Six Senses Krabey Island
Sometimes you need to feel the wind in your face to blow away the stress of every day life and open yourself to the new experiences ahead. Luckily a trip on the Six Senses speedboat gives you just that, and of course at the end of the breezy 10 minute journey you get to arrive at one of Cambodia’s most exclusive luxury resorts. Six Senses Krabey Island (Krabey means buffalo in Khmer) is a private island resort just off the coast of Sihanoukville. It’s only a 15 minute drive from the airport to the Six Senses jetty meaning that you can be ensconced in your villa within 30 minutes of your plane landing, ready to welcome the bliss. At Six Senses Krabey Island, you get the sense of staying right in the jungle, with giant twisted trees towering above you, jungle creepers hanging from branches and a leafy a shaded canopy to keep you cool. There are birds everywhere too, swooping from tree to tree, filling the air with birdsong of all different varieties. This place is uniquely peaceful in a country whose lively and noisy nature doesn’t leave much room for quiet. At Six Senses Krabey Island, nature and quiet is king.
Location, location, location. If those 3 words were uttered to describe Six Senses Krabey Island we would have to concur. Location #1 meaning less than half an hour private car and private boat transfer from the international airport. Location #2 describing the rugged and enchanting private island. Location #3 has to be your choice of one of the 40 private villas that all come with your own pool and many with ocean vistas. The villas are seriously cool, modern and stylish yet natural and rustic; our Ocean Pool Villa Suite was divine featuring all mod cons, a supremely comfortable bed and views of the ocean from our private pool deck. Perfect.
The Vegan Food
The Eat With Six Senses initiative ensures that fresh, nutritious and sustainable options are plentiful at all Six Senses Resorts and so you’re in for a treat at Six Senses Krabey Island.
At breakfast, head to the cold room and you’ll find a salad bar fit for any self respecting healthy food lover. There was sauerkraut, kimchi, pickled pumpkin, carrot and cabbage, tender stem broccoli florets, asparagus, water lily stems and even a carrot marmalade. Plenty of delicious plant based ingredients to make a bountiful breakfast salad. From the a la carte menu we ordered Avocado on sourdough toast with king brown mushroom and watercress. A hunk of sourdough griddled so it was crisp at the edges, topped with a mushroom cream and a juicy king brown mushroom steak then finished with a buttery ripe avocado. This was next level ‘avo toast’ and we loved it. We also enjoyed banh xeo which is a breakfast favourite in Cambodia and Vietnam; a rice flour pancake with turmeric and coconut milk, stuffed with green chilli, cucumber, bean sprouts and tofu, served with aromatic herbs and a sweet vinegar dipping sauce. We’ve devoured many of these during our time in Southeast Asia so we feel qualified to say the Six Senses Krabey Island banh xeo was a mighty fine example.
Other vegan versions of local food which we loved include the delicious ‘Nom banh chok’ noodle dish made with rice noodles and fresh chopped cucumber, green beens and water lily stems, covered in a creamy coconut soup full of the aromatic flavours of ‘kreung’ curry paste and garnished with fresh herbs and leaves. Liquid refreshments included mango lassi with almond milk and a nutrient packed ‘Green Smoothie’ with kale, pineapple, spinach, avocado, orange juice and cucumber. Tasting just as fresh and green and healthy as it looked. We were also treated to the most delicious duo of breakfast delights; a heavenly coconut panna cotta with mango and passion fruit followed by an almond milk chia pudding topped with diced tropical fruits. Can we have these every day please?
Chef Mark made us a super charged salad for lunch and we were able to observe him in action as it was prepared right in front of us. Not only did this mean he could pass on the recipe and some tips but we got to spend time enjoying his witty and personable company. The salad he created was no ordinary salad, there was so much going on in this dish that it’s hard to know where to start. First there was the ‘Koh Kong Sauce’, a dressing made from lime, palm sugar, coriander, mint, ginger, garlic and chilli. This was pounded together with the pestle and mortar and then left to ferment. This was poured over diced green mango, beetroot, sprouted chickpeas, avocado and green tomatoes then topped with a marinated cabbage full of mint, coriander, sweet basil, pomelo and coconut meat. This was then sprinkled with fried shallot, garlic and ginger and hand shaved cashew nut AKA cashew floss. It was earthy, nutty, crunchy and spicy with sour, citrus and zingy notes. Absolutely divine, one of the best salads we have ever eaten. Bravo Chef.
Dinner started with a watermelon and orange shooter and a quick chat with Chef Mark who proved his ‘anything is possible philosophy’ and set about making suggestions for us. There were a couple of options on the main menu which we selected and we also let the chef create an ‘off menu’ dish for us. All breads were vegan so we selected ‘Rosemary Foccacia’ with Kampot salt flakes and extra virgin olive oil. The green bowl had all kinds of goodness; sprouted lentils, mung beans and chick peas, avocado slices and a creamy thick cashew dressing with all the buttery toastyness of these highly versatile nutritional powerhouses. There were pickles, snake beans, tender stems of kailan. It was a bowl of true delight. The other vegan option was ‘Pea Eggplant and Coconut Green Curry’ with snake bean, bamboo, coconut heart, bean curd, green peppercorns and sweet basil. This curry was delicious, not like a traditional green curry but delicious all the same.
