Unique plant-based dining experiences in Thailand /

With the demand for plant-based food exploding worldwide, Thailand is certainly in no danger of being left behind. With brand new exciting eateries in Bangkok opening regularly and many established restaurants, hotels and resorts around the country adapting and expanding their plant-based offerings, there has never been a better time to visit Thailand. For those of you looking for an extra special experience, just a little different from the norm, then look no further. We recently enjoyed what we consider to be four unique plant-based dining experiences in Thailand. Each of them serves mouth-watering vegan dishes, in extraordinary locations, creating culinary memories that will last a lifetime.

What better place to start than in Bangkok, where one of the city’s leading luxury hotels offers our first two memorable plant-based experiences. Boasting an enviable location right on the Chao Phraya River, The Peninsula Bangkok offers some of the best views in the city from this beautiful urban resort and a unique three-level riverside pool. In recent years, they’ve really pushed for multi-option plant-based dining at this sophisticated property.

Plant-based afternoon tea in The Lobby

Bathed in light from the huge floor to ceiling windows, The Lobby is a serene venue in which to enjoy afternoon tea. Served daily from 2pm, this is quite simply one of the best plant based afternoon teas we’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing.

The ‘Naturally Peninsula’ afternoon tea featured a duo of freshly baked scones with both a biscuity outside and a soft crumbly centre. Served with lemon curd, raspberry jam and peanut butter; they were perfect. As is the selection of sweet treats, including small muffin-shaped sweet ‘Zucchini Cakes’, round ‘Apple Tarts’ topped with chocolate slices and pastel pink ‘Lychee and Pear Jellies’ with their delicious almond pastry. Intensely rich dark chocolate and hazelnut ‘Ferrero Rocher’ were a direct stairway to chocolate heaven. The savory selection was also extremely tasty, the stars of the show being the ‘Beetroot Rose’ which was soft and garnished with jewels of cucumber gel on a dark rye pumpernickel base. And last but certainly not leats, the ‘Avocado Mille-Feuille’, was beautifully layered with buttery avocado laced with lemon and sandwiched between finely sliced ​​sun-dried tomato bread and sprinkled with acai powder.

Plant-based Cantonese fine dining at Mei Jiang

This is plant-based fine dining of the highest level. Sophisticated surroundings, attentive service and creative Cantonese cuisine combine to create a luxurious dining experience at Mei Jiang. There were four set menus to choose from, two of which were vegan, demonstrating the commitment to promoting plant-based foods in The Peninsula Bangkok.

Our ‘Longevity’ set menu was an eight-course journey through Cantonese fine dining, with plate after plate of beautifully presented plant-based creations. Our amuse-bouche was a rectangular dish of intrigue. With an ‘eternal egg’ inspired tomato jelly, yam with charcoal and picked ginger, an heirloom tomato pie with tofu and a soybean dumpling and Omnimeat served with a flavorful vegan XO sauce. No Cantonese dining experience would be complete without a double-boiled soup, and Peking duck and vegetable versions of both were served at Mei Jiang. The Peking duck with gluten mock ‘duck’, topped with crispy potato skin and served with shredded leek, cucumber, dragon fruit, pancakes and hoisin sauce was sublime. Absolute perfection on a flat. And our dessert of ‘Young Coconut Snow Swallow’ was perhaps the most surprising dish on the menu. A miniature young coconut filled with hot coconut ‘snow’ and cubes of succulent aloe. Delightful.

More luxurious resorts are not much more luxurious than the peerless Soneva Kiri. With just a short flight in their private jet from Bangkok you arrive at this pristine island in the Gulf of Thailand. You can expect unparalleled privacy during your stay as each of the sprawling villas offers just this.

Huge private pools with sunbeds surrounded by jungle provide the perfect place to relax, with many of the villas just steps away from your own private beach. This is next level luxury and it is easy to see why Soneva Kiri is considered one of the most exclusive resorts in Thailand. With a commitment to sustainability and reducing impact, it’s no surprise that plant-based foods are prevalent throughout the resort.

