Wang Jiao Vegetarian Food

First of all, I have to thank justiceandequality for bringing this vegetarian food stall to my attention. This is not the first time he/she suggests places for me too write about. Unfortunately, his/her previous recommendations did not match my schedule, so I had to put them on hold for the time being. This time, I tell myself I have to make a trip down to Haig Road Cooked Food Centre, where Wang Jiao Vegetarian Food is.

Haig Road Cooked Food Centre, which is within walking distances from Paya Lebar MRT station, is renowned for housing some of the more notable Malay Stalls in Singapore. As a vegetarian, Halal food is out of question. Walking past these famous stalls nonchalantly, I was focused on finding Wang Jiao Vegetarian. Selling mostly local hawker fare, this auspicious sounding (Wang Jiao literally means prosperous corner) stall has a much longer menu than what is featured on the red signboard. More choices is always a good thing.

The Food

Fish Been Hoon Soup can be broadly classified into two categories, namely fried fish and boiled fish. Even before I turned vegetarian, I preferred the latter for its cleaner taste. Whenever I dine at hawker centres, coffee shops or food courts, it disappoints me to see the vegetarian stalls there selling only the fried fish version. Occasionally, I requested for the mock fish to be boiled, only to be met with rejection (And sometimes scoldings if I was unlucky). Guess how delighted I was when the stall owner of Wang Jiao Vegetarian told me that she did not fry the "fish" anyway. It might have been laziness on her part, but I was not complaining.

One of the reasons for deep frying the mock fish was to keep its structure intact. Unlike the ones made from yuba (beancurd skin) which crumble easily on biting, the mock fish used at Wang Jiao were a little springy in texture, allowing them to maintain their shape in the boiling soup. Frying also creates the fishy flavor, thus bringing this vegetarian dish closer to the original. Otherwise they taste just like seasoned tofu. At least this was what I gathered after trying the fish bee hoon soup at Wang Jiao. Since I have grown used to a meatless diet, I treat meat analogues as a food product on its own rather than a substitute of meat. Whether the mock fish tasted like real fish or not was of no concern to me, but it might be a big issue to those who simply could not get over with meat.

Due to the clarity of the soup, I deduced that milk was not added. Its artificial mushroom flavor probably came from the mushroom seasoning. Although there was nothing unique or prominent about this S$3.00 dish, I appreciated its unassuming simplicity.

In order to save time and cost, I noticed that many budget vegetarian eateries resort to using store bought dumplings. When you pay peanuts, you get monkeys, hence the end result is a cooked ball of dough containing gooey TVP (Textured vegetable protein) over-seasoned with pepper. At least this was what I expected from the dumpling noodles soup which hardly made an impression on its arrival. It did not help that instant noodles was used as the staple (Okay I admitted I chose that because I disliked yellow noodles, the only alternative.)

My disappointment took a 360 degree turn after sampling the dumpling. The gooey TVP still existed in the filling, but its proportion was scaled down to make way for the coarsely chopped cabbages and carrots, thus making the dumplings less cloying. While I could not guarantee that the dumplings were made in-house, there was a homemade feel to it, because the fillings tasted like they had been freshly stir-fried before being wrapped into the dough skin. Instead of the usual strong peppery flavor, the filling derived its flavor from the sweet savory gravy.

Much of the goodness of dumpling noodles soup came from the dumplings themselves. Otherwise, it was no different from the previous dish, which contained the same set of ingredients, namely choy sum, carrots, canned mushrooms and sliced mock meat. Even the soup base was the similar. The heavy use of mushroom seasoning had certainly lent an unnecessary hand in weighing down the standard of dumpling noodles soup dish.

Conclusion

Although I do not consider the food at Wang Jiao Vegetarian Food to be of very high standard, I find it credible enough for the price it is charging. Most of the items cost S$3.00, with the exception of Prawn noodles soup and kway chap, which go at S$2.50.

Address	:	14 Haig Road #01-35 Haig Road Cooked Food Centre S(430014)
Opening Hours	:	-
Bus Service	:	2, 7, 13, 26, 154, 155
MRT Station	:	Paya Lebar
Website	:	-

Love No Limits - The Fusion Food

Actually, I spotted The Fusion Food on the day I visited Hokkien Vegetarian. Since it was a newly opened joint, I thought it would be a great addition to my blog. Unfortunately the owner and his staffs were too busy preparing food for a large delivery order, hence they had no time for me.

A week later, I returned with the restaurant in normal operation. Apart from being new, what enticed me to return was the international cuisine menu. Diversity is what I hope to achieve for this blog, hence restaurants like The Fusion Food gets me excited. Vegans might want to take note that dairy used in some of their food.

The Food

Baked rice is a dish I tend to associate with Italian cuisine due to the similarity it shares with pizza and lasagne which spot melted cheese on a starchy staple. Being served in an elliptical plate reminded me of the French gratin. Adding to the confusion is its partial match to the description of casserole and Italian timballo. That is why I have difficulties pinpointing its origin. Now what does the English have to do with it? My only means of finding out was to tuck in to the England Wild Mushroom Baked Rice at Fusion Food.

