Thai Restaurant Opens At Centara Ceysands 

Centara Ceysands Resort and Spa in Bentota recently opened its signature restaurant ‘Suan Bua’. The restaurant was declared open by the Thai Ambassador Hon. Nopporn Adchariyavanich along with the Softlogic group Chairman and Managing Director Ashok Pathirage. Thai for ‘Lotus Garden’, the restaurant offers authentic Thai Cuisine prepared and made by Consulting Thai Chef, Thalida Amonivatin. 

Based in Maldives, Amonivatin has nearly 20 years of experience in the culinary field and has worked abroad multiple times. In preparing the menu for the restaurant she aimed for a “contemporary and modern menu with traditional Thai flavours”. The menu, carefully crafted and designed, offers 24 items off the a la carte menu as well as  7 different set menu options for diners. 

As Amonivatin is based abroad, she has trained Executive Chef Upul Amaratunga along with 6 other chefs over the course of nearly 2 months to handle the operations of the restaurant. 

Speaking to us about the opening of the restaurant, General Manager, Riaan Drever tells us that the concept behind Suan Bua is to give diners more variety and to show the company’s origins. “We wanted to give our guests more dining options and we thought that because we are a Thai company, a signature Thai restaurant would be the perfect way to go about it.” 

Open for both in house guests as well as visiting diners, this is what we thought of our dining experience at Suan Bua. 

We started off with a few appetizers; a Laab Gaiyang which is a Thai style marinated chicken skewer, Som Tam Thai which is a green papaya salad and deep fried prawns with a sweet chili sauce. While all were stunning in presentation, the green papaya salad was an absolute favourite among the appetizers. 

We were also served a clear Tom Yam soup which to our surprise deviated from the usual milky Tom Yam soup found in many of the Thai restaurants. While the menu offers both the milky and clear versions of the Tom Yam soup, the clear soup though mild on the spicy aspect, did have it an interesting flavor to it that we enjoyed. 

For mains, we were served steamed aromatic rice with  several sides including Kapow Nua Yang which is grilled beef sirloin served in hot basil sauce, Thai green curry and a fried mixed seafood in roasted chili paste sauce. The side dishes were well prepared, well presented and packed with flavours. The dishes, though subtly flavoured, complimented each other and presented an overall satisfying main course. 

For dessert, we were served a Thai signature desert, sticky rice and mango along with a coconut ice cream and a fruit skewer. The coconut ice cream was a refreshing palette cleanser and the sticky rice with mango was just the right sweetness to finish off a flavoursome meal. 

Food - 4.5/5 

We thought the service pretty great. The staff was attentive and helpful and our food was delivered well on time. 

Service - 4/5 

Overall - 4/5 

*Please note that Suan Bua is open for dinner only between 7PM - 10PM.