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Plant-based ‘farm to fork’ experience at Colors of the Garden

When one of the resort’s signature restaurants only serves vegan and plant-based food, you just know they’re serious about it. Colors of the Garden in Soneva Kiri joins similar farm-to-table plant-based restaurants in Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani in the Maldives. This dedication to promoting the many benefits of a plant-based diet should be commended and celebrated; it really is the future.

Colors of the Garden is located in the heart of Soneva Kiri Organic Garden and our meal was enjoyed in multiple locations in the green gardens. Chef and her team joined us as we gathered and gathered herbs, salad and vegetables that would be part of our meal. Tasty bites like fresh spring rolls with sweet chilli sauce were served as we explored, before settling down for a cocktail-making masterclass where seasonal rose apples were blended into a refreshing mix flavored with garden herbs. At our next garden location, we enjoyed garlic and rosemary flatbread with crudités and a duo of basil and sun-dried tomato pesto. Other courses included ‘Het Sarong’, mushrooms and turnips wrapped in a woven bundle of crispy fried rice noodles and served with a sweet chilli sauce. We then gathered around the fire pit under the stars and watched subsequent courses sizzle on the grill before heading straight to our plates. Tofu satay, pulled mushrooms and eggplant scallops were all served straight off the grill; each was great. The same can be said of our traditional pandan pudding dessert. Green pandan and black coconut charcoal were combined with swirls of fresh coconut for this not too sweet and deliciously melting pudding made from rice flour and palm sugar.

Authentic ‘no-menu’ destination dining concept at Kruua Mae Tuk

Soneva Kiri itself is a destination like no other, with dreamy locations and unforgettable views throughout the resort. But dining at Kruua Mae Tuk (Tuk’s Kitchen) takes this to another level. Depending on the water levels, you can take a boat deep into the mangroves to reach the restaurant. At other times of the year, a short drive through the jungle will bring you to this ‘no-menu’ restaurant with Chef Tuk at the helm. With her team, she creates authentic and traditional Thai dishes that are served overlooking the mangroves and surrounded by natural beauty. Our multi-course plant based experience at Kruua Mae Tuk was excellent.

We started with Mieng Kham, the signature starter at Tuk’s Kitchen and the only dish present every night. It consisted of a bowl of roasted peanuts, diced ginger, red onion, spicy red chillies, lime, toasted shredded coconut and a spiced sweet plum sauce all ready to be stuffed in vibrant green betel leaves. We wrapped our ingredients in the leaves as beautiful gifts and then ate them whole, getting the various flavor explosions as we chewed. Other dishes included a wing bean salad made from fresh and slightly crunchy wing beans, roasted cashews, sliced ​​shallot, and red pepper with a soy-lime dressing. This was tangy and spicy with all the delights of a Thai salad in every bite. Crispy fried rice crackers with heavenly sweet creamy coconut milk and tamarind dip were more memorable. The red curry with young banana was delicious. Fragrant with kaffir lime leaves, spiced with chilli and the bitterness of the pea-eggplant perfectly balanced with the smooth sweetness of the pumpkin. Our meal ended with a traditional Thai dessert made of salted coconut milk, soft sticky rice and longan simmered in purple butterfly pea flowers. The combination of sweet, salty and creamy is what makes Thai desserts so addictively delicious and this was no exception.

Thailand has always been a favorite destination of ours. The flavours, the creativity, the colours, the smells and the excitement draw us back again and again. As vegans, with this kind of unique and exciting plant-based options readily available, we just know we’ll continue our love affair with Thailand and the extraordinary cuisine of this enchanting country.

Paul Eyers is founder of Vegan Food Quest. Vegan Food Quest have become luxury vegan travel specialists as they continue to find, eat and write about the best vegan food in the world.

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