With a crash and an almighty thwump, a wave lands on the beach not 10 metres from our table. The stars overhead twinkle and dance behind cotton-wool clouds as a gentle breeze toys with the tassles of our table napkins. Along with some stupendous seafood dishes, these welcome touches by Mother Nature are some of the extra ingredients contributing to a memorable dining experience at Gung Seafood, at Mom Tri’s Boathouse in Kata.

Gung Seafood started off a few years back as a café-by-the-sea concept — a more relaxed, less formal dining alternative to its big brother next door. But inventive ideas have a habit of busting out their original plans. Nowadays, without losing its original raison d’être, the eatery has expanded and matured.

Gung Seafood cocktails with monikers such as "Viagra" and "Virgin Give Me A Break" betray a comedian at work behind the scenes. We sipped on our aphrodisiacs as the food arrived in Olympian record time. The entrées were as spectacular as they were plentiful: a white coral mushroom salad with cashew and lemon, mussels in white wine, deep-fried prawns with a plum sauce dip, an "Andaman Talay" mixed seafood appetizer, calamari and a bottle of Corsican Beausevoir 2000 rosé.

The mussels in white wine were to die for. Lightly curried and beautifully presented, they were a perfect example of the culinary heights to which Gung Seafood aspires. The only disappointment was the calamari, which turned out to be just slightly greasier than necessary. Ambient music swirled from the bar to drift through the palm fronds, and the ever-attentive staff, well-trained and well-spoken, were admirably suited to this fine dining establishment.

For the main course we enjoyed gaeng luang — Indian yellow curry, garlic pepper and rock lobster, stir-fried rock lobster with chilli and onions, sautéed asparagus in oyster sauce, and a steamed sea bass in lime slices (otherwise known as plah neung manaow). The steamed sea bass, one of this writer’s favourite Thai dishes, simply melted in the mouth. The table’s verdict was that the starters were a damned hard act to follow but, like the true soldiers they were, the group would have a bash at eating this lot anyway. Then they tucked in like they'd never seen a fish or a lobster in the last 15 years.

Although Gung Seafood offers a whole lot more in the way of desserts, we finished the evening off in a quiet manner with ice cream for some, sorbet for others. No doubt about it — our hand-picked, if slightly tipsy crack ArtAsia team was impressed. What with the fabulous food, fine wine, spot-on service, the beach-pounding floor show and salt-flavoured air-conditioning, Gung Seafood comes in pretty much at the head of the fleet of seafood restaurants in Thailand. I only know of one serious rival in the whole of the south of the country, but that place is a whole different kettle of fish. (Pun definitely intended)

Highly recommended: Gung Seafood, South Kata Beach. Reservations advisable from December to March. Tel. 076 330 015