American Lunch in Phuket

About 2:00 in the afternoon, we decided that we needed food.

Not Thai food, but something recognizable to the American palate, given that we’d had nothing really familiar since leaving home (well, except for scrambled eggs!)

The hotel recommended a couple of places, so we set off to find one of them for some lunch.

What a place! It was in a modern building, with both inside and outside dining. We opted for the air conditioning, which was set just above the sub-arctic temperatures that Americans tend to like.

The staff, all of whom spoke very good English, were dressed in tailored black uniforms and were very attentive to our desires. Drink menus popped up instantly, and food menus weren’t far behind.

There was a DJ playing music over a spectacular sound system – you could see the stage where live music must play in the evenings, and we learned that the DJ and music are so good that it plays over the local radio station as well. Mostly Top 40 numbers, with just enough older stuff mixed in to keep our interest.

The interior had teakwood tables set far enough apart that, had there been a lot of other diners, we wouldn’t have felt cramped, and there were photos of all the famous people who’d eaten there on the walls, most of them autographed.

The staff were obviously enjoying their work, and they were frequently dancing in the aisles to the music that was playing – most were in their early 20’s, so this was the music of their generation.

Our food came hot and looking exactly as expected – no curry or red chilis here!

Hard Rock Café truly is everywhere.

Now, here’s the kicker.

We both came away with incredible indigestion. Portions were wayyy too large, and we don’t need to go into how unhealthy a cheeseburger and fries are.

Yet, we ate it. And were miserable for a while. And now we’ll go back to eating Thai food, in moderation, and in reasonable sized portions.

Oh, and the cost for this gastronomic disaster? 1462 Baht - $44.30 -- about 3 times what we've been paying for lunch for two of us.