Wine Connection is on the first floor of an ever expanding shopping mall - Central Festival. There is quite an extensive Western menu for us you to choose from. I am not sure if there is any Thai food available...
There is a wonderful selection of different cheeses - we usually choose a cheese board.
Our daughter usually has the pizza and there is a very big selection of them! There is a selection of salads but they are not something that we usually have.
Fried ice cream rolls are something that you could try whilst you are in Phuket - we we were in Central Festival - downstairs in the Food Court. So what was it made of? Well whole milk, Oreos and chocolate - that was it.
Chocolate first.
Then the Oreo and the milk poured together onto a frozen plate...
Crushed together and then flattened whilst it came together....
Then roll off the finished ice-cream. Well I really should have videoed it - next time it's a 'Facebook Live'. BUT today it's off YouTube. Here's a YouTube to do this at home.
Shabushi (ชาบูชิ) in Central Festival was our choice today. Central Festival is an Americanised Shopping Mall, Cinema on the top floor, a plethora of restaurants and much more. I wanted something different to eat and so this was it.
We have all seen those films with the food rotating round in front of you and you wait for your dish to come round and then take it?
I just wanted to know how easy this would be - it was a lot quicker than I thought that it would be. I kept missing dishes!
So I retired to the easier portion of the restaurant - food was simple set out like a buffet and there were lots of Japanese dishes for you to choose from and they didn't ever seem to run out!
So I just kept eating... and then there was this one dish (above and in the video) in which we cooked an egg which certainly did not agree with me so much so that I could not eat and wow - I have no idea what it is but I would imagine that I ate all the other food so quickly - like the food moving around!
It was that I was told that to eat here we were on a package to eat as much as you like - I did wonder as I sat down how this would work.
Joob Joob is a more popular stop than it shows on this blog - foursquare has the most - each time we go into Central for Zen and other restaurants I like to 'pop in' to Joob Joob.
It is a small place where they create the most wonderful cupcakes - for many occasions - read TripAdvisor for the plethora of different cakes that they have made. When I wrote this post Joob Joob was #1of44 Coffee + Tea in Phuket Town.
Joob Joob is essentially a small self contained kitchen where the cupcakes are created and then displayed and adjacent to this is the wonderful Illy Coffee.
Starbucks - I know so many people sigh but i don't care, okay it is more expensive... This time there was a promotion on the receipt.... and the coffee was exactly the same :)
After a shop which involved lots of bits and pieces Chuen and I retired to have lunch at Zen in Central Festival. As we wandered through the building we noticed that there was a new outlet - Joob Joob.
This seemed to be wonderful - the smell of freshly brewed coffee and the plethora of little cakes was wonderful.
Approaching the counter made me even more demanding - not one cake but two cakes, the choice was almost impossible.
I chose my two cakes and asked for a cappuccino to go with the two cakes.
It was immediately clear that the cakes were cooked freshly (later I noticed that there was an oven on the premises). The coffee was smooth with only a slight bitter taste (with no sugar added). Chuen went shopping whilst I sat here - lovely.
So why Joob Joob? Apparently Joob Joob is Thai for a small kiss - a 'peck on the cheek' I am led to believe but whatever it is it does make a name that you remember.
I do wonder why people sit in chairs provided by a Cafe but purchase nothing? (if you need Internet I was able to pick up Wine Connection - ssshhh.)
We needed to go to the bank in Central Festival and after visiting Chuen wanted to pick up some groceries. The groceries are a little more expensive here - but sometimes...
I did not want to go shopping so I waited adjacent to the tills - I was pleased to see that there was a coffee shop (and other small shops) adjacent to the tills.
The coffee was smooth and very to my taste - almost a shame Chuen finished her shopping - I nearly had another one - funny shape for the cups though?
I wanted somewhere to wait whilst I was in Central Festival and there are a number of Auntie Annie outlets in Phuket and Thailand and they are known for their pretzels.
Well they are certainly not known for their coffee - dreadful taste and the splurt of chocolate only added to the travesty of the foam on the coffee.
We were in Central Festival and we were hungry - we normally choose to go to the Japanese restaurant Zen but wanted something different - there are a lot of different themed restaurants in Central!
We went for Wine Connection - we had been previously but were not impressed by the speed of service... but the meat platter and the pate were wonderful.
We were welcomed and served promptly - the food all arrived at the same time and we were all very happy.
mixed salad with chicken (but there was not a lot of chicken) mixed meat platter a lot of bread and butter cheese pizza white wine
This is a dish from a plethora of Thai dishes that can be purchased form this food court on the 3rd floor of Central Festival near to the cinema.
Eating here is different. There are a number (14+) of small 'kitchens' - here you can choose which dish you would like to have and they will prepare it for you.
1) Before you order buy give the ladies at the front some money (250 Baht) 2) These ladies will return a 'card' loaded with your cash. 3) Pick up a tray and cutlery 4) Go to the 'kitchen' of your choice 5) Choose the dish you want 6) The 'card' is given to the chefs - who will deduct the monies from the card 7) Get a drink - same procedure. 8) Eat it 9) Return the card to the ladies and any monies will be returned.
The outlets are popular with the local people Thai people and the prices are low.