Contrary to what the name suggested, the wild mushrooms were not baked together with the rice. Instead they were saute with ginger as a separate side dish. Despite their shimmering appearance, the mushrooms were not very oily. The flavor of these succulent mushrooms was just right without being over-seasoned. What took the place of these wild mushrooms to join the rice in the oven were chunks of mock meats. Thanks to them, the rice was infused with their savory sweetness, which was further accentuated by the bits raisins and diced pineapples. Together with the top layer of resolidified melted cheese, they made a decent combination. As someone who was not big on most dairy products, I was glad that the cheese was mild tasting.

Frankly speaking, I had trouble figuring out why the dish was considered English, because the general flavor bent towards Chinese cooking, especially the mushrooms. It might have something to do with the use of cheddar cheese, that is if I was even right in identifying the variety used in the baked rice. Nevertheless, I enjoyed England Wild Mushroom Baked Rice on the whole, except for the greasy aftertaste. At a price of S$10.00, the set includes salad and cooked cabbages. On that day, it was featured on the special menu, hence I paid only S$5.50.

Chinese Cedar, more commonly known as Xiang Chun, is a perennial hardwood native to many parts of Asia, particularly mainland China and Taiwan. Due to its onion like flavor, the young leaves of Xiang Chun find many culinary uses. As an added bonus, Xiang Chun leaves contained high amounts of vitamins and antioxidants.

In Singapore, Xiang Chun based sauces are usually used in stir frys. Hence I was surprised when the waitress told me that Taiwan Cedar Shoots Noodles was a soup dish. Its onion flavor was a little undermined by that of mushrooms in this brothy soup thickened by minced mock beef. Though lacking in any outstanding factors, the soup was still considered pleasant. In my opinion, using spaghetti as the choice of noodles was a mistake as it did not absorb the soup very well, rendering it a bland discrete entity. Neither did I appreciate the “oil slick” on the soup.

Even at a discounted price of S$ 3.00, the small portion size felt unjustifiable. If it remains this way after the promotion is over, then it is a serious ripped off.

Conclusion

To be honest, the dishes featured in this post were not my top choices. On both occasions of my visits, The Fusion Food was plagued with the problem of under-staffing, hence many dishes on their menu were unavailable. Otherwise, I would rather picked the relatively more exotic dishes that represented countries like Mexico, France and Vietnam. I am keen to return to The Fusion Food to try out what I had missed. On the other hand, I did not want my trip specially down to Bugis to end up a wild goose chase.

Anyway if you intend to eat at The Fusion Food, do try their American Spahagetti (S$8.00 or S$10.00). One of the customers who ordered this dish as a takeaway returned for more because he and his colleagues found it delicious.

Address	:	190 Middle Road Fortune Center #01-06 S(419720)
Opening Hours	:	Mon - Sun
Bus Service	:	-
MRT Station	:	Bugis
Website	:	-

Hokkien Vegetarian

Writing this blog gives me the opportunity to pay extra attention to the details about the food I eat, hence improving the quality of my meal experience. Rushing work related deadlines, though necessary, does deprive me of this luxury. For the past few weeks, my lunch and dinner were forgettable fares in forgettable places, since filling up the stomach and getting back to work was my priority.

During the weekend,  I managed to squeeze out some time from my busy schedule, only to be met with crowds at Bugis. Wandering to and fro in that area finally landed me in the basement of Fu Lu Shou Complex, where Hokkien Vegetarian stall was found. Like any vegetarian stalls in the coffee shops of Singapore, Hokkien Vegetarian sells economic rice and largely Chinese one-dish meals. As a result, Tom Yam Bee Hoon stands out among the generic local dishes.

The Food

Tom yam is a clear soup with hot and sour flavor. Although most foreigns associate tom yam with Thailand, it is also a part of Laotian cuisine. What distinguishes tom yam from the hot and sour soup of other cultures is its aromatic citrusy flavor achieved through the use of ingredients, such as lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, lime juice and galangal.

Popular food like tom yam are destined to be commercialized into jars of instant condiment. At least this was what I believed was used in cooking tom yam bee hoon at Hokkien Vegetarian, as opposed to making the paste from fresh ingredients. Although the soup was still considered hot for me, I could feel that the spiciness had been toned down. This dish might not sit well with the veges hater, but the high greens (Especially the cabbages) to mock meats ratio sure scored points with me. I wished there were more tomatoes though, which in my opinion, went very well with the tangy soup when well-cooked.

While authenticity was compromised somewhat, the overall taste was decent by my standard. Afterall, it was unfair to expect the vendor to make the tom yam paste from scratch when I was only paying S$3.00 for a bowl of bee hoon.

Conclusion

In terms of quality, the food at Hokkien Vegetarian was quite all right if one was not picky. What won me over was the portion size. After all these years, I have come to associate vegetarian stalls found in coffee shop and hawker centres with dishes that is packed with processed mock meats, that I make it a point to request for more veges. This time round, I forgot. Nevertheless, the cook at Hokkien Vegetarian did it the way I had wanted. Like I mention earlier, veges haters, shun this stall.

