Telephone: 076 280233

Open: Daily 6am-9pm

Address: 1/2 Soi Bang Rae, Chaofa West Road, Chalong, Phuket 83130.

Style: Barefoot and basmati, healthy home cooking

Price range: Inexpensive. Pancakes (60 baht) breakfast special (90 baht) hash browns (50 baht) savory spinach (25 baht) burgers (90-100 baht) chicken sandwich (100 baht) pizzas (90 baht-145 baht) tempura (100 baht) soups (45 baht-70 baht) gado gado (small 90 baht large 150 baht) noodles, pasta (75 baht-100 baht) curry and rice (75 baht-100 baht) steamed vegetable platter (85 baht-120 baht) chicken kiev (165 baht) duck stew (185 baht) fillet mignon (285 baht) beef sausages (220 baht) pork tenderloin (185 baht) banana flambe (80 baht) coffee (40 baht) shakes (55-65 baht).

Specialty: Potatoes seem to feature prominently: baked (65) superspud (85) party pig (85) wedges (75) french fries (70). There's also potato salad, plus a pumpkin lover's page.

After we remove our shoes at the doorway to Shanti Lodge, a couple of guests have to be shooed from the largest table to make room. They unravel with a chuckle, because that's the backpacker way, the hippie legacy. Over at another table, a female guest stretches out on a bench, snoozing. Jack Johnson is singing, a new album that sounds just like the last one, and the one before that. Lunch at the Shanti is a timeless blend of Woodstock mixed with basmati rice and pumpkin, or perhaps, if you prefer, potatoes in their jackets. It's also darn good value, for all your senses. Children's laughter tinkles in from the pool. Prone on the floor, a large dog looks as though it has been dead for a couple of days, if not longer. One or two items on the menu were also thought to have perished a long time ago, too, but they seem surprisingly appropriate here, and full of life. Books line the walls, along with a couple of hanging acoustic guitars. There's a bar to one side. Shanti is comfortable and extremely casual, or perhaps, given the prone hound and the sleeper on the bench, even one level beyond casual. Yoga lessons and vegetarian menu suggestions are on offer, but by no means compulsory. The plates provide good sized servings and plenty of fresh foods are evident, even if you have tried to order something seriously unhealthy. If you think it feels a little like dining in the foyer of a laid-back hotel, that's because you are dining in the foyer of a laid-back hotel. Shanti has 25 accommodation units, set among foliage, ponds and twisting stairways. Who knows? Come for lunch, and you may find yourself staying for dinner or beyond. One of these days, a siesta just might become compulsory.

How to find it: About 1.5 kilometres down from Chalong Circle towards Phuket City, tucked away in a soi.

Parking: Left and right inside the entrance.

Phuketwan restaurant reviewers pay for their meals. If someone else does, we tell you so


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