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The residents of Nai Harn, in the south of Phuket,
have been curious lately. To see a new development is, in itself,
nothing unusual here. After all, there's a building boom on.
But what was this strange white building with enormous silver water
urns on the corner of Soi Saiyuan? A sauna? A fancy new shop? Well,
as it turned out, it's Mimmi's, a brand new restaurant.
On the evening we went along, Mimmi's had been open only one
week but word had obviously gotten around the neighbourhood pretty
quickly as there was a lively ambiance in the place. Thomas, the
owner, greeted us and sat down for a chat. In spite of looking distinctly
Oriental, Thomas is - wait for it - Swiss German. His Tibetan family
moved there when Thomas was just one year old.
Aren't coincidences supposed to come in threes? Maitre D,
Khun Pin joined us and mentioned that she too had spent a long time
in Switzerland. It transpired that all three of us had lived within
five kilometres of each other, just outside Montreux at the same
time.
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This is Thomas' first venture into the catering business and
his previous experience in textiles is reflected in the restaurant's
d?cor. Bold yellows, oranges and navy blues stand out against the
pastel terracotta floors. The bathrooms are impeccably Swiss in
function and taste (light brown for the girls, black tile for the
boys) and the general atmosphere is capped by some of the tastiest
jazz and light funk you'll ever wish to hear in an eatery.
But what of the food? We started out with momo's, Tibetan fried
raviolis with a soy sauce dip. Traditionally they're steamed,
but Namphung, Thomas' Thai wife, found this combination too
heavy on the stomach. Hence the new treatment and they were delicious.
The beef filling was lightly spiced and the soy sauce complemented
the shells perfectly.
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Our main courses were a medium rare lamb filet with saut?ed potatoes
and herbal butter along with "The Mermaid Plate', which
consisted of shrimp, snapper and scallops in a white wine sauce
with nicely turned out vegetables. To accompany this we chose a
Nikiti Lichie French red. The lamb was tangy and yielding, the vegetables
carefully presented and the seafood served in an extremely generous
portion of sauce. You'd be forgiven to imagine that all this
came to a pretty penny, but no. Mimmi's prices its food well
below hotel rates yet competes in quality, ambiance, d?cor and delivery.
As if to prove the point, an extremely successful and well-known
local restaurateur arrived and tucked in to a plate of pasta. This
was the ultimate compliment for this newly opened eatery and said
more than words can. As we left, the intimate electric harp music
of Andreas Vollenweider - another Swiss German - drifted through
the night air, enhancing the multi-lingual dinner conversations.
If quality, impeccable d?cor and economy are the main ingredients
for success then I predict that Mimmi's will be a rip roaring
success. It ought to be.
Mimmi's.
43/48 Saiyuan Road. Rawai/Nai Harn.
Tel. 076 289 095
E-mail: mimmis@loxinfo.co.th
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