Address	:	149 Rochor Road Fu Lu Shou Complex
Opening Hours	:	-
Bus Service	:	-
MRT Station	:	Bugis
Website	:	-

Loving Heart Cafe 3

Instead of returning to the good vegetarian eateries as promised in the conclusions of my posts, I ended up covering Loving Heart Cafe for the third time. Apart from the pragmatic reason of being within walking distances from my office, it had a revamp recently. Spotting an entirely new menu, it has finally shed the image of being a mere copycat of its neighbor, Kwan Im Vegetarian. The most significnt change is the total removal of their economical rice section. For a blogger like me, this means new material for my posts.

The Food

Ignorance is bliss best summarized my experience with the pumpkin mee jawa at Loving Heart Cafe. Throughout my meal, I was under the impression that I was eating mee rebus which had "mee jawa" as its other alias. For the information of people who are not familiar with mee rebus, it is scalded Chinese yellow noodles mixed with a curry like gravy that contained a sweet undertone from mashed sweet potatoes. Had this been all I knew, I would have easily accepted this dish as not too bad a replica of its non-vegetarian version, which contained shrimps. The use of cheap ingredients like yellow noodles and bean sprouts allowed the vendor to serve generous portion without incurring additional cost, hence keeping the price fairly low at S$ 3.00. Further improvements could be made by adding more pumpkins so as to give the gravy more "pumpkin flavor" as promised in the dish name.

Unfortunately, my habit of going in-depth into the dish after comsumption had unearthed some facts which altered my initial opinion. Despite sounding like "Java", mee jawa does not originate from this Indonesian island. On the contrary, it is considered a Malaysian dish. More importantly, mee jawa is not another name for mee rebus. What distinguished the two is the use of tomato based sauce on top of mashed sweet potatoes in the case of mee jawa. Although I was alright with replacing sweet potatoes with pumpkins for a little twist, the omission of tomato sauce made the dish underserving of its name. I had to admit that the latter feeling arised from knowing a little too much.

Then again, I did not think the pumpkin mee jawa from Loving Heart was a total failure. It was flavorful enough for me at least, but I would definitely not recommend it to anyone looking for authentic and high quality mee jawa.

Several posts ago, I revealed my intention to populate my blog with different kinds of Indian breads. Even though I did not state it explicitly, roti prata was not on my list. Due to my preference for writing about the less common types of food, the relatively ubiquitous roti prata failed to garner my interest. It was a different story when an eatery got innovative and decided to add a little more value to the usual plain prata. While wrapping raw vegetables with roti prata was not exactly an ingenous idea, I did not see any food establishments selling it other than at Loving Heart Restaurant.

Being a fan of raw greens sandwiches and wraps, salad prata instantly clicked with me. Comprising of basic vegetables like lettuce, carrots and cucumbers, the cruchiness of this salad combination complemented well with the roti prata, reminding me of eating a garden salad tortilla wrap. Sweet chilli sauce dominated salad prata with its sweet (duh!) and slighly hot taste, but upon paying a closer attention, one could detect a hint of plum sauce. If the latter flavor was not a figment of my imagination, I might request for the chilli sauce to be left out should I order salad prata in future.

My greatest fear concerning roti prata was being served one that was too soggy and greasy, like the ones sold in my primary school canteen many years ago. Thankfully the roti prata at Loving Heart showed little signs of oil. The characteristic charred sweetness of roti prata was definitely there, which separated it from tortilla and of course the other Indian breads, but it could be better with a crispier exterior and fluffier interior. This S$3.00 dish made a decent side dish, but do not expect it fill you up for a proper meal.

Conclusion

Overall the standard of the food here does not make this eatery a must-visit, even if you live on the other end of Singapore like Jurong or Boon Lay. However for the people nearby in Geylang or Aljunied, it is definitely a viable place have a meal.

Address	:	Blk 134 Geylang East Ave 1 #01-219 Singapore 380134
Opening Hours	:	Mon - Sat, 10.00 am - 10.00 pm Sun 7.00 am - 10.00 pm
Bus Service	:	2, 13, 21, 26, 40, 51
MRT Station	:	Aljunied
Website	:	-

New Green Pasture Cafe

Unless you are a recent convert of vegetarianism, New Green Pasture Cafe needs no introduction. Sophie Teh, the lady behind the helm of this vegetarian eatery, used to be a fashion designer. After being praised time and again for her healthy and delicious cooking, she decided to open a cafe. Aside from business, New Green Pasture also represents Sophie's childhood dream of owning a place where one gets to experience Mother Nature. An organic cafe certainly fits the bill.

Different individuals have different reasons for dining at an organic cafe, with health being the most common motivation. Then there are others who enjoy its down-to-earth and laid-back ambiance. On top of these reasons, organic cafes typically feature unconventional dishes on their menu to amuse my curiosity.

