Telephone: 085 8327439 (Khun Ball)

Open: 10am-8pm

Address: Bang Pae Waterfall, Pakok Talang, Phuket 83110

Style: Thai-international

Price range: Reasonable. French fried (60 baht) fried egg sandwich (80 baht) tuna sandwich (85 baht) fried fish sandwich (100 baht) crab meat salad (120 baht) shrimp salad (100 baht) omlette (60 baht) squid tempura (100 baht) pad thai (60 baht) spicy papaya salad (90 baht) green curry with chicken (90 baht) fried chicken in pandanus leaf (90 baht) fried fish (250 baht) coffee (40 baht) hazel nut caffee latte (50 baht) iced tea (25 baht) large singha (50 baht) smoothies (40 baht).

Specialty: Hor mook in a shell, several interesting varieties of coffee

What the owner, Pattarapan La-ongpanich, says: This is a family business and we've owned the land, adjoining a national park, since my grandfather's time. Soon we will be opening a couple of small suites in the natural setting near the restaurant. It will be a pleasant place to stay, with the waterfall and the gibbon sanctuary nearby. Elephant trekking is just down the road, and the big new Ao Po Grand Marina and golf courses are also close.

The word ''sylvan'' sums up the gloriously tranquil setting. If the food also had to be condensed to one word, it would be ''tasty.'' A little like an elevated band rotunda, the restaurant overlooks one of Phuket's finest scenic slices, a glimmering lake backed by every shade of green one could imagine. Birds fly, gibbons cry, cool zephyrs ripple the surface. More importantly, people eat. They eat, it has to be said, exceedingly well, and at exceptional prices. Peang-Prai is a long-established Phuket delight, with the cooking supervised by the mother of the family and relatives working as a team in the downstairs kitchen. What comes up to the dining level is splendid fare, with the food and the setting rating highly among locals and visitors. If there is a better setting away from the beaches on the island, we have yet to find it. Combining a languid lunch or an evening meal with a visit to the waterfall or the gibbon sanctuary is an ideal outing for the low season. Water levels are up, and the the falls look their best. Fat and contented after lunch, we were disinclined to move. We decided we'd probably been taking in the lake view long enough when the vines started wrapping tendrils around our legs.

How to find it: Head for the waterfall and the gibbon sanctuary, turn left when you see the park entrance.

Parking: Spaces below the rotunda

Phuketwan was preparing to pay for the meal when Khun Ball struck up a conversation, showed us his new and appealingly natural treetop suites, and refused to accept Phuketwan's money.