Kush Bar Samui

Kush Bar Samui describes itself as “a sexy new chillout” place. It’s a trendy Indian bar that serves modern Indian cuisine and dishes out a stylish selection of lounge music.

One of the owners, Pafi, who is also in the furniture business (Beautiful World), says, “We’ve got nothing but rave feedbacks from satisfied customers since opening our doors,” adding that they had gotten the services of “one of the best Indian food chefs around.”

Pafi also takes pride in the bar’s “ultramodern furniture and interior design with a Thai touch.”

“We play contemporary and hip music over the speakers at a relaxed volume level and we provide some of the best drinks and Indian (and Thai) food on the island. Kush Bar Samui is truly one of kind."
Truly their food is delicious. For starters, their Mixed Platter (enough for four to six people) is a tantalizing selection of pakoras, samosas, onion bhajis and crispy pappadoms. Not to mention the tasty mango chutney.

When you are ready for the main course, the ever-popular and stunning Chicken Tikka Masala is a fine choice. It is roasted boneless tender chicken pieces cooked together with a stunning combination of fresh onions, juicy tomatoes and cream, reasonably priced at Bt240.

Another favorite is the Lamb Rogan Josh (Bt280), comprising boneless pieces of soft mutton mixed with a delectable sauce of fresh onions, ripe tomatoes and fabulous Indian spices.

For the vegetarians, Kush’s Palak Paneer (Bt140) has no equal. It is an exotic blend of cottage cheese cooked with fresh spinach and classic Indian herbs, and garnished with cream.

To attract more customers, the bar offers a membership card that entitles holders to a 15 percent discount on all meals and drinks and priority on table reservations.

Kush also does theme nights. On Tuesday nights, many different types of curry dishes are available. On Wednesdays scuba divers are treated like royalty and get food at half the regular prices. This applies to both professional and student divers; just flash your card for the very generous discount.

“We have not forgotten the ladies, too. On Thursday nights, my personal favorite, from 6 till 11 all ladies receive half off on their food and drinks. After eleven, the ladies are given two free drink coupons. We play soulful house and party tracks in the upstairs section as well,” says Pafi.

Saturday night is buffet night, and for only Bt290 you can eat all you can. The dishes include curries, nan bread and delicious tandoori chicken.

Kush is open from 6 p.m. till 12 midnight on weekdays and 6 p.m. till 2 a.m. on weekends.

Kush Bar is located at Leamden. Turn off the main Lamden Market road at the temple that has the monkey statue and you will see Kush dead ahead about 100 meters.  

Tandoor Taj

Tandoor Taj is another Indian restaurant that does just as fine a job of putting delicious food on your table.

Owned and operated by Madan Karki of Nepal, who has been in Thailand for the past 20 years, Tandoor Taj opened four years ago, and it has been going strong ever since. It is located in the ever-popular and always-crowded Fisherman’s Village, in Bophut.

“We get many people who just walk in, attracted by the aroma that floats out of the kitchen onto the street,” says Mr. Karki, adding that they have many repeat customers as well as new ones who had heard about Tandoor Taj. “We rely mainly on word of mouth to gain customers,” he says.

The location of his restaurant is a big plus, too. Sitting right on the beautiful and calm Bophut beach, diners can watch stunning sunsets as they enjoy food prepared by a chef from New Delhi. Karki claims that he has never received a complaint in all the four years that the restaurant has been open. He says the secret is that they use Indian basmati rice unlike other Indian restaurants on the island. “The taste of this rice is by far superior to the local rice that the other restaurants use. It is a bit more expensive, but it gives our guests a better dining experience and is therefore worth the extra costs,” he says. They also use saffron rice in a lot of their dishes.

Mixed Pakora is a great dish to start the meal. It has mixed vegetables, chicken and seafood all deep-fried in butter, and it comes with a dipping sauce that will make you ask for more. The portion is large, as is all their dishes, and the price is only Bt180.

A fine main course choice would be the Boti Kebab, also known as Mutton Tikka, for Bt300. It consists of lamb pieces that have been marinated for five hours in a special Indian sauce and then cooked to perfect tenderness in the tandoori oven. The lamb melts in your mouth!

Tandoor Taj bakes 14 different types of nan bread, which goes especially well with the restaurant’s homemade cucumber, onion and tomato yoghurt dip called dahi (Bt60).

A very special and rare dish is the tandoori lobster. They can make red and white snapper tandoori as well.
For dessert, Tandoor Taj offers gulab jamun (Bt80), which consists of two juicy balls made from cream of milk in scented light syrup. It is very sweet and is a great way to end the meal. Another good choice is the Indian rice pudding (Bt100).

Tandoor Taj has a large Thai menu, too, and just like the Indian food, everything is priced at a reasonable rate.

Tandoor Taj opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 11 p.m. It offers a delivery service for those who live in the Bophut area. Call 077- 427212.