The Food

Charcoal is not likely to cross the minds of the hungry ones. In fact its mere appearance which spells filth has already made its edibility questionable. Then again, if charcoal noodle dares to show up on the menu of one of the more reputable vegetarian eateries in Singapore, ingesting it shouldn't land me in hospital. Novel dishes like this one deserves a spot on my blog.

Due to its high porosity after “activation”, charcoal finds uses in numerous absorption and adsorption processes. It is believed by some health enthusiasts that this property of carbon extends to detoxification of our colon. Before you decide to take my word for it and start to binge on the charcoal from the barbecue pit, do note that not all charcoal is created equal. The variety that is fit for human consumption comes from bamboo. When combined with noodles, like what I had at New Green Pasture, the end product resembled squid ink pasta. Other than that, charcoal noodles tasted like any regular noodles. This time round, I considered the lack of any “special” taste a blessing in disguise. After all, I had enough of the burnt coal smell from all the burning of joss papers during our lunar seventh month. On the other hand, the common mayonnaise lookalike sauce was what that gave this dish its own character. Reaching the finishing line first at my tongue was the sweet and tart flavor of the plum sauce. This was the flavor that dominated the entire dish. Occasionally the citrus undertone from the pomelo pulps slipped in to add some tang. Once in a while, there was some umami taste due to the Japanese seaweeds garnishing. Towards the bottom of the dish, I detected a strong menthol aroma which contributed yet another level of complexity to the overall flavor.

Priced at S$ 8.50, I initially complained silently to myself about doing another costly review. When it was my turn to collect my order, the large portion size (Especially the raw vegetables) made me eat back my words. The excellent standard of this cold noodle dish was merely a bonus. Selling this dish at any price cheaper would be doing the chef a disservice, not that I mind.

Conclusion

New Green Pasture Cafe is not the first eatery one will spot when he or she enters Fortune Center at Bugis. If I have not read about it from the other vegetarian food bloggers, I would remain clueless about its existence. In spite of not having the best location, the cafe manages to survive for more than a decade, and judging from the crowd, still going strong. That certainly speaks volume about the standard of the food served. I had a pleasant first hand experience myself. Even if it means climbing all the way to the 4th floor on an empty stomach, I definitely do not mind returning.

Address	:	190 Middle Road, #04-22 Fortune Centre, Singapore
Opening Hours	:	11.00 am - 8.00 pm (Closed on Mon)
Bus Service	:	-
MRT Station	:	Bugis
Website	:	-

Loving Hut (Khoo Teck Puat Hospital)

Exploring cuisines foreign to my Chinese roots has become a newfound hobby of mine. This activity contains an element of challenge due to the limitation that the food concerned must be vegetarian. While I usually love challenges, it does not hurt to have vegan eateries like Loving Hut to make things easier for me by offering food from a diversity of cultures under one roof.

Quoted from its website, Loving Hut claims to be “the fastest growing chain of international vegan restaurants in the world”. In Singapore alone, it has four outlets. Unlike the rest of the branches, the most recently opened eatery at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital occupies a stall inside NTUC Foodfare as opposed to having its own unit. Operating on a smaller scale has somewhat reduces the variety of its menu. On the brighter side of things, such a setting helps to bring down the price a little.

The Food

Nonya refers to the female descendants of Chinese immigrants who married native women living in the Malay archipelago during the 15th century. To be exact, they are known as the Peranakans. Since the kitchen was considered a female territory back then, their cuisines are sometimes named with a “Nonya” prefix. Choice of ingredients and predominant flavor is region dependent. Due to influences by Thailand, Peranakans cuisines from the northen region (Penang in particular) possess similar spicy and sour flavor. Further down south in Indonesia, coconut milk is widely used thus imparting a rich consistency to their stews.

For people who know that “Assam” is Malay for tamarind, it is a giveaway to them that Assam Curry is a Penang Peranankan dish. Tamarind, a sweet and sour fruit, is the primary source of the tangy flavor in this fish-based curry stew. I might not be a connoisseur of Peranankan food, but I could tell that the chef at Loving Hut managed to achieve reasonable accuracy in the taste department. The additional tartness complemented extremely well with the curry, morphing the Indian creation into a dish with a completely distinct flavor. Its thickness suggested that coconut milk was used. This time round, the patchy redness was a true indicator of the spiciness of Assam Curry. On rare occasions like this, I was forced to sign a peace treaty with the nemesis of my tastebud.

Being a vegan eatery, the fish that was used in the non-vegetarian recipe was replaced by the mock one made of soy beancurd skin. Once again, the chef at Loving Hut emulated the texture of the real fish right down to the “bones”. Upon chewing, I could detect some filamentous entities that awoke my dormant “Beware of fish bones” alert in my brain. In terms of portion size, assam curry might have made a miserly first impression but it turned out that the rest of the ingredients were buried underneath. There was an ample amount of mock fish, which I believed would sit well with Singaporeans, especially those who simply could not live without meat. Personally I would love to have more vegetables, so I was disappointed to see just a few pieces of eggplant although discovering a few tomatoes as I delved deeper cheered me up a little.

