This is what Wikipedia has to say about Molecular Gastronomy and I quote - "a subdiscipline of food science that seeks to investigate,
explain and make practical use of the physical and chemical
transformations of ingredients that occur while cooking, as well as the
social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic
phenomena in general." Our Concierge at the W Koh Samui recommended we try dining at The Rocks at the Six Senses Resort in Koh Samui. This sounded like a fun and different experience, so Charles made reservations for us and off we went!
The restaurant was a pretty long ride from the W, and the night was a very dark and moonless one as our driver took us "over the river and through the woods" to the Six Senses Resort. There we were greeted and placed into a golf cart and transported up a steep hill (kinda scary ride on the golf cart by the way!) to arrive at the restaurant.
This place is really not well lighted, so you might want to consider a flashlight if you decide to visit! You walk a distance down a boardwalk (with a lot of steps at various locations) to arrive at the deck where you will be seated. Now, the view is amazing here and probably better even on a moonlit night or earlier in the day. As I said - this was a very dark night, but the lights visible on the opposite shore were pretty and the night was pleasantly warm.
Our first dilemma arose when we were presented with a menu which did not have prices on it...hmmmm...danger - danger! When we were finally given an explanation of the prices, we found they had various "tasting menus" at various prices....none of which were inexpensive - in fact, quite the opposite - they were very expensive.
But, after agonizing for quite some time on which "tasting menu" each of us would choose from, we began this crazy culinary experience. The offerings were various "deconstructed" choices such as a "Greek Salad" which left me feeling that the only resemblance it had to an actual Greek Salad was the few pieces of Kalamata olives I managed to identify in the strange arrangement of unidentifiable items on my plate!
I also had something titled "Pommelo CO2" (I love Pommelo, so I was really looking forward to this one). When these two tiny pieces of Pommelo sitting on a piece of slate and surrounded by salt arrived, I was disappointed to say the least...and I never did figure out where the CO2 came in!
I can not remember which of us ordered the "tuna" which came in a can...deconstructed again and kind of whipped into a weird foam. Okay, I am a "foodie" and willing to try most anything at least once, but this was downright silly and extremely expensive!
I did have a cold "soup" with an apple base which was tasty, but other than that...welllllll you get the picture! My son was livid! He was the one paying for this meal, and nothing he had tasted had any appeal at all. He finally scrapped the "tasting menu" idea and asked to be brought a steak. Unfortunately, that wasn't much better. It was served on a very salted platter and unappealing to him.
The picture to the left is of the "deconstructed" Greek Salad, to the best of my recollection, and it was the one dubbed "bird Poop!" Don't ask me what the foamy mess in the middle is, like I said, the only thing identifiable on it was the tiny pieces of Kalamata olives!
We nearly died laughing when he pointed to one of the plates and said it looked like "bird poop!" He cracked us up again when she said this was the most expensive "cat food" he had ever tasted!
I must say that by the time I left I was "full" or something. After tasting about 8 of these various concoctions I had at least satisfied my appetite.
Anyway, It definitely was an interesting experience but at about $500 it was also extremely disappointing. I am not quite sure how this place gets its ranking as one of the best restaurants on Koh Samui - unless because of it's snobby status people are afraid to say they actually found it overpriced and not at all tasty! The only thing it had going for it was the lovely location and atmosphere perched on the rocks above the sea.
GOD BLESS - Peace, Love and Joy!
This place is really not well lighted, so you might want to consider a flashlight if you decide to visit! You walk a distance down a boardwalk (with a lot of steps at various locations) to arrive at the deck where you will be seated. Now, the view is amazing here and probably better even on a moonlit night or earlier in the day. As I said - this was a very dark night, but the lights visible on the opposite shore were pretty and the night was pleasantly warm.
Our first dilemma arose when we were presented with a menu which did not have prices on it...hmmmm...danger - danger! When we were finally given an explanation of the prices, we found they had various "tasting menus" at various prices....none of which were inexpensive - in fact, quite the opposite - they were very expensive.
But, after agonizing for quite some time on which "tasting menu" each of us would choose from, we began this crazy culinary experience. The offerings were various "deconstructed" choices such as a "Greek Salad" which left me feeling that the only resemblance it had to an actual Greek Salad was the few pieces of Kalamata olives I managed to identify in the strange arrangement of unidentifiable items on my plate!
I also had something titled "Pommelo CO2" (I love Pommelo, so I was really looking forward to this one). When these two tiny pieces of Pommelo sitting on a piece of slate and surrounded by salt arrived, I was disappointed to say the least...and I never did figure out where the CO2 came in!
I can not remember which of us ordered the "tuna" which came in a can...deconstructed again and kind of whipped into a weird foam. Okay, I am a "foodie" and willing to try most anything at least once, but this was downright silly and extremely expensive!
The picture to the left is of the "deconstructed" Greek Salad, to the best of my recollection, and it was the one dubbed "bird Poop!" Don't ask me what the foamy mess in the middle is, like I said, the only thing identifiable on it was the tiny pieces of Kalamata olives!
We nearly died laughing when he pointed to one of the plates and said it looked like "bird poop!" He cracked us up again when she said this was the most expensive "cat food" he had ever tasted!
I must say that by the time I left I was "full" or something. After tasting about 8 of these various concoctions I had at least satisfied my appetite.
Anyway, It definitely was an interesting experience but at about $500 it was also extremely disappointing. I am not quite sure how this place gets its ranking as one of the best restaurants on Koh Samui - unless because of it's snobby status people are afraid to say they actually found it overpriced and not at all tasty! The only thing it had going for it was the lovely location and atmosphere perched on the rocks above the sea.
GOD BLESS - Peace, Love and Joy!
I've seen several shows on the tube featuring Heston Blumenthal as well as one or more shows from Antony Bourdain, and it looks fantastic, and the science behind it is incredible, but, yes, it is expensive as hell,and you make an entire evening out of the 'tasting.' Not for the faint of heart, (or pocketbook!!)
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