Central Festival is a large lifestyle shopping complex located in Chaweng on Koh Samui island. The new mall just celebrated its grand opening a couple weeks ago on March 29th, needless to say, it was still brand new when we visited last night.
The Mo and I were looking for a nice place to sit down, enjoy some cocktails and apps and people watch. We walked by Tai Restaurant and was intrigued by the Happy Hour "Buy One Get One" special and decided we would go there after we explored the mall.
The open aired shopping mall was quite empty when we arrived. I loved the lush greenery throughout the mall.
The new shops and restaurant were offering grand opening specials and promotions when it was 15-20% off entire meal bill or a free shopping bag after spending a preset amount of money. We glanced at some of the menus displayed outside the restaurants and everything looked amazing. I wanted to try it all!
Within the mall, there was also an area for smaller vendors selling soaps, dried food, snacks, lotions, etc.
After our little tour, we headed back towards Tai Restaurant. We grabbed a nice table on the patio so we could people watch.
For the happy hour special, I got the mango bakudane martini. It was very good. I loved that it was kept chilled in the martini glass with an iced water outer layer. I'm going to have to buy a pair when I get home. The Mo stuck with Singha beer.
Our server brought us complimentary caramelized dried sardines. They were very tasty! Our friend Syn would definitely like them!
We ordered a few small "bites" to share. My favorite was the fried lotus root chips. I've never had them before and they were amazing! I will attempt to make them at home.
The beef and pork belly skewers were good but I thought we could have got the same thing on the street for a fraction of the price. (10 THB compared to 50 THB)
The soft shell crabs were plump and absolutely delicious! They were battered and fried to perfection.
It was a good venue for light snacks and drinks, most importantly the ambiance was great and everything was well priced:
Total Bill:
- (2) Mango Martinis
- (2) Singha Beer
- Complimentary caramelized sardines
- Beef skewer
- Pork Belly Skewer
- Lotus root chips
- Soft Shell Crap
- Mandatory 10% + 7% govt tax and service fees
= estimated $ 22.00 USD
In the states, there are FEW places that I can get (2) martinis with tax and tip for less than $ 22.00
We walked by later in the evening and the restaurant was packed.
We walked by later in the evening and the restaurant was packed.