Sundays with Chef Peter….
 |
| The Dream Burger at Catch |
Happy Sunday Darlings! Hope you're all feeling fabulous today as I am not! I was sooo very busy the past couple of days making “works of art” and when I dropped off the final cake yesterday I decided I would celebrate a little and have a couple of drinks with friends, which of course translates into a quite a few drinks and a rather bad head this morning! But hey it’s the weekend, the sun is out and we live in paradise, why not? You’ll just have to forgive me this morning for any bad grammar. Now darlings, if you know Phuket well you will have noticed over the past couple of years the surge of “Beach Clubs” popping up literally all over the place and some even where there is no beach!
I would say one of the first “decent” beach clubs to come on the scene in Phuket was Catch by Twinpalms as was the first great brunch in Phuket which still goes strong today. I am a great fan of the Twinpalms Hotel and all those years ago, when I first came down to Phuket to look at opening a business here, Twinpalms was where I always stayed and I quite fell in love with the place. 'Till this day it still remains one of my favourites and I regularly recommend it for people visiting Phuket.Alison, my darling ex also shares my sentiments about the place, so when she was here last month on holiday and to keep me in tow, Twinpalms was on her list of must-dos during her stay. Unfortunately she left the amazing (unusual) summer England was having and arrived to a very wet Phuket and, that’s the way it stayed for a good few days or more. So while the rain poured I made excuses that it was no good going anywhere in this dismal weather and got her busy in Les Diables making her wonderful homemade bread of which she kindly shared with me and my girls. Daahlings there is nothing quite like seeing a buxom country girl kneading her bread, simply wonderful even for an old tart like me! Luckily she’s back in the UK now freezing them off so I won’t be getting a slap when she reads this, ha!
Anyway the sun finally came out, things warmed up and, we got time to make that visit to the Twinpalms. Rather than doing brunch as we normally do, this time we thought as the weather was so lovely, we would pay Catch a visit.
Catch Beach Club on Surin Beach is Phuket’s most inventive, style-setting beach club bringing glamour and exciting tropical days and nights to the sands of Phuket. It is open to all who love fashion, fun and fabulous seaside dining with all the elements of an alluring island lifestyle. Many of Phuket’s most talked-about parties take place here and the annual White Party has become an event not to be missed. (Though my daahlings, as years go on I look less fabulous in white so tend to shy away.) J
Benedikt De Bellis, who I have known for a good few years here in Phuket is the manager and as always was there to greet and welcome us on arrival. Ben brings hospitality expertise gained from a number of operations across Europe and Asia including five years in Phuket. Before arriving to Phuket, Ben held management positions at some well-regarded luxury venues including Grand Copthorne Waterfront in Singapore, Radisson SAS Portman Hotel in London, and The Ritz Hotel London, Picadilly - so the man has been around!Ben has been at the helm of Catch now for well over a year and I asked him how he was enjoying it and living here in Phuket. “What really makes Phuket,” he says, “are the people that live here. Being a Westerner, I, like many others, found it difficult at the beginning to adapt to a totally different culture, but what kept me going was that I always admired how genuine and cordial the people of Thailand can be. Nowadays, there aren’t many people like that left in the world. It is a blessing for me to be able to work and live among them.” I totally agree! Ben helps cultivate Catch Beach Club’s constant evolution in its aim to share its zest for life in the hot tropics with every new and returning guest.
I ate here a couple of months ago when another great friend was in town and we had a lovely evening helped along with the wonderful cocktails Catch mix. In particular, the Long Island Iced Tea is truly wonderful and lethal at the same time. This might have been the reason that night that the Catch Beach Club 16oz Dream Burger, served with mushrooms, bacon, cheddar cheese and jalapeños caught my eye!
I am always curious about these types of dishes on menus such as the “biggest club sandwich” or the “longest hot dog” and normally steer clear of them but this night I thought I would give it a try as I was hungry. I was not disappointed, it was really good but just too much for even me to handle so I took half home and had it for warmed up for lunch the next day (it still tasted good), so I thought that was pretty good value at 950 Baht.
Back to the present, Ben joined Alison and I for a chat and to kindly take our order. We decided that as it was such a lovely day we would have champagne, a nice chilled Rose. After recalling my story to Alison about the Dream Burger we decided to have a couple of starters, Oyster Rockefellers and Deep Fried Calamari and then give the burger another go to see if was still as good - little piggies that we are!
Champagne was delish as were the starters and then the staff asked if we were ready for our burger. We decided to wait a while and enjoy the view and more Champagne and then we saw the burger being brought from the kitchen. My Daahlings..... if you are at Catch and want to be noticed (in the day that is) then just order the Dream Burger. When our arrived we were suddenly the center of attention! All eyes were on the burger and of course then on us (probably all thinking what fatties we were). Forgetting them, we tucked in and were having a ball!
 |
| Luvely! |
The Dream Burger was just as good as I remembered it and Alison had never seen one “So Big”! The meat was tender and tasty, the salad filling fresh and crunchy and, the brioche bun was as good as the brioche I make. French fries were also great as were the dips and sauces, but alas my dears even after a very good go, even the two of us could not finish it all!
A table sitting near us asked if it was any good and also ordered one. They also got some looks but as there were four of them, not as bad as we got! They also thoroughly enjoyed their burger and thanked us for the recommendation.
 |
| Catch as the Sun Goes Down |
Catch is a great place to hang out with great cocktails, drinks and food. The staff are hip and friendly and Ben manages the place and pace perfectly. Even though it appears a little on the pricey side. considering location, service and quality it is excellent value for money.
 |
| Surin Beach |
Twinpalms seems to be slowly taking over all Surin Beach but I think in a good way, even though I think Surin Beach is now a little too congested. Shame, as it still remains one of the most beautiful beaches on the island. So Champers finished and the sun going down, us two little piggy’s happily went home!
Twinpalms Phuket
106/46 Moo 3, Surin Beach Road,
+66 0 7631 6500
Fax: +66 (0) 7631 6599
www.twinpalms-phuket.com
Don't forget the Les Diables Grand Opening Darlings!
Chef Peter