Isn’t it wonderful when you stumble across a small restaurant that just blows your mind? We’ve done it a few times, and the last time we were in Phuket, Thailand, we had such an experience. Tucked away on a street a few blocks from Patong Beach, without the drunken hordes, was a newly opened restaurant called Bon Pan-Asian Tapas Bar. Now – just the name called to us, as it had Pan-Asian cuisine, it had small plates, and it sounded French. It turned out that it was a new experiment from the same chef that owned L’Arome in Phuket (which is a Michelin recommended place we were trying later this week). And such a wonderful experiment!
If you are at all familiar with Phuket, or South-East Asia in general, you know that the streets have a mix of modern and old buildings, motorcycle repair shops, massage parlors, small stores selling everyday items, and food places. Bon is located in modern building, next to another eating establishment and a barbershop. It looks inviting, but nothing out of the ordinary. They do have outdoor seating because of the weather, but fortunately also have indoor (air conditioned) seating as well.
Inside it is more subdued than the typical Phuket restaurant, but still has an energetic feel to it. The seating is comfortable and the noise-levels moderate. It does look like it can get lively later in the evening when it is full – we tend to eat early and so the crowds had not shown up. Once you step inside, you are greeted by the experienced waitstaff and realize you have entered the realm of fine dining.
The Culinary Adventure
Being a tapas bar, there is no set menu, no main entrees to decide upon. You just order a few items at a time until you are full. We love this style because we can try many different dishes and really get a chance to see what the chef can create. Each dish was enough so both of us could taste it.
The Spicy Tuna Volcano was like a tuna bruschetta with a small crostini topped with marinated tuna. Perfect bite-sized, excellent flavor – a good way to start the meal.
Next we tried the Scallop Sashimi on a ice bed with glass noodles. Thinly sliced, absolutely fresh, you had the faint taste of seawater.
I’m a big fan of all things pork, with pork belly at the top of my list. So I had to try two of their pork belly offerings, the Pork Belly Taco and the Pork Belly Kakuni. The taco was a classic soft taco with slaw and the marinated pork belly – I would have had several but I wanted to have room to try more items on the menu. The pork belly kakuni is a Japanese simmered pork dish, then served on top of an omelette.
So enough about pork – it was back to fish. We ordered the Salmon Sashimi with Roe, topped with seaweed salad. Very fresh and innovative with the seasonings.
Then my wife had to try the Lobster Black Spaghetti. She loves squid ink pastas, and this did not disappoint. A cold dish, handmade noodles with morsels of lobster and salmon roe. Very delicate flavors so as not to overpower the lobster.
We finished with a Pandan Creme Brulee, Mango and Strawberry Gelato.
This place is a MUST TRY restaurant. We have recommended it to our friends who live in nearby Malaysia and told them it would be worth the trip to just fly here for this restaurant. I’d come back several times to try everything on the menu. And the service and presentations were what you’d expect in a Michelin starred restaurant. I fully expect to see this place get its first star in the near future.
Now, we close this out, rest our stomaches, and prepare to try L’Arome, the elder sister restaurant which is already on the Michelin radar.
The Details
124, 4 Soi Rat Uthit 200 Pi 1, Patong, Kathu, Phuket 83150 Thailand
Phone: +66-65-239-2777