Baba Poolclub

Sri Panwa, Phuket

Vegan Food Quest went to check out Baba Poolclub, one of 3 restaurants at the luxury resort, Sri Panwa which is based in Phuket. This resort offers it’s guests unrivalled luxury in a stunning location and the restaurant has a cool, relaxed vibe with rocking chairs for seats and a fresh beach club feel.

The cool Baba Poolclub at Sri Panwa

Located high up on a cliff overlooking Phuket’s beautiful Cape Panwa, the Baba Poolclub can be found next to the stunning Sri Panwa infinity pool.

Breathtaking views over the Sri Panwa infinity pool

The restaurant offers all day dining and serves an extensive range of Japanese, Italian, BBQ, Thai and Hotpot cuisines.

Most importantly for our Vegan Food Quest though, this includes a dedicated vegetarian and vegan menu!

The Vegan Food

Our first selection from the huge range of choices available to us was ‘Mushroom and Vegetable Tempura’ served with a ginger, Chinese radish and soy dipping sauce. A mixture of fresh vegetables and a light and crispy batter; this dish was exactly how a well made tempura should be.

Vegan vegetable tempura cooked to perfection

The ‘Pesto Mixed Mushrooms’ were adapted for us to make the dish vegan, removing the parmesan cheese but leaving us with a basil-rich medley of mushrooms that used the natural textures of several different types of fungi to create a really interesting and tasty dish.

The needle mushrooms created a really interesting texture

We also chose ‘Salt and Pepper Tofu’ from the ‘snack’ section on the menu. This turned out to be a delicious wok fried tofu dish, with cubes of firm fried tofu coated in a rich, sweet and salty sauce flavoured with garlic Chinese pepper. Delicious.

Lovely tofu

There was a ‘create your own’ main course option where we could select the different components of our dish and add to it with the choice of 10 different vegan sauces that included concoctions such as ‘lime – chilli – garlic’, ‘passion – sake’ and ‘BabaQ’ (so much choice!).

We went for the ‘Roasted Vegetable Medley’ which was full of juicy chargrilled vegetables and tasted simple and fresh as well as looking pretty good too but we must confess that after looking at all the amazing choices, we forgot to order a sauce!

Great tasting vegetable art

Continuing along with a theme of fresh, flavoursome vegetables, we picked ‘Asparagus and Snow Peas’ which had been lightly cooked in a delicious garlic and soy sauce, with a generous scattering of fried garlic on top.

The bright green vegetables were crunchy and sweet; like they had just been picked from the garden. We were in vegetable heaven…

Fresh, sweet summer vegetables in a spectacularly tasty sauce

The Baba Poolclub vegetarian menu also has a vast range of traditional Thai curries to choose from and as huge curry lovers (and lovers of Thai food too) we opted to squeeze in a ‘Vegetable Penang Curry’.

We loved the way that the menu listed the main ingredients of the curry paste that was the basis of our coconut cream rich curry.

Every mouthful was full of chilli, lemongrass, garlic, galangal, coriander and lime zest; smooth with coconut and sweet with palm sugar.

So glad we chose this Penang curry as it was truly amazing

Vegan desserts on offer included the classic ‘Mango Sticky Rice’ as well as a large choice of homemade sorbets.

As we’d already eaten our way around the menu, we opted to try the ‘Lemongrass Sorbet’ (fresh, icy and full of lemongrass flavour) and a ‘Raspberry Sorbet’ (smooth, rich and dense with fruit flavours).

Topped with a coconut and sugar biscuit, it was a perfect sweet end to our meal.

We finished our meal at Baba Poolclub with fabulous and fresh homemade sorbets

We drank very pleasant, wheaty tasting ‘Phuket Beer’, a premium boutique beer that is brewed in small batches every 2-3 months to preserve it’s freshness.

It’s made with no artificial additives or preservatives and as it’s one of only 2 beers brewed in Thailand that adhere to the historic ‘German Purification Laws’ it’s also vegan (confirmed by the company who produce it too).

We also tasted one of Sri Panwa’s most popular signature mocktails; the ‘Lychee Cooler’. A fruity, refreshing mix of sweet lychee and fresh mint with a twist of something zesty (served over crushed ice), we weren’t surprised that they were popular.

No surprise that other people love this drink too…

The Vegan Food Quest Verdict

Make a reservation at Baba Poolclub and enjoy a luxury vegan meal where you’ll be treated to a huge range of delicious vegan dishes to choose from.

Enjoy vibrant, tasty and fresh vegetable dishes, beautifully spiced Thai curries and choice of homemade delicious vegan desserts.

Indulge in boutique vegan beers or well mixed vegan mocktails and cocktails while you soak up the cool vibe, the impressive views and the whole luxury experience of Sri Panwa.