The new 4-hands N Restaurant dinner is a culinary experience to keep an eye out for! Happy Hour Asia had the pleasure of attending the inaugural edition (on 22 February) for this fine-dining adventure, lasting three hours and including excellent wine pairings! Chef Pui – Executive Chef of N Restaurant and NORA Beach Club and Chef Hemant – Group Chef of Amora Hotels had come up with a dinner celebrating taste and elegance, at the beachfront dining venue adjacent to the beach.
Amuse bouche, tuna and scallop, N Restaurant
N Restaurant, housed by Amora Beach Resort Phuket, is slightly curved in its form, and comes with both indoor (29 tables indoors) and outdoor seating – separated by a floor-to-ceiling window wall. Indoors, guests overlook the resort’s large lawn and beach club pools. The restaurant design is the epitome of bright and leisurely design, with a striking floral ceiling decoration, partly tropical wood flooring, and a long wall sofa for multiple tables. It also furnished with rattan chairs and marble tables with rose gold fittings and details.
It also comes with a private dining space in The Wine Cellar, offering an exclusive experience for eight diners, who may choose from a well-curated selection of international wines and enjoy wine tasting sessions.
Shared with the beach club N Restaurant also has its very own entrance besides the resort proper, and with shuttle service from its dedicated parking space.
Once placed at the table at welcome glass of Northern Italian Botter Prosecco Extra Dry was served, and the meticulously curated menu was printed and presented as part of the table setting.
With N Restaurant being focused on sustainable and healthy Mediterranean food, the four-hands chef collaboration menu started with four amuse-bouche appetizers, which were served in pairs – with Crispy tuna and Yuzu Kosho (Japanese fermented chili paste condiment), sharing plate with Scallop Pani-Roori (‘Roori’ is hard to decipher, while ‘pani puri’ is the established name for crispy puris are filled with a savoury and flavourful scallops) – an egg-like shell with filling.
Beef short rib, N Restaurant
Next: Croissant chicken liver pate, sharing plate with Lobster Udon Carbonara (where carbonara gets inspired by the Far East, thanks to the addition of Japanese ‘udon’ noodles – both beautiful amuse-bouche presentations and awesome together with the prosecco pairing: Chandon Brut, Yarra valley, Victoria (Aus).
Then, a glass of Chilean white wine was served Cono sur, Bicicleta, Sauvignon Blanc, which – as indicated by its name – has a bicycle drawing on its bottle label. Its pale yellow offered crisp and intense Sauvignon Blanc to go with another, splendid, appetizer: Crab meat & pomelo salad, with zesty grapefruit veil.
Next on the menu was a ‘soup’, and which more resembled a fish dish on a bubbly bed of green pea sauce: Miso snow fish, green peas, fiddlehead fern (which resembles asparagus in character). The wine pairing served with the fish was a ‘King of Alsace’ grape; a well-chilled Riesling: Lucien Albrecht Reserve (France). The Riesling wine from Alsace is described as “one of the best wines to dine with”, with distinctive concentration perfectly balanced by the acidity
and notes of citrus peels, lime and blossom
Following this lovely fish dish, the main course turned to meet, with a melt-in-the-mouth 12-hour braised beef short rib, with kombu seaweed, Shimeji and Hasselback baked potatoes (Hasselback potatoes get their name from the restaurant Hasselbacken in Stockholm, Sweden). This meet, on a bed of mushroom, was another winner, together with the wine pairing: Cosentino Zinfandel, ‘The Zin’ from California – offering bold notes of raspberry and clove follow flavours of cranberry on the palate. Its bold flavours and balanced acidity complement the smoky and savoury notes of meats like pork chops, steaks, and ribs.
N Restaurant table
This exclusive culinary N Restaurant then ended on a high with a dessert: Puff-mixed berries Mille-Feuilles, paired with TWG chamomile tea.
N Restaurant has shown with this 4-hands dinner that it is a serious contender on Phuket’s dining scene, be it for tourists, expats or other locals!
Check with Nora Beach Club and the restaurant for future events in this 4-hands dining series, where it is also possible to combine dining with a visit to the beach club, and in a comfortable and delightful beachside setting!
