Phuket has up its game with innovative restaurant concepts that focus on sustainable local ingredients sourced from nearby farms and waters. When visiting the island, a must-visit is PRU, Phuket’s sole Michelin-starred dining destination.
If you’re planning a trip to Phuket, make sure you score a reservation at PRU, Phuket’s pioneering one-Michelin-starred restaurant (which has retained its star for six consecutive years). In late 2023, PRU relocated to a standalone building within Trisara, Phuket’s luxurious private pool villa beach resort, which is owned by Montara Hospitality Group. If you’re staying at the resort, it’s just few minutes’ buggy ride from your villa.
Executive Chef Jimmy Ophorst, who hails from the Netherlands, joined Trisara in 2016 to spearhead PRU. He embraces a “community-to-fork” ethos, seeking out rare, sustainable Thai ingredients, while focusing on biodiversity and ethical practices. He also minimises food wastage with his innovative, at times unconventional dishes.
Your culinary adventure begins at PRU’s plush lounge, where you can savour cocktails accompanied by a series of snacks before being ushered to the main dining area upstairs. Solo diners or couples can sit at the expansive bar counter and watch the chefs prepare each dish. Delicate snacks may include three different textures of corn with pink pepper vinaigrette; stem of cauliflower with XO sauce; kimchi pancake made from cashew nut, perked up with green guava and green papaya.
The meal typically kicks off with Jimmy’s signature dish “King of the fruits”. He explains, “We cook the whole durian in woodfire for five to six hours to get a caramelised, smoky flavour.” The durian mousse is then paired with caviar from Hua Hin, creating a welcome contrast between the saltiness of the caviar and sweetness of the durian. This rich dish is brightened with organic melon vinegar, marinated mulberries from the PRU Jampa Farm and shiso leaf oil.
Another inventive dish features slivers of charred young coconut, drizzled with lemon and calamansi – a unique take on ceviche. It is accompanied by pickled young bamboo from Chiang Dao, and shavings of dried and smoked coconut heart. The chef adds droplets of vinaigrette infused with black peanut oil and coffee garum, lending an umami depth and intense flavour akin to fish sauce.
Seafood dishes may come in the form of a cold salad of crabmeat, with fermented chickpeas, lime zest and fermented tea leaves – topped with shredded cured crab egg for an umami boost, and drizzled with fragrant green curry sauce and laksa leaf oil. It’s a well-thought-out combination of creaminess and subtle sweetness.
Just as delicious is the tiger prawn (sourced from a local fisherman close to the Sarasin Bridge that connects Phuket island and Phang Nga). The seafood is poached in aromatic oil, and served with a fermented mango sauce for touch of acidity as well as locally harvested sea grapes for texture. This is drizzled with a caramel reduction of prawn heads. “We caramelise the prawn heads with herbs and spices, and reduce them until we get a strong, intense flavour,” says the chef.
To ensure minimal wastage, Jimmy repurposes leftover bread by fermenting it with koji to create a unique bread miso. This is used to make a rich sauce, paired with ribbons of dehydrated beetroot whose slightly chew texture is reminiscent of beef jerky and candy.
The meal rounds off with “The Queen of Fruits” comprising mangosteen sorbet paired with ricotta miso mousse, and crowned with vibrant purple cabbage granite. The refreshing dish is balanced with a hint of savouriness from cured catfish egg (like bottarga). After the palate is refreshed, the final course arrives showcasing cashew fruit kimchi ice cream. This dish highlights the overlooked cashew fruit that grows alongside the nut. The chefs preserve the cashew fruit and turn it into a kimchi ice cream, beautifully presented with black sesame crumble and eggfruit cake with calamansi gel, green tea jasmine tea jelly and caramelised cashew nuts.
You can request for your meal to be paired with wines and champagne, or non-alcoholic concoctions such as cold infusion of toasted rice or sparkling tea. PRU also has an exclusive collaboration with Henri Giraud champagne, offering a rare indulgence available in limited quantities. As the exclusive purveyor of 30 bottles of this exquisite champagne in Thailand, PRU invites guests to savour the refined vintages aged in oak barrels (at the special Private Dining Room).
Your dining experience typically concludes back in the lounge, where petit fours and coffee are served. When you’re done, the resort’s buggy whisks you back to your accommodation for a restful night.