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How many restaurants have you seen advertised, offering the best ambience, the finest cuisine, award-winning service, a total experience suitable, of course, for only the most discerning clientele? There are too many such restaurants - most claim to be the best, many probably have won awards of one kind or another, but how many surprise you, the diner, with their ingenuity, quality of food, presentation and service? How many times do you visit a restaurant that lives up to its claims and leaves you fulfilled and possibly amazed?

One restaurant which will leave you with such an impression is Dining on the Rocks, which can be found on the idyllic island of Koh Samui in Southern Thailand. The restaurant does of course make its own claims, but these claims you will find, are not only delivered but will be surpassed and will leave you wanting to return many times over.

Found at the luxurious Sila Evason Hideaway & Spa, Dining on the Rock's largest and most common claim to fame seems to be the 270 degree views of the surrounding sea and outlying islands. These views are magnificent, and will definitely add to the pleasure you will receive from dining here, but what makes Dining on the Rocks truly unique is the quality of the food and the ingenious way it is created and combined

Most restaurants will limit your selection of appetizers and main courses, leaving you to make a choice from  a few dishes that sound tempting. Dining on the Rocks will not ease your confusion of choice but, in a way, adds to it by making almost every single dish available as an appetizer or as a main course. At most restaurants, this would not be a problem, but at Dining on the Rocks it is extremely hard to find a dish that does not sound more than tempting, leaving you with some very hard decisions to make.

Thankfully, the restaurant soon realised the rather unusual predicament it was causing guests, and created the 'Experiences' set dinner. This provides guests with 10 mini-courses, giving you a chance to experience a variety of dishes at one sitting. An example of such an 'Experience' would be: Tartar Dégustation; Reduction of Coconut and Truffle with rosemary roasted chicken; Tian of Seared Tuna with spiced lentils and balsamic; Roasted Duck with citrus and an orange-lavender granite; Iced Tom-yam Gazpacho with oysters; Steamed Hor-mok Soufflé; Iced Coconut and Blue Curacao; Lamb Cutlet filled with spiced potatoes served with raita and mint; Jasmine Tea-flavoured Chocolate Pots with spiced pineapple; and Organic Lemongrass Tea.

Dining on the Rocks is not just about choices, good service, or the highest quality of foods, it is about an all-out assault on your taste buds and senses. From the moment you start reading the menu, your imagination flares into life, and once the food arrives and you actually taste the culinary wonders before you, you then understand the sheer ingenuity of the diverse tastes which mingle together and at times quite literally make you smile with joy.

To accompany the meal, the restaurant has a wine cellar with over 1,000 bottles from around the world. The menu even lists some wines and dishes which compliment each other, allowing guests to experience the sumptuous experiences offered exactly as the chef had intended.

We highly recommend reserving a seat at this restaurant well in advance, and if you are travelling at a peak season such as Christmas, New Year etc, we DO MEAN well in advance. You will be able to choose between spacious seating on different decks, all offering stunning views accompanied with the music of the waves crashing into the rocks below. There are also a few lounge-style sofa seats with enormous cushions available (our favourites being 54 and 55).

Wherever you sit, Dining on the Rocks is an experience not to be missed. And if after reading the above you are worried a dinner might break the bank, and it probably would if located anywhere else in the world, then do not fret, Dining on the Rocks is extremely well priced. In fact, we doubt you would be able to experience the same combination of quality food, service, ambience, and culinary ingenuity anywhere else in Thailand, even Asia, for the same affordable prices, and that is not the restaurant's claim, it is ours.

See other recent new regarding: Six Senses, Koh Samui, Sila Evason Hideaway & Spa