Arun@Samui is not only an award-winning Thai restaurant (albeit a quirky one) but is also a cooking school. Sue, the owner, used to live in Sydney, where her restaurant won the 1991 ‘Bent Fork’ award and has since moved back to Samui.

Arun@Samui restaurant welcomes people every day except Wednesdays. Arun is, in effect, a shop-house on the main ring road that features traditional Thai dishes (eschewing MSG) such as som tam (papaya salad) spring rolls, several soups and a lot more.