Bo.lan
Bangkok
Bo.lan is not just one of those restaurants where you go for dinner, it’s one of those restaurants where you go to make memories; memories of the best Thai food you’ve ever eaten, memories of maybe even one of the best meals you’ve ever eaten?
To put it simply; if you love Thai food, you’ll love Bo.lan.
If you’re a vegan and you love Thai food then you may struggle to contain yourself as this is one of those places where they no only cater for all dietary requirements, but they excel at making beautiful, delicious plant based creations that will take your breath away.
The Bo.lan dining room – where all the vegan magic happens
Be warned though, after you’ve eaten there you’ll feel compelled to tell the world how good it was and you’re friends and family might get tired of you lamenting about ‘flavours’ or ‘foodart’ or just saying ‘mmm’ alot as you remember the food.
You may also find yourself planning a return visit, contemplating re-routing flights via Bangkok to squeeze in another meal or worse case mourning the fact you may never get to eat there again.
Think we’re exaggerating?
Read on to relive our amazing vegan meal with us and see why Bo.lan is now one of our favourite restaurants of all time.
The Vegan Food Quest is all about ‘Finding, Eating and Writing about the Best Vegan Food in the World’ and there’s no shortage of this at Bo.lan.
The Vegan Food
It’s a good sign when the welcome drinks and snacks are amazing.
This lemongrass and pandanas juice served in a pretty miniature goblet, alongside steamed peanuts certainly did this to us. Such a simple beginning to our meal but one that left us smiling as we’d never tried the humble peanut served this way.
It goes without saying that we’ll be seeking them out again.
Beautifully refreshing, we were tempted to buy these pretty goblets from the small display of products for sale
Soft, mellow and nutty inside with a natural sweetness, steaming peanuts are a tasty and healthy way to eat this nutritious nut
Too officially begin our ‘Bo.lan Botanical’ tasting menu, we were served ‘Ya Dong Grachai Dum’ served with local sour fruits; a small glass of rice wine, accompanied with a tiny panadas jelly, some local sour fruits and chilli salt.
It certainly woke us up with the alcoholic, then sour and salty flavours
Then came our amuse bouche; a pretty collection of bite sized delights full of delicious Thai flavours.
Bo.lan Botanical ‘Amuse Bouche’ in all it’s glory
Sweet, spicy and fresh flavours from the ‘lemongrass laab’ salad, laced with fresh coconut
A soft, stuffed dumpling
A cured mushroom that was salty and slightly sour with a soft texture that just fell apart, paired with a miniature salad
A crispy rice cake topped with local fresh herbs
A local herb salad full of fresh herbal flavours dressed in a rich coconut cream
Arriving next was the ‘Single Plate of the Day’ – a dish of rice noodles and banana blossom with a spicy, coconut creamy sauce on the side to pour on and a local vegetable and herb salad to be mixed in.
Striking presentation for this fun ‘DIY’ noodle dish
The one thing to say about this dish is that is was spicy; it had a creeping chilli heat that was so good that we just couldn’t stop adding more of the spicy sauce to get that chilli euphoria.
he sweet and creamy flavours seemed to balance it out meaning that although we had a real chill afterglow at the end of eating it, we could really taste all the other flavours going on.
The noodles…
…and the salad
The ‘Single Plate of the Day’ assembled with the most delicious chilli spiced sauce
When our main course(s) arrived, our table was filled with delightful dishes of vegan and plant based goodness.
‘Southern Style Red Turmeric Soup with Lotus Shoots’ – Spicy, earthy and savoury broth full of fresh vegetables; light and tasty
‘Stir-Fried Mushroom and Young palm Heart with Holy Basil’ – The fried Holy Basil on top added a new texture to this spicy stir-fry
‘Isaan Style Curry of Local Vegetables’ – So rich with coconut, sweet, spicy and creamy yet bursting with flavour from the fresh curry paste made with coriander seeds, cumin, nutmeg and cinnamon alongside the regular Thai herbs spices
‘Local Salad with Herbs’ – Beautiful to look at and beautiful to eat; this salad was spicy and fresh with lemongrass and chilli flavours, with the edible flower and salad garnish being surprisingly delicious
‘Salad of Grilled Banana Blossom’ – The banana blossom was soft and dressed in a zingy and sour dressing made with light coconut milk, laced with fresh coriander, basil and roasted rice flavours
‘Relish of Yellow Beans with Turmeric and Young Ginger’ – Crunchy, sweet, salty and spicy
A small plate of sweet fried needle mushrooms, rose apple and cucumber arrived to cool our chilli hot mouths – who knew rose apple was the cure to spicy chillies?
And then to dessert, or pre-dessert in this case; an icy, sweet glassful of deliciousness with candied sweet potato, agar agar jelly and lemon basil seed.
Getting us prepared for dessert…
Our actual dessert was nothing short of heavenly; a sautéed coconut cream with tapioca pearls and a slither of jackfruit hidden in the bottom. Accompanied by some sweet potato crisps, each mouthful was a blissfully sweet, creamy, savoury, soft and crunchy symphony.
Vegan heaven looks like this
Creamy and sweet sautéed coconut, tapioca pearls and crisp sweet potato combined to make an awesome dessert
But even this wasn’t the finale; shortly after we’d polished off our much loved dessert, we received a platter of petits fours meaning more dessert bliss as we worked our way through the little mouthfuls, all displayed artfully on a slate.
It was dramatic, to say the least, and pure indulgence for our vegan selves to be presented with such a celebration of sweet things.
This is a dessert that vegan dreams are made of…
We admit that we were a bit ‘dessert drunk’ as we picked up each little gem to try; we remember a peanut candy, a ‘banana paste’ that was like a banana flavoured toffee with a deep caramel taste and a crispy rice cake that was light and toasty.
There was a chewy and soft pandan flavoured layered cake, a thai ‘white chocolate’ made from coconut that had the texture of a peppermint cream and a savoury sweet dumpling that was delightfully soft.
There were local fruits and chilli salt, agar agar jellies and a Bo.lan toffee that we saved until last and sat silently chewing with smiles on our faces.
Vegans are often miss out on a really good dessert unless we’re eating in a vegan restaurant; not at Bo.lan though, in fact, vegans don’t miss out on anything at Bo.lan.
The Vegan Food Quest Verdict
Make a reservation at Bo.lan for a fine dining Thai meal that will leave you with food stories to tell your friends back home.
Order the ‘Bo.lan Botanical’ tasting menu for an adventure in Thai cuisine that will set the standard for just how good vegan Thai food can be. Enjoy the variety of dishes, the beautiful food art, the skilful balance of sweet, spicy, sour and salty flavours as you work your way through each delightful course and let yourself be indulged with the 3 course dessert.
We were guests of Bo.lan but please rest assured that their generosity in hosting us didn’t influence our views
Bo.lan
24 Sukhumvit 53 Alley
Watthana
Bangkok 10110
Opening Hours: 6pm to midnight, Tuesday – Sunday
Email: contact@bolan.co.th
Telephone: +66 (2) 260 2961