CAPE TOWN DIVA: Coffee, amazing tables and chairs, and a ginger cat...

100 Islands Coffee Bar on Baan Tai road (opposite the high school), is another gem of a place on Koh Phangan. It's known for its coffee, which Lateral Paul doesn't rate too highly, but again that's not what I really cared about. I'm more interested in the amazing chairs and tables that pop up without fail at the restaurants and coffee shops I have visited on KP (and Koh Samui). It's the way that the Thai owners put it all together that I love...an amazing retro chair here, a kitsch table or wall ornament there, a hand-painted wall mural, a fake shrub rubber mat...it's uncontrived and it works.

100 Islands is set a little back from the road, shaded by a big tree. We sat on the verandah, and I noticed the inside and another outside area looking just as inviting. This morning we had straightforward poached eggs, bacon, coffee and English Breakfast tea - I hear the cakes and waffles are too fab so we'll be back for those. Oh and the little green-eyed ginger cat that ambled past was a bonus.