Ladies Vegan Night At Pachaylen

Veganism has been on the rise for the last two years so it should be no surprise that restaurants are now starting to pay attention to this rising trend. Pachaylen, the famed Thai restaurant at Anantara Eastern Mangroves has recently introduced its Ladies Vegan Night. Although we are not vegan ourselves the menu looks so tempting, we cannot resist checking it out.

As we enter Pachaylen we are welcomed by the sounds of the khim and shown to our table. To begin our dining experience, we are presented with Miang Kham, a traditional thai starter translating to ‘one bite wrap’. Small leaves are filled with salad bites ranging from peanuts, onions, lime, chili and ginger then consumed in one bite.

Guests can choose one starter from a choice of Som Tum Thai, a spicy green papaya salad with soy lime and tamarind juice dressing, Chor Pha Kra Puok, steamed rice dumplings with taro and vegetable soya sauce or Tom Yam Prak Ruam, spicy vegetable soup with chilli galangal and lemongrass. We sample a small portion of each, our favourite is the Som Tum Thai, the rich flavours offer a delightful juxtaposition of sour and spicy. 

Moving onto the mains guests can choose either the Phad To-Hu Khing Onn, wok fried tofu bean curd with young ginger, mushroom and soya bean paste or the To-Hu Phad Bai Kra Paow, wok fried tofu bean curd with bamboo and basil chili and black soy sauce.  Both come with a side of Phad Prak Choy Tao Jeiw, wok fried pak choy with Thai soy bean paste and Khao Soey, steamed jasmine rice. The Phad To-Hu Khing Onn is our preferred dish, it offers a lot more flavour than the other tofu dish which, as nice as it was didn’t quite tickle our taste buds.

Finally, onto dessert, Tab Tim Krob, water chestnut tapioca flour dumpling in coconut milk syrup. This was the first time we had tried this dessert, but it will not be the last. Asian cuisine is seldomly know for its great desserts but if you have a sweet tooth, we would highly recommend trying the Tab Tim Krob.

Overall my dining companion and I thoroughly enjoyed our Ladies Vegan Night, even though neither of us are vegan, the dishes were executed so well and tasted so good that it didn’t make the slightest bit of difference to our dining experience. For those who are vegan, circle your calendars for Ladies Vegan Night will be taking place every Tuesday from 7.00pm to 11.00pm with an attractive price tag of AED 130 per person, generous amounts of delectable dishes and a great atmosphere, what’s not to like?

Worth noting is that although the night is official called Ladies Vegan Night it’s not the type of ladies night that may spring to mind, this is a more refined evening focused around great food, men are also welcome to enjoy, making it ideal for a relaxing couples night out.

Anantara Eastern Mangroves, 02 656 1000