Along with the brown rice, stir fried cabbages and soup which formed this set meal, I had a satisfying meal that day. Dishes as such made me wished I could handle spiciness like a true blue Singaporean.

Conclusion

Without a precedence to compare against, I cannot gauge if the Nonya assam curry at Loving Hut is indeed of high standard. Perhaps a meal at Whole Earth can give me an answer. All I can say is I like it on the whole.

If this outlet was situated in another kind of setting, I certainly would not visiting again. However, a hospital is not a place I want to find myself in, not at the moment anyway. Besides Yishun is really far away from where I stay. I can only pin my hope on the other three Loving Hut branches including this dish in their menu.

Address	:	90 Yishun Central, Tower C Level 1, NTUC Foodfare Stall 8
Opening Hours	:	Mon - Sun, 7.00 am - 10.00 pm
Bus Service	:	-
MRT Station	:	Yishun
Website	:	http://www.lovinghut.com.sg

Suriya Restaurant Pure Vegetarian

Little India is one place in Singapore that makes me feel like a tourist in my own country. I derive great pleasure walking down its streets and soaking in an ambiance that was nothing like the HDB heartland or the cosmopolitan CBD I am more familiar with. Reading Hungry Ang Mo's blog has given me another reason to pay Little India a visit. Littered with vegetarian eateries, Little India is like the Bugis of vegetarian Indian cuisines. To be fair, one can also call Bugis the Little India of Chinese vegetarian cuisines.

Out of all the vegetarian eateries available, picking Suriya Restaurant Pure Vegetarian was a random decision. Being strategically located opposite Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple has rendered this restaurant a convenient place for Hindus to grab a bite before going for a praying session. ‎From the absence of naan on its menu, I inferred that this was a South Indian Restaurant. Much to my disappointment, close to half of the menu was not available on that day, robbing me the chance of trying the dishes I had never heard of. Dosa and its variations might be a ubiquitous Indian dish in Singapore, but at least I had yet to sample it. More importantly, it was available.

The Food

Normally what I see on the menu picture is an exaggeration of what I get in reality. As far as paper masala dosa was concerned, it was completely the other way round. At just the price of S$ 3.00, I was hardly prepared for what arrived eventually. Its sheer size and length (Approximately 60 cm) left me astounded, and I lamented my amateurish photography skills for failing to capture its larger than life appearance. Made of fermented rice and urad dal batter, dosa is India's answer to crepe. Since the ingredients are gluten free, they can be safely consumed by Celiac patients as an alternative to its French counterpart. Urad dal, a kind of black lentils, buffs up the nutritional profile of dosa with the much needed protein in a vegetarian diet.

At Suriya, its paper dosa looked deceptively crispy and feathery light. Then again I was grateful to its softness as that made it easier for me to tear the dosa apart with fork and spoon. Like the potato chappati I had at Sam's Budget Food, things got better as I hit the center where the dense masala fillings were. Forming the bulk of the filling, the soft potato chunks could easily qualify as mash potato with spices. Chaperoned by carrot shreds, onion, yellow lentils and curry leaves, I enjoyed this creamy filling despite it having the typical Indian flavor.

Although the the flanking edges of the paper dosa were not totally plain and tasteless, it did not hurt to eat it with some dips. Ironically, the innocently white coconut chutney turned out to be the hottest. On the other hand, the mixed vegetable curry did not bite as fiercely as it looked. Taking the middle position both in color intensity and level of spiciness, the tomato chutney seemed to have a subtle canned tomato sardine flavor. Either that, or my tongue had been overwhelmed by the mish mash of pungent flavors.

Paper masala dosa had been a fulfilling dish for me and I had nothing to complain about. Thanks to the spices found in it, which were purported to help digestion, the richness of the dish did not leave a heavy and sick feeling after eating.

Like dosa, uttapam is born from the fermented rice and ural dal batter. This is pretty much where the similarity ends, otherwise it is pointless to have a different name. Uttapam is smaller in diameter but relatively thicker than dosa. Instead of being cooked by itself as in most Indian breads, uttapam has the ingredients cooked into the batter. The end result resembles a pizza. Without cheese, do not expect it to taste like one though. For me it is better off that way because I prefer uttapam having its individual flavor to being a copycat of another food.

Chewy on the inside and subtly crispy on the outside summarized the texture of tomato uttapam at Suriya. Due to the inclusion of tomatoes, I could detect some tartness that was easily overshadowed by the accompanying curry and chutney. Speaking of the dips, they were exactly the same as what was given for the dosa dishes.

While tomato uttapam lacked the robust flavor of paper masala dosa, it still made a decent and filling meal. Moreover, it had become increasingly rare to find reasonably tasty and interesting meal at a price of S$ 2.20. Thus I would still consider tomato uttapam as a pleasant dish overall.

In addition to cooked meals, Suriya also sells Indian snacks for takeaways. Out of curiosity, I bought one of the Indian sweets. Even though it was called a sweet, it felt more like a cookie that crumbled easily on biting. Its overly saccharine taste made it hard for me to tell what other ingredients aside from sugar was used. However I did notice that the so-called sweet was quite greasy. Fortunately the portion size was quite small.

