What do fish bones, eggshells, and leftover vegetable peels all have in common? They all end up back on the Sow & Reborn menu at JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa. Through a series of inventive dishes, ingredients that might otherwise be thrown away are transformed into something entirely new.
While this experience was by invitation, all thoughts and opinions are our own.
We review the Sown & Reborn menu at JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa
Snapshot
Address: Drift Beach Bar & Grill, JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa, Thailand
Cuisine: Asian fusion circular dining
Best for: Sustainability-minded diners and those curious about zero-waste cooking
Signature dishes: JW Garden Chicken Egg, Circular Grouper
Style: Multi-course tasting menu showcasing repurposed ingredients from across the resort
Price range: THB3,500++ per person, optional beverage pairing THB1,000++ per person
Good to know: A 24-hour advance reservation is required.
The experience begins before dinner
A visit to the hotel’s garden is the perfect way to kick off the dining experience
Most tasting menus start at the table. This one began with a buggy ride to the JW Garden, where much of the produce used throughout the experience is grown. Opened in April 2024, the garden boasts more than 200 plants, herbs, fruits and vegetables. Basil, rosemary, cucumbers, pineapples and leafy greens were just some of the edibles growing around me.
The garden also revealed how the circular concept extends beyond the menu, with food waste transformed into compost and returned to the soil, creating a direct link between the kitchen and the ingredients being grown.
The garden tour provided context for everything that followed. I met the ducks whose eggs appeared in the menu and visited the goats that supply milk for the resort’s cheese production. Along the way, Khun Eak, Chef de Cuisine, explained how ingredients and by-products are given a second purpose rather than discarded. What stood out was the level of thought behind the process. It is a labour-intensive approach requiring as much creativity as commitment.
Circular cuisine in practice
The phrase can sound a little like sustainability jargon, but I found the concept easy enough to grasp because the examples were so tangible. Take the fish featured in the menu. The fillet appeared in one dish, the skin became a crunchy garnish, the bones were used to create stock, and those same bones were later dehydrated and transformed into seasoning. Vegetable offcuts were similarly repurposed, dried and blended into a house-made umami powder.
With the context established, I made my way to Drift Beach Bar & Grill, one of the dining venues at JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa and the beachfront setting for Sown & Reborn.
A taste of what’s to come
I began with a selection of welcome canapés served at the kitchen counter, including smoked goat’s cheese and a ‘circular sourdough’ bruschetta made using leftover breakfast bread trimmings and water from the cheese-making process. It was a simple but effective introduction to the circular thinking behind the menu.
The canapés had piqued my curiosity; now it was time to see what the kitchen could really do.
Course one: a surprising start
Getting to see how the ducks live elevated the farm-to-table concept for me
The meal opened with the JW Garden Duck Egg served on a bed of potato espuma made from leftover potato peelings. A fitting start for a menu built around second chances. Having just met the ducks, the connection between source and plate was well established.
The surprise came in the form of green morning glory ice cream. Sweet, savoury and gently spicy, it tasted remarkably similar to the popular Thai stir-fried vegetable dish, only in a novel, frozen form.
Courses two and three: the standout pairing
The snapper was served as Thai-style fishcakes on a bed of dehydrated leftover breakfast congee
The next two courses showcased snapper and grouper sourced from Phuket from a farm that uses chemical-free practices and an all-insect diet.
The snapper appeared as a small Thai-style fish cake wrapped in pickled cucumber from the garden. Sitting on a bed of what looked like shoestring fries, these were actually crisps made from dehydrated leftover breakfast congee.
A personal favourite was’The Circular Grouper, served tartare-style with pomelo, lemongrass and fragrant kaffir lime leaves. The topping of fake caviar created from leftover stock, vinegar and house-made umami powder, was less about imitation and more about Chef Eak showing creativity from scraps ordinarily destined for the bin.
Course four: umami power & prawns
Sustainably sourced prawns from nearby waters were paired with mushrooms and a punchy tom yum base. Served in a hollowed coconut, the dish arrived with a bamboo cup of rich umami broth that, once poured, brought the elements together and delivered plenty of punch from the tom yum flavours.
Course five: the dish I would return for
The pasta course was a flavour sensation
My standout dish arrived in the form of JW Garden Chicken Egg. By this point, I already knew the story behind the pasta. Eggshells are washed, dried and ground into powder before being incorporated into the dough alongside recycled bread crusts and trimmings.
Concerned I would be crunching my way through this, I was relieved to find silky pasta instead. If I hadn’t known the story behind it, I would never have guessed that eggshells featured. Finished with garden basil pesto and generous Parmesan, it was a dish that would stand comfortably on its own.
Courses six and seven: a sweet finish
Dessert arrived as a pair showcasing nipa palm sugar from the resort’s reforestation programme. The first was pandan pudding with crunchy nipa palm candy, while the second brought together pineapple carpaccio and Thai basil ice cream. One was sweet and rich, the other lighter and refreshing, providing a fitting end to the experience.
Final thoughts
What makes the Sown & Reborn menu memorable is that sustainability never overshadows the meal itself. The circular dining concept is fascinating, and the commitment behind it feels genuine, but for me, the experience succeeds for a much simpler reason: the food is good.
I left with a greater appreciation for how waste ingredients can be transformed into something entirely new. Above all, I had enjoyed a genuinely creative and thoughtfully executed meal.
Learn more about the Sown & Reborn menu at JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa
But wait, there’s more…
- Read our full hotel review on JW Marriott Khao Lak here
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