The Proper Thai BBQ 'Jim Jum' at Moonlight Cafe with Hawie

Good friend of Phanganist Harry may also may be more familiar to a lot of people under his DJ name ‘Hawie’.

Harry has lived in Thailand for four years now, three of those years here on Koh Phangan and a six month break in Bangkok. He has Dj’d a lot over the island but his main passion is for the production side of things and has worked with labels such as Get Physical, King Street and Sex on Wax.

He also used to do the DJ bookings for Jungle Experience, Merkaba and Infinity to name just a few.

We caught up with Harry, along with Leo Beer and his new venture ‘Moonlight Cafe’.

(So as to not cause confusion, this place has been on Koh Phangan for a few years now and has always been called ‘Moonlight’, it is not connected to the new cinema with the same name).

Hey Harry so what made you want a bar and restaurant, how did it happen?
I wanted a project, something more to do on top of the music. I have known the owner of Moonlight for a long time and he asked if I wanted to take the bar on. He does boat trips so had no time to do it himself so I have built it up more.

What have you changed or added here?
The main thing is the Jim Jum which is the proper Thai BBQ, the rest of the food is more Isaan and seafood.

I’ve freshened the place up a bit and tried to make it more appealing, more universal!

What’s the concept for Moonlight Cafe?
Something where locals and Thai’s can come, not just for tourists with more money although everyone is welcome. It’s affordable and the Thai style of ‘cha cha’, relaxing.

Do you cook the food?
I have a professional Thai chef to cook the food and prepare the Jim Jum which is the main focus, it’s sociable eating and drinking!

This area of Wok Tum and Hin Kong with its long beach road has quite a few restaurants, what do you bring that’s different?

This area of Wok Tum and Hin Kong with its long beach road has quite a few restaurants, what do you bring that’s different?
Something fun! It has a nice atmosphere here, you can come with friends or the kids and enjoy some nice food with local ingredients.

What do you like about this area?
I have got a lot of friends here and it’s relaxing. I do a lot of fishing and the locals here have really big hearts. The sunset here is one of the best!

What do you hope for the future?
To get a reputation of making good food and having a good atmosphere for friendly locals and tourists.

You have a lot of DJ friends on the island, will you have music here?
For sunsets yes but it will be down tempo because we are definitely not a party venue.

And the owner of Moonlight Cafe does boat trips….
Yes he has a Thai wooden boat, a converted long tail and does trips to Koh Tao etc with snorkelling, fishing around Phangan and has the crew and is a professional fisherman himself. People can book and enquire here with me if they are interested.

What do you still love about Koh Phangan?
The people here for sure!

As a music producer, what do you think of the party scene at the moment?
I enjoy it actually! Now I am single I have been to Loi Lay and Eden etc and it’s a nice crowd of people.

There was quite a star studded crowd who had come along for a late lunch at Moonlight! Artist Christopher Thomas had accompanied us and Rob Gritton was there when we had arrived plus our mate Graham Gold joined in to experience some Jim Jum BBQ fun!

The charcoal heats up the clay BBQ and the broth is flavoured with thai herbs like kafir lime and basil and then the meat is added along with the vegetables and thin noodles.

Once it is all cooked it is served up into bowls and it tastes divine! This is the kind of Thai food that we here at Phanganist really like, it is fresh tasting and clean, not greasy.

We also had a whole fish which had been deep fried and a squid and prawn dish all served with that amazing super spicy and sweet sauce to dip in or add to your Jim Jum broth, the squid really was possibly the best we have ever eaten, cooked to perfection!

We recommend you pop down to see Harry at Moonlight Cafe and try a Jim Jum, just one will feed two people and you can enjoy a nice cold beer whilst enjoying the famous view over Wok Tum beach...