Conclusion

Suriya calls itself a restaurant because of the way it serves its customer rather than the price of the food. Here the waiter walks up to your seat to take your order instead of you having to go personally to the counter area to request for what you need, ala coffee shops, hawker centres and food courts. Yet the cost of the food is cheaper than some of the food courts and they do not cheat by trimming the portion size.

When it comes to the standard of the food, reviews are mixed. I had been told by one lady on that day that she regularly patronized Suriya because the food reminded her of her grandmother's cooking. Another gentleman commented that the food was mediocre and suggested I went to Komala instead for my future reviews. Personally I had enjoyed the dishes I ordered. If ordinary Indian cooking is good enough to satisfy my palate, I wonder how phenomenal world class Indian cuisines can be.

Address	:	140 Serangoon Road, S(218041)
Opening Hours	:	Mon - Sun, 7.30 am - 10.30 pm
Bus Service	:	23, 64, 65, 66, 125, 147
MRT Station	:	Little India
Website	:	-

Nature's Harvest Cafe

Quite a while back before I started this blog, I read about Yogi House, a vegetarian organic eatery, in Chic Vegetarian's blog. By the time I had the opportunity to check it out, it was no longer around. Reading about that particular location again in Sunny's blog confirmed my suspicion that Yogi House has closed down. All isn't lost since the new tenant, Nature's Harvest Cafe, deals with the same kind of business.

Like several organic eateries in Singapore, Nature's Harvest Cafe operated under the cafe cum retail shop model. If you are into cooking, you can purchase some of the ingredients they used in their cafes from the retail area. They even conduct classes to teach you how to cook organic dishes, but there is no mention if the recipes of the items in their cafe menu are revealed in the process. I have no doubt that Nature's Harvest is suitable for vegetarians, but vegans might want to take note that dairy is inclusive in their menu in the form of yogurt.

The Food

Brown rice, particularly the one I ate at Harvest, reminded me of a colleague who cringed with disgust whenever she saw me ordering brown rice for lunch. Just like how I never understood what was wrong with brown rice, she failed to comprehend how I could tolerate its awful aftertaste. Healthy Rice of Harvest successfully explained my colleagues' hatred for it though. Despite being a seasoned consumer of brown rice these days, I had to admit the brown rice I had here took quite a while to get used to. For once, I detected the musty aftertaste. I could not say I like it, then again it was not exactly a nightmare either. Besides I managed to mask the taste by drizzling some soup on it.

Unlike most brown rice sets I had taken so far, which was accompanied by clear Chinese soup, minestrone soup was served instead. The lack of variety of ingredients was adequately compensated by the generous quantity of the few available, mainly carrots and black-eyed peas. Its characteristic tangyness was a great way to kickstart the meal. Equally as appetizing was the colorful salad made up of beetroots, carrots, turnips and pea shoots. Again the chef here tried to be different by dressing it up with plum sauce instead of the usual Thousand Island or mayo.

In order to live up to its name of “Healthy Rice Set”, the rest of the sides were either blanched or steamed. At least this was what I speculated since there was no sign of grease at all. These methods of cooking worked well with the fungi and cabbage dishes, which were inherently tasty so little seasoning was required. On the other hand, the bitterness of bok choy was sadly retained, and it seemed like the dark brown sauce did nothing to enhance its taste. Personally I was alright about it but I was certain that the bok choy would disagree with the tastebuds of the greens haters. Overall I was extremely satisfied with this healthy and homely tasting rice set, which was hard to come by when one dined outside.

Cold noodles is largely an Oriental dish, with the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans each concocting a recipe to call their own. Putting aside the differences, it is basically a noodle dish that is served chilled, like it is just taken out of the refrigerator. The version I am most familiar with is Cha Soba, which comprises of green tea flavored buckwheat noodle eaten with a soy sauce like dip. My regular trips to organic eateries these days introduces me to a different kind of cold noodles dish. Instead of soy sauce (with fish sauce added), sesame paste is used.

To be honest, before the food arrived, I was worried about the sauce turning out to be some generic condiment with Chinese sesame oil added to it. I may like Chinese sesame oil, but its price of S$ 6.00 heightened my expectation a little. Upon sampling the dish, the nutty flavor of the paste which coupled well with the bouncy ramen rendered my initial apprehension needless. Although the raw julienne vegetables did offset the richness of the gravy a little, they helped to prevent the noodles from drying up too much. Besides they contributed a good amount of crunchiness to the dish. Then there's more crispiness from the rice puffs bits and the sweetness they exuded was a bonus addition to the overall flavor.

Due to my inability to distinguish between peanut butter and sesame paste, I could not vouch for the integrity of this dish. I was aware of the unscrupulous act by some Chinese vendor to substitute sesame paste with the cheaper peanut butter. Regardless, I had enjoyed sesame paste cold noodles by Harvest, hence I couldn't care less.

