For the best Mekong River Cruise cuisine, there are no other alternatives that come close to those served in our Aqua Expeditions cruise packages. Our cruises are unlike traditional river cruise companies in almost every way, particularly when it comes to the dining experience we provide.
We started by doing away with sterile, uninviting sleeping quarters and impersonal staff and moved on to create a menu and dining space that is anything but traditional.
In case you need to be convinced even more, read on to learn about how Aqua Expeditions reinvented onboard cruise dining.
If you’re ready to book your trip, call or visit us online to get your cruise on the calendar.
Where it all began
One of the biggest complaints that guests have about traditional cruise companies is the lackluster menus on conventional ships. As the main priority for these cruises is to cater sufficient amounts of food to plenty of guests, there is a lack of attention to its quality. On other ships, you get monotonous buffet lines or traditional foods you’re expecting to be served; but not on the Aqua Mekong, which is why we are the best Mekong River Cruise.
We sought to change everything you know about cruise dining on our ships. Join us on board for Michelin-star crafted menus, beautiful dining spaces that bring the outdoors in and the highest quality, 5-star food for an intimate number of guests.
Here’s how it works in Aqua Expeditions.
A Michelin-star menu
Consulting Chef David Thompson was born in Sydney but is known for his Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly his Thai menus. In 2001, when his Thai restaurant Nahm opened in London, it received a Michelin star in just six months’ time. Nine years later, he made the gutsy move to bring that flagship restaurant to Thailand itself and opened Nahm in Bangkok.
The Thai restaurant became a hit, even amongst Thais, in part due to his emphasis on using only the finest quality ingredients in all of his dishes.
Since Nahm, Chef David Thompson has opened Long Chim in Singapore and Perth. In 2016, he was awarded the Diner’s Club Lifetime Achievement Award Asia 2016.
The Chef’s experience on board the Aqua Mekong is as a consulting chef, bringing new life to various traditional Southeast Asian dishes. The dishes draw inspiration from areas that surpass just Thai cuisine and include Cambodian, Malay and Vietnamese flavors as well.
As with Nahm and Long Chim, Chef David Thompson is incredibly passionate about incorporating fresh, local ingredients. Onboard chefs shop at local riverside markets and for organic, local produce each day. Enjoy fresh fish reeled in from the Mekong itself, herbs and produce harvested just on shore.
What kinds of flavors and dishes can you expect?
The consistently changing, imaginative menus include lemongrass, coriander, turmeric, coconut and citrus flavors that echo the very Cambodian and Vietnamese landscapes that you will float by. Eat river prawns, catfish and other proteins in dishes like curries and grilled meals.
A dining space as exquisite as the dining
We’ve designed dining spaces that are as enticing as the menus Chef David Thompson has expertly crafted. To supplement a stunning menu, it only fits that the dining room is equally magnificent.
Feast your eyes on the sunset through floor-to-ceiling windows while you feast your taste buds on the tantalizing menu. Panoramic views ensure you never miss a second of the meandering river and accompanying mystical landscape.
The dining spaces are designed with the matched luxury of the rest of the ship. Rich woods, contemporary Asian artifacts and fine glassware make up the dining room. The room resonates a modern take on traditional Asian architecture and allows you to be totally engrossed in the dining experience.
You cannot dine on artisanal chocolate fondant without a surrounding décor that oozes similar feelings of luxury and style.
Best Mekong Cruise dining staff
One of the final aspects of creating the best Mekong cruise is finding onboard staff that puts each guest’s dietary requests and dining experience above all else.
Having just a maximum of 40 guests on the Aqua Mekong cruise ship ensures the most personalized customer service. Our 1 to 1 guest-to-staff ratio is essential to deliver the most customizable cruise possible. Be waited on, hand and foot, by a team of dining staff that puts your needs above all else and ensures you are personally delivered with the meal of your preference. Be greeted for your meal by a friendly face that recalls your allergy or likeness for a particular wine.
Finally, excellent customer service will deliver your meal any way you like. If you wish to spend a date night with your partner, we can fix you a more intimate table, or we have ample space for dining among friends, family or other guests on the ship.
A 5-star dining experience
The dining room and cuisine on board the Aqua Expeditions’  Mekong river cruise is unmatched to similar cruises or large cruise ships anywhere.
With an expertly designed menu that is constantly changing and dining spaces that perfectly accompany that Michelin-star menu, you will never picture cruise dining the same way again.
Sample dishes from past Aqua Mekong menus include smoked fish, tapioca, and Vietnamese catfish minced with shallots chilies and Thai basil. Or perhaps grilled river prawns taken straight from the Mekong with traditional peanut sauce is more your speed. You may just leave finding a new appreciation for Southeast Asian dishes altogether.
We know that part of every vacation is the journey your taste buds embark on as well. You can never truly experience a culture without immersing yourself in the flavors that encompass the countries themselves.
Join us as we invite you on the best Mekong river cruise that you and your taste buds will ever experience.
Call or visit us online to start planning your next adventure with Aqua Expeditions.Â
