#VeganVentures - One night in Bangkok
Day 10 on Kauai, time for some vegan venturing in my current neighbourhood. The new Thai restaurant Bangkok Happy Bowl in the Poipu Shopping Village had already caught my attention the day before, as I was passing by and noticed the
on the menu. What a nice and delightful selection and the perfect spot to kick off #VeganVentures Kauai! At 6:45 #Romy, the non-vegan venturer, and I were friendly greeted and led to this nice
Already the drink menu got us quite excited and even more so the yummy food selection. So much variety both in terms of vegan and non-vegan dishes. Everything sounded so delicious that we just couldn’t make up our minds. A tough call but luckily
the lovely restaurant owners helped us decide. Paula guided us through the menu and also shared some interesting facts about her home country Thailand, where there is an all vegan day every October. Paula has been a chef for more than 20 years and combines quality, health consciousness and creativity in her cooking. The result is this wonderful fusion cuisine, mixing local preferences and international influence. Feeling the love for what Paula does I asked her about one thing customers should know about the restaurant. “Everything on the menu is made fresh, all Thai kitchen, very authentic. Our cooking is gourmet, not fast food, it takes time and love. It is more than just eating, it is family style dining, sharing food, culture and the spiritual experience.” Smilingly she adds: “I have to be healthy because I love working!” And I can feel with every cell in my body that she means what she says. A passionate chef and wonderful person, just like her husband Kirk, who adds: “We are acttively involved in running this restaurant and talk to as many tables as possible every night. We want to know about our guests’ experience and are very open to customer feedback. We love the islands and want to be a part of the community. And we want to see people happy so we add happy to the bowl!”
Mahalo Kirk and Paula for taking the time and sharing your passion and vision with us. It sure is contagious and Romy and I are already feeling happy before we even started eating :)
After finally making up our minds and placing our orders, I ventured off a bit to capture more of the restaurant atmosphere, listened to
who plays here every Monday night from 6 — 8:30PM and laughed with
A wonderful woman and friendly hostess, who told me she doesn’t feel like working here at all because it is more like being with friends and family, which is exactly the vibe I picked up the minute I walked in. She adds: “I never worked for people like that, they are amazing and they take care of all of us. I love being here!” Mahalo Sabrina Seriayh!
Time to return to Romy and our table just in time to try the delicious
that were already waiting. I usually take my coffee black so the sweetness of this treat caught me by surprise, this wasn’t what I had expected. Luckily once again Paula came to my help explaining that I have to stir it up to delute the sweetness. Haha, mahalo Paula, much better and from that moment I really loved my vegan beverage (with coconut milk).
It didn’t take much longer until Peter, the awesome bartender and manager, served the
our shared vegan appetizer. What a treat to start off the dining experience of the night. With every bite we could taste the freshness of all ingredients and the love that went into the preparation. See for yourself the
Time for another restaurant venturing and a restroom break :)
On my way back I even managed to convince Paula that she looks very cute and perfectly fine for a nice little
You two are just adorable! But back to our table, where once again some delicious food was waiting…
and
OMG and to die for! A taste explosion on so many levels, perfect combination of flavors and ingredients, which exceeded our expecatations by far. Once again, a delicous treat for body, mind and soul! It was actually so good that although both of us were more than full, we couldn’t resist at least sharing
The perfect end of a perfect dining night!
Two thumbs up for this lovely place and all the lovely people involved in making this dining experience one to remember. Mahalo Paula and Kirk for enriching this island with your hearts, souls and your food and for welcoming us with open arms and making us feel at home!
We will sure be back and spread the word about your nurturing temple as we keep traveling.
Island visitors, do yourself a favor and check out the place and people yourself! Oh, and please tell them aloha from Anasha :)
Bangkok Happy Bowl
2360 Kiahuna Plantation Drive
Koloa, HI 96756
(808) 742–9888
info@bangkokhappybowl.com
Owned and operated by
Paula Rungsawang Coult and Kirk Coult