Conclusion

Browsing through the posts in my archive, I realize my tendency to conclude the ones about organic eateries with a complaint about the price. My recent experience with Barcelos, a slightly more upmarket kind of restaurant that serve mostly non-vegetarian food, taught me that elsewhere is charging more. After going on a plant-based diet for a period of time, I lose touch with the market price of dining in high end areas. Despite calling myself a flexitarian, I keep forgetting that a little meat is allowed in my diet, leading me to subconsciously excluding them totally from my meals.

Anyway, at a typical organic eateries like Harvest, one can easily have a meal at less than S$10. Apart from being served healthier and chemical free food, you get to enjoy a somewhat restaurant like ambiance. Even the service has a more personal touch. So when I am in a generous mood next time, I would head down to these organic cafes instead of the so-called posh restaurants.

Address	:	149 Rochor Road #02-08/09 Fu Lu Shou Complex S(188425)
Opening Hours	:	Mon - Sun
Bus Service	:	-
MRT Station	:	Bugis
Website	:	http://naturesharvestcafe.com.sg

Vege Sense

MacDonalds and its clones have given burgers a bad name. If we analyse a generic burger based on basic nutritional knowledge, it is actually a reasonably balanced food containing carbohydrates (The buns), protein (Typically a meat patty) vitamins, minerals and fibre (raw vegetables). A deeper cross-examination of the burger reveals its uglier side. First of all the buns are usually made of refined flour that has been stripped of nutrients, leaving only the calories behind. Then, the condiments that dresses up the raw vegetables contribute superfluous additives to our body. Finally, the way the meat patties are cooked, deep-frying or grilling, rendered the protein less digestable and in some cases, carcinogenic. And we have not even entered into the animal-based versus plant-based protein argument.

Sandwiches have a relatively more wholesome image than burgers though. In reality, depending on what goes between the two pieces of bread, it can either make a genuinely healthy meal or junk food in health food's clothing. For someone like me who has grown conscious of health these days, it is heartening to see fast food joints like Vege Sense offering healiter versions of burgers and sandwiches. What makes it even better is that Vege Sense is a 100% vegetarian eatery, which helps to trim my list of ommision request of certain ingredients.

Housed inside Fortune Centre of Bugis, Vege Sense specialises in vegetarian breads, particularly its deriavatives such as burgers, sandwiches and toasts. While contributing diversity to the vegetarian food scene of Bugis, which is already flooded with Chinese cuisine, Vege Sense is aware of the older demographic of its location. Thus it offers some Oriental food of Chinese origins like porridges and rice vermicilli soup. At one corner of the eatery, it also retails vegetarian bakery products from Yes Natural. Among the burgers and sandwiches, flavors range from the classic (tuna sandwich, chicken patty burger, etc) to the unusual (burdock patty burger, corn patty burger, mashed sweet potato sandwich, etc).

The Food

My English certainly had room for improvement. When I saw the word "corn patty", I interpreted it as a disc-shaped cake of compacted corn kernels. What I was served eventually was a far cry from my speculation. The patty was made of the less imaginative textured soy protein, with a sparse distribution of corn kernels and peas inside. Cooked with intense dry heat, it bear a morbid resemblance (From a vegetarian's POV) to deep fried meat minus all the greasiness. Still I had to laud the creativeness of this method of "frying" the patty. Besides the patty tasted quite good if one ignored the store bought processed food feeling that came with it.

Compared to the patty, the buns were the relatively more wholesome wholemeal bread. I was assured by the service crew that all the breads used at Veg Sense were "Su" (Vegetarian in Chinese). Since the Chinese language does not have an equivalent for vegan, I'm not sure if dairy is used in baking the burger buns here. Then again such information, though useful for blogging, had little relevance to my diet preference which allowed eggs and dairy. Anyway the buns were pleasantly soft. Due to the presence of the raw greens, tomato and vegetarian mayonnaise, the dryness of the bread hardly mattered.

Despite its imperfection, the corn patty burger at Vege Sense was decent enough, and I was referring to the version without the kechup and chili sauce (I requested for them to be left out). More raw vegetables, ala Subway, would be great for me but that boiled down to personal preference. Since I have not eaten burgers for at least a year, I have lost touch with its market price these days. However I do not consider paying S$3.50 for a meal that didn't quite fill me up as cheap.

Mashed potato is easily available in Singapore. On the other hand, mashed sweet potato is much less common. Hence, even when the service crew persuaded me to try their popular vegetarian tuna sandwich, I remained unbent on my decision to opt for this one.

With a texture almost akin to kaya (egg jam), just slightly less creamy, the sweet potato paste was thankfully not as cloying. With the inclusion of raisins to the sweet potatoes, both being naturally sweet, sugar was unnecessary (I would like to think that's really the case). The hint of nutty flavor attributed to the presence
of black sesame seeds imparted more dimensions to the overall taste, making me feel more grateful about trusting my own gut instinct instead of adhering to the recommendation by the service crew.