Our special from the chef was homemade durum wheat spaghetti, served in roasted eggplant boats, with a tomato concasse, cashew cream and mushrooms from the mushroom hut, oh and not to mention a cashew nut floss liberally dusted over the top. Earthy, zingy, a little spice, silky unctuousness. This was superb, with the combination of baked eggplant, pasta and sauce working very well; the cashew cram and cashew floss added that extra touch to elevate this dish to one that we would love to try again. Who knows? We might even try to recreate it ourselves…
Our meal at Tree was served ‘family style’, a true Khmer vegan cuisine tasting feast in elegant and refined surroundings. First up was an amok style dish flavoured with coconut milk and Cambodia’s famous turmeric spiced curry paste ‘kreung‘. Instead of being steamed like amok, this was baked in a banana leaf and was like unwrapping a little parcel of tastiness. Mushrooms, pea eggplants, broccoli all drenched in a delicious creamy fragrant liquid, full of the tastes of Cambodia’s staple spices. Next up was a local seaweed soup winter melon and carrot. Imagine an umami rich broth with the taste of the sea and crispy fried garlic to garnish. A light and cleansing soup. Followed by a pomelo vegetable salad with gorgeously pale purple water lily stems, finesly shredded crispy ginger on top. The pomelo gives a bitterness but there are creamy and salty flavours also, we loved the juicy experience provided by this dish.
The Khmer curry was brimming with vegetables, broccoli, okra, eggplant, pumpkin, (we think that Cambodia has the best pumpkin in the world) in a creamy rich, sweet and (unusually for Khmer curry) spicy curry gravy. It was a vibrant orange color, topped with a dark green crown of basil leaves. There’s a Papaya salad, unlike it’s Thai cousin, this papaya salad isn’t spicy and it is full of fresh herbs (all grown in the resorts organic vegetable garden). It has a wonderful herbal flavour, layers of tartness and freshness from all the green papaya, there a sweet and zingy dressing, crushed peanuts running throughout.
The Vegan Essentials
As you would expect from Six Senses the planet saving initiatives are everywhere. Our bathroom amenities were in refillable (and very cute) ceramic dispensers whilst the product within was 100% natural and plant based. Many of the other items that would usually be made from single use plastic and packaged in even more plastic were wooden and bamboo based with packaging from paper. This was one of the most impressive selection of eco friendly bathroom essentials we’ve encountered. Combined with the option for a feather free duvet and a variety of synthetic pillows we were in vegan heaven!
Like so many places in the resort, the Six Senses Spa has just that little something that makes it extraordinary. The gym is state of the art of course, there’s an exercise studio to accompany it too; the lounge area follows the same beautiful design as the rest of the resort where the mesmerising views of the jungle or the beach are invited into living spaces. Theres an open air yoga studio (with those same soul nourishing views) where you can try your hand at arial yoga amongst other things and for those who like to go inside, there’s even a meditation cave. The spa area is also where you’ll find a whole range of vegan friendly products for sale and being used in the treatments on offer. These brands include Subtle Energies, Botanik Essence and a local favourite of ours, Kambio.
If you want a new insight into your health and wellness, some redirection or just a boost in motivation, we highly recommend booking a Wellness Screening with one of the team. This painless, non-invasive screening involves placing hands and feet on special metal plates and following the instructions given to breathe or move in a certain way before getting an ‘inner reading’ of your general health and wellness across a whole range of areas. After the data is in, your results are explained clearly to you with some great holistic ideas about how to address any issues.
Our other highly recommended spa treat is to book yourself a massage. From the ridiculously comfortable massage beds to the excellent therapist, the massage services at Six Senses Krabey Island are truly world class. Its hard to fully describe the Oriental Massage because almost as soon as we laid on those warm, floaty cloud like massage beds and succumbed to the acupressure massage combined with stretching, we were instantly away with the fairies. A 100% other worldly relaxing experience.
Whilst you’re in the spa area, don’t miss the Alchemy Bar, an intriguing and wonderful place where magic really does happen, where guests are invited to make their own natural remedies from the vast selection of natural ingredients on offer. This room holds a lot of excitement for us and we thoroughly enjoyed making our own Kampot pepper body scrub and herbal foot soak with essential oils.
And after creating those almost edible plant based blends for your body, go to eat sublime plant based sorbets available all day and every day from the complimentary ice cream parlour adjacent to the main pool. Pure bliss and another essential ingredient to a perfect day at Six Senses Krabey Island.
The Vegan Food Quest Verdict
Six Senses Resorts never fail to leave you feeling rejuventaed, re-energised and ready to tackle the outside world again. Six Senses Krabey Island delivered all of these positive feelings and more. Our weekend break from bustling Siem Reap was perfect and made us remember that just a few days away works wonders. A wonderful staff team ensured we had a memorable stay full of the finest of vegan food and healthy experiences for both the mind and the body. Highly recommended and a must when visiting Cambodia.
We were guests of Six Senses Krabey Island but please rest assured that their generosity in hosting us didn’t influence our views.
Six Senses Krabey Island
Koh Krabey Island
Ream Commune
Sihanouk Province
Cambodia
Telephone: +855 69 944 888
Email: reservations-krabey@sixsenses.com
Cost From: £850 / $1100 (February 2020)