Sri Trang
Phulay Bay, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve
Sri Trang is one of the six restaurants at Phulay Bay, A Ritz Carlton Reserve and serves “Traditional Thai cooking in a modern, minimalist setting” and luckily for us they also welcome vegan guests.
The minimalist interior of Sri Trang Restaurant
Wherever possible the food is prepared sourcing local produce, by a team including a local chef who uses family recipes. This meant we really felt like we got to experience a true taste of Krabi during our visit (vegan style of course).
The Vegan Food
Our starter was ‘Yum Som O’ (pomelo salad) which really captured the taste of Thailand; chilli, coriander, garlic, lemongrass, peanuts and crispy caramelised shallots all tossed together with segments of pomelo in a sour dressing. This kind of thing is vegan salad bliss for us.
Pomelo salad that captured the taste of Thailand
Alongside our pomelo salad we had ‘Thod Bhua’, a local green leaf known as ‘leab kud’ which isn’t grown anywhere else. The leaves had been deep fried into crispy fritters and served with homemade pickles and a sweet chilli sauce.
These fritters were deceptive; they looked like they would be so crispy that they would disintegrate into nothing but they were actually quite substantial with an iron rich, grassy taste.
Crispy yet chewy fritters served with homemade vegetable pickles
Next, we were served a magical ‘Tom Yum’ vegetable soup which consisted of delicate vegetables floating in an exquisite broth. We really loved this soup!
The famous tom yum flavours were packed inside the clear broth which was citrus sour, tomato rich and chilli spiced to perfection.
Delicious Tom Yum soup at Sri Trang
The impressive vegan Thai food just kept on coming with a beautifully rich and decadently spiced ‘Tofu Massaman Curry’.
Sweet, creamy with coconut, fragrant with star anise and spicy with chilli; the sauce covering the tofu, potatoes and vegetables was amazing.
Topped off with little crispy shallots and served with a choice of brown or white jasmine rice, our vegan version of this classic Thai dish was heavenly.
So rich and full of spices, we loved this ‘Tofu Massaman Curry’
We also ate pineapple fried rice which had subtle curry spices, sweet raisins, pineapple and cashew nuts mixed with the rice. Baked in half a scooped out pineapple, this was one of those dishes that makes you feel like you’re on a tropical holiday.
Tropical tasty vegan fried rice
Our dessert was mango sticky rice, a sweet treat that is eaten and loved throughout Thailand.
The Sri Trang version of this popular dish was presented ‘sushi style’ and had some additional touches such as the use of red rice and a pandan and coconut custard.
Beautiful presentation and delightful flavours
We finished our vegan feast with a trio of intensely flavoured sorbets that were smooth, rich and full of flavour; a lovely refreshing end to our vegan meal.
Passion fruit, lemongrass and mango sorbet with a vegan coconut sugar biscuit
We enjoyed an excellent bottle of Chenin Blanc Reserve 2011 from PB Valley Khao Yai Winery who confirm that they do not use animal products in the production of their wine (top marks from us!).
It went really well with the food we ate, and we were really impressed to be able to drink a quality vegan wine that is also made in Thailand.
The Vegan Food Quest Verdict
Make a reservation at Sri Trang for an authentic, traditional style vegan Thai meal where the flavours are as sophisticated as the presentation.
Don’t forget to sample the Thai wine from PB Valley Khao Yai Winery, which not only goes really well with the food, but is also made with no animal products.
We were guests of Sri Trang but please rest assured that their generosity in hosting us didn’t influence our views
Sri Trang
Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
111 Moo 3 Nongthalay
Muang
Krabi 81000
Thailand
Telephone: +66 (0)75-628-111
Opening Hours: Daily from 1800 – 2200