It also came to my surprise that flavor wise, the sweet potato paste hardly clashed with the raw cucumbers and lettuce beneath it, separated only by a slice of
wholemeal bread. If the sandwiches were made on the spot, like the burgers did, I would have requested for the omission of mayonnaise. Not that it had ruined the sandwich in any way. In fact, all the ingredients were in harmony. It was just that I preferred the natural taste of food as opposed to that derived from sauces.

At a price of S$2.50 per sandwich, one was apparently paying for the effort that went into making the mashed sweet potato sandwich rather than the portion size. It certainly made a good breakfast or teabreak, but to fulfil your hunger for lunch or dinner, forget about it.

Actually I had a higher expectation for the pumpkin sandwich after listening to the service crew's description of it. According to her, the dressing used on the raw carrots and beetroots was a special blend of in-house made almond sauce. My hopes immediately sank upon tasting it. As if failing to be "special" wasn't bad enough, it tasted just like mayonnaise which I had enough of for the day. Luckily, the steamed pumpkins above managed to salvage the situation. Like the sweet potatoes, pumpkins were blessed with a natural sweetness that was easily brought out by any light cooking methods. Furthermore, steamed pumpkins were hard to find when one dined outside, therefore I would rather focus on relishing the soft chunky bits of it instead of finding fault with the dressing, that was not exactly awful afterall.

Conclusion

To consider the food at Vege Sense to be at the "die-die-must-eat" level of excellence is a little over-rated. Still it is good enough for me to like it. What prevents me from dining there more often is the small portion size. Bugis is approximately a half an hour trip from where I stay, so by the time I reach there, a light meal can hardly satisfy my hunger.

Address	:	190 Middle Road, Fortune Centre, Level 1
Opening Hours	:	-
Bus Service	:	-
MRT Station	:	Bugis
Website	:	-

Sam's Budget Food

July almost becomes an organic food month for me (Nutrihub during the first week, Kampung Senang on the second, plus a string of undocumented vegetarian meals at Ci Hang and Yes Natural in between) if it isn't interrupted by Sam's Budget Food. Brought to my attention by Vegetarian Society Singapore (VSS) via email while I was slogging away in my office, this was what the e-newsletter said about this eatery:

"SG is lucky to have many great veg Indian restaurants, but we do not have so many Indian veg food stalls. Fortunately, a new one recently opened near Tanjong Pagar Plaza, beside the wet market. It's called Sam's Budget Food. The address is Blk 7, Level 1, Stall #5. Contact 6222.4458, 9471.6384, samsbudgetfood@singnet.com.sg ."

As I was skimming through this paragraph, I could not help but imagine reading in between those lines that Indian vegetarian food in Singapore is generally more expensive. As the name of the stall suggests, Sam's Budget Food sells its food at a lower price. Had this been a Chinese vegetarian stall, it often means resorting to cheap MSG, adding more salt and other what-nots to bring you dishes that at least taste decent. At Sam's however, they promise to cook using less oil and only natural ingredients. Shoba, the kind lady who served me on that day, added that their dishes were Indian home cooked food, something for the Indian foreign workers to feel nostalgic about. Since this stall was opened not too long ago, the boss was a little apologetic about his limited menu. He said that more dishes would be introduced as they went along. To a newbie to Indian cuisine like myself, the so-called limited menu already looked more exciting than that of the neighboring Chinese vegetarian stall.

The Food

Chappati is the Indian version of unleavened flatbread. Made from whole wheat flour, it is then roasted on a preheated dry skillet. Without much taste on its own, it is meant to be a staple to go with dishes such as curry and vegetables.

As opposed to the flaky layered texture of roti prata, which non-Indian Singaporeans are more familiar with, chappati consists of a single thin layer. Chewy and doughy, it is closer to an unsweetened pancake with lower moisture level. At least this was I gathered after trying the plain chappatis at Sam's. In my opinion, it complemented well with the dhal (A curry using pulses as the main ingredient), that was part and parcel of this set. Although I would not rate the dhal here as exceptional, I would choose it over the local Chinese rendition of curry anytime. In fact I generally prefer the curry of other races (Including the Japanese) because they tend to place more emphasis on the curry powder flavor instead of being overshadowed by the spiciness of chili.

Apart from two plain chappatis and dhal, I got to choose two vegetables side dishes to complete the set. The cauliflowers, broccolis and potatoes were not overcooked hence maintaining the crunch in them. I could not say the sides I had picked were not spicy at all, but the hotness was still within my limited tolerable level. True to their words, the dishes were not too greasy.

Just like the ubiquitous economic rice in Singapore, the overall standard of this set meal was undermined by the coldness. It had probably seen better days, or rather hours, when they were just cooked. I also wondered if it was a common practice of Indians to serve very small portions of their side dishes because they vanished a little too soon, leaving me to force the remaining plain chappati down my throat.

This was a variation of chappati, with boiled mashed potatoes stuffed inside, hence it was called potato chappati. In contrast to the chapati set, this dish was served hot, a vast improvement indeed. This was what a good chappati should taste like, soft on the inside, and subtly crispy