JA Manafaru

JA Manafaru promises guests a ‘soulful sanctuary’ during their time on this luxury Maldivian island, and we can confirm that is exactly what we experienced during our stay. It provided sanctuary from the pressures of every day life, and filled our souls with positivity, exactly what was needed after a busy schedule of work and travel. Located in the pristine Haa Alifu Atoll (which is the northernmost atoll of the Maldives) JA Manafaru is the perfect tropical island escape, where first rate service, natural beauty, and a selection of delightful beach residences and over water villas await.

Our Deluxe Beach Pool Villa was set within the most beautiful Maldivian garden, complete with multiple seating x lounging x relaxing areas, a spacious private pool, the finest of sand, swaying tropical trees and direct ocean access. It was kinda perfect and we absolutely loved it. Despite the interior being luxuriously appointed, we spent as much time outside of our villa as we did inside. Gaze upon delicate Mangrove Lillies and feel the ocean breeze from your own slice of private beach front. Laze in a hammock strung under Beach Pandanus trees, with their long leg like roots surrounding you. That’s not to say that our villa wasn’t perfect as it truly was, presenting us with a daily dilemma as to where we should spend our time. Our lounge area was homely and bathed with Maldivian light, our bedroom was spacious and the bed was oh so comfortable, but it was the bathroom that we loved the most. With doors to both our private pool and our private beach area, double vanities, powerful rain shower and the most amazing stand alone whirlpool bath, it was the best bathroom ever. When villas are this cool, we never want to leave them, and that’s most certainly a first world problem when there is so much going on at JA Manafaru.

The Vegan Food

The Wellness Your Way concept at JA Manafaru means that there truly is something for everyone, all of the time. Whether you are vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free or follow a low carb diet there are dishes that have been adapted for your dietary choice on each and every menu. And not just a couple of token inclusions, but you literally have the same amount of options to select from as everyone else. This is true ‘food equality’ and this innovative approach has to be the future of dining, including clearly labelled options on all menus, making it easy for guests and easy for staff.

Vegan Breakfast

Our daily breakfast at Kakuni was nothing short of a veritable vegan feast. The only challenge was finding enough time to sample everything that was on offer. We enjoyed the ‘Arabic Mezze’ with a flavour packed tofu shaksuka as the centre piece, our ‘Tofu Scramble’ came with sides of naughty but nice hash browns and vegan cheese topped roasted tomatoes, whilst our delicious ‘Vegan Omelette’ was served with lightly toasted sour dough. Just when we thought life couldn’t get any better Chef Moosa arrived with freshly baked croissants and pain au chocolate, and this ‘special delivery’ was repeated on every single day of our stay! Freshly cut tropical fruits, noodle soup with veggies, smoothie bowls and coconut yoghurt reminded us that we should select them as the more healthy options, whilst vegan waffles topped with strawberries and maple syrup, vegan pancakes and homemade vegan ‘nutella’ argued otherwise.

During our time at JA Manafaru we enjoyed a huge array of vegan dishes including their ‘Caprese Salad’ with vegan mozzarella and ‘Konjac Calamari’ with the creamiest garlic aioli. The mozzarella was excellent, as was the pesto sauce that accompanied it, whilst the konjac calamari was lightly fried and paired perfectly with a squeeze of lemon and vegan mayo. Our ‘Mushroom & Truffle Pizza’ was excellent with a thin and crispy base, and we shared this along with their ‘Spaghetti Mushognese’ which was served with plant based parmesan. Both were as close to perfect as we could have hoped for, they looked good, tasted good and made us smile.

Other dishes we enjoyed during our stay included a flavoursome ‘Kadai Vegetable Curry’ and their ‘Crispy Fishless Fillet’ which was excellent. We loved that there were multiple alternative proteins available as we all know vegans do need to get their protein from somewhere! The vegan fish was made with protein rich soy, whereas the calamari was made with konjac which is used in traditional Japanese and Chinese medicine. Konjac is a root vegetable and is credited with many health benefits including being high in fibre, and contains 16 types of amino acids. The vegan sushi at JA Manafaru was outstanding and we enjoyed this at both ‘Teppanyaki’ and during one of our long and lazy lunches at ‘Kakuni’. The ‘Crunchy Vegifornia Rolls’ and the ‘Kaki-Age’ were our favourites and they made the perfect light and healthy lunch option on a hot Maldivian day.

