Acclaimed Italian chef Angelo Magliaro became the Executive Chef at the Impiana Resort in Patong earlier this year and brought with him a wealth of experience, enthusiasm and a whole new menu.

?Sala Bua? which is the largest of the four restaurants within the grounds of the first class boutique resort was awarded the prestigious Thailand?s Best Restaurant in Tatler Thailand magazine in 2010.

The stunning location and surroundings of the Patong beachfront restaurant allows those staying in Patong, the unique ability to take a short walk from the busy centre of Patong to the peaceful and serene spot overlooking the lapping waves of the sea. The new chef has much to live up to.

Chef Angelo was born and raised in the capital city of Rome with his four brothers and dinner time at the Magliaro house, although understandably a noisy time was nonetheless savoured and was one reason why he chose to pursue cooking as a career.

?My love of food started when I was about five years old; I admired my mother?s cooking and her ability to cook for seven people.?

Upon leaving school, Angelo began working as a waiter in a restaurant for very little money just so that he could be around food. After five years waiting on, he attended a professional cooking school and went to work in a restaurant near to Marino.

Chef Angelo has been a chef for 28 years and in that time he has worked extensively throughout Europe inclusing Munich and Salzburg and was a celebrity Chef for a while and appeared on the Italian version of TV show, Ready Steady Cook.

The Mediterranean cooking maestro eventually found himself in Phuket much like the majority of expats do,?I had been coming here for the last ten years for holidays and then when I got the opportunity to work here, I jumped at the chance.?

Sala Bua is the gastronomic apex of Impiana?s smorgasbord of eating spots. The deep dark wooden d?cor of both the inside and outdoor section of the restaurant induces a sense of calm as soon as you enter and sit among the Tiki torches.

Chef Angelo explained how he came to select the dishes that made it into the menu, ?I?ve always liked Thai food and Asian food in general. So in preparation for the new menu, I tried all the popular Thai spices myself.?

Chef Angelo said that the lemongrass herb - so popular in many Thai recipes - is by far his favourite, but this among other Asian spices and herbs he uses sparingly, so that there is just a hint in the aroma and taste.

Chef Angelo?s intention for the cuisine at Sala Bua is firmly aligned with the Food & Beverage Manager of Impiana Gabriele Roscini?s who said, ?We havefood with a Mediterranean flavour with a slight Thai enhancement.?

There are too many dishes on the revamped menu to mention, but include a variety of soups, a wonderful selection of appetizers and seafood and meat based main dishes.

One of the stand out ones for me was the ?Chocolate Homemade Ravioli? (410 baht) stuffed with duck liver, ricotta cheese and tossed with pistachio nuts and lemon-butter-age sauce. Don?t be put off by the mention of chocolate as Chef Angelo uses the merest hint and surprisingly, at least for me, it compliments the cheese exceptionally well. Pregnant women have been eating these sort of mash-up of flavours since the very dawn of time, or dawn of chocolate and ricotta cheese.

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