French Bistro Culture
Takes Central Festival
by Storm
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the French for so many wondrous Earthly p l e a s u r e s … .
Champagne, Cezanne and the Can-Can spring alliteratively to mind. Perhaps the greatest French gift bestowed upon the rest of the world is that glorious institution – the pavement bistro.
Having just returned from Paris I can attest to the central role that the bistro plays in the life and soul of French culture. It is the quintessence of good food, wine, coffee, people-watching and conversation. If France were a human body, the pavement bistro would be its heart!
Phuket’s Central Festival Shopping Center is a modern affront to human sensibility that can certainly benefit from a little injection of “heart”. So we should rejoice in the fact that the Wine Connection Express that is spreading the gospel of excellent food, wine and good taste across Thailand and other parts of SE Asia, has seen fit to open its latest incarnation in the Plaza Zone of the first floor of Central.
The new Wine Connection restaurant/ delicatessen/bar and wine shop is their biggest in Thailand and sits within a sparkling floor-to-ceiling glass atrium facilitating people-watching from both inside the main restaurant, or on their outdoor terrace, just as befits a French-style bistro.
Upon entering you enjoy a spacious, airy ambience around which the towering wall racks house a selection of over 700 wines, from as little as 350 baht a bottle. There’s great coffee, a fine cheese selection and fresh-baked breads, pies and pastries, not to mention easy parking and free Wi-Fi ….meaning there’s every reason to linger contentedly from the 10am opening right through until their midnight closing.
This new citadel of good taste (pun intended) also boasts the company’s reasonably- priced signature fine food menu featuring an excellent array of pan-European starters, entrees and desserts, plus wines by the glass from as little as 100 baht. The food selection runs the gamut from salads, cold cuts, fine cheeses, pastas, pizzas, fish, chicken and steak, through to a selection of yummy desserts with which to climax your meal.
There’s no doubt that this new Wine Connection will become a trendy favorite for local residents and tourists alike making it THE place to savor a little of the joie de vie that makes France the most visited and well-loved tourist destination in the world.
Wine Connection Deli & Bistro
1st Floor, Plaza Zone,
Central Festival Phuket
Tel: +66 (0) 76 307 064-5
www.wineconnection.co.th