we had the proof. And the conclusion? The man’s a genius!
So, were the superlatives used by previous diners justified? Is Kantara as good as I’d been led to expect. In truth, the answer has got to be ‘No’. It’s even better! | 