Maldivian Cooking Class with Chef Moosa

Chef Moosa is the man who wants “everyone to feel equally loved and cared for” through his food, which is the heart and soul of the extensive and creative vegan food offered at JA Manafuru. So we were very honoured to enjoy a Maldivian cooking class with him, during which he shared his rich knowledge of Maldivian food history and his excellent recipes, as we savoured the aromas of the traditional spices before delving into the dishes with pleasure. This unique opportunity to experience the traditional flavours of the Maldives is not to be missed and was a true highlight of our stay. On the menu was ‘Sponge Gourd Soup’, a light broth finished with coconut milk and infused with a generous amount of freshly picked curry leaves, pandan leaf, ginger, black peppercorns and chilli. Spoonful after spoonful of Maldivian delight. Other dishes included a salad made from cubes of pumpkin which had been massaged with freshly grated coconut, lime, shallots, chilli and curry leaves. This zesty, juicy salad was served with traditional ‘roshi’ coconut flatbread showcasing the traditional cooking styles and ingredients of the Maldives once again. We also received a true food education about ‘havaadhu’, the traditional Maldivian curry paste which forms the basis of some of this nation’s fragrantly spiced curries. Chef Moosa set the scene with stories of Maldivian villages gathering to communally roast and grind the spices before sharing the fruits of their labour together to be used in all of the foods they will go on to make for their families. Our curry paste was added to coconut milk, pandan, curry leaves, chilli and plantain to create a rich and flavoursome curry which was served with rice.

Vegan Desserts

Vegan desserts at JA Manafaru are something to get excited about. Now why do we say this? Well, even at some of the finest luxury resorts and hotels throughout the region we’ve been offered a choice of fresh fruit salad or sorbet for dessert. Whilst we love both fruit and sorbet, it’s not really dessert is it? It can be a dessert option, yes, but only when there are other more indulgent options available too. We wasted no time in ordering ‘Coconut Tiramisu’ and ‘Lemon Panna Cotta’ as they are literally two of our favourites. They didn’t disappoint us, in fact they impressed us, they impressed so very much so it would be impossible to choose a favourite. And our vegan dessert adventures at JA Manafaru didn’t end there, we enjoyed multiple other sweet treats including  ‘Raspberry and Coconut Kulfi’ served on a lolly stick, and ‘Chocolate Tart’ with warm caramel sauce, chocolate shavings and sea salt flakes. During our stay it is safe to say we were in vegan dessert heaven each and every single day.

The Vegan Essentials

In addition to the incredible vegan food which of course has a more sustainable footprint than non plant based foods, here at JA Manafaru they take sustainability very seriously. Of course there are no plastic water bottles or straws, and of course the bathroom amenities are plant based, organic and in refillable dispensers. Wooden toothbrushes, bamboo razors and other zero waste initiatives were clear to see in our villa which made us smile. Other planet friendly commitments at JA Manafaru include solar power, the use of desalinated and remineralised sea water for drinking, and homegrown fruits, vegetables and mushrooms which are an important part of reducing food miles, alongside producing as many products as possible in house which also reduces unnecessary packaging.

The Vegan Food Quest Verdict

Look no further for an extensive selection of some of the most creative vegan food we’ve ever enjoyed at a hotel or resort. JA Manafaru truly is a vegan friendly luxury resort like no other and Chef Moosa and his team deserve all of the support we can give as they truly have embraced this culinary concept. And yes, the stunning resort, the luxury villas and the exemplary service also lived up to the lofty heights of the food. Wow, simply wow.

We were guests of JA Manafaru but please rest assured that their generosity in hosting us didn’t influence our views.

JA Manafaru
Haa Alifu Atoll
Maldives

Telephone: +960 6500 400
Email: info.manafaru@jaresorts.com
Cost From: £300 / $385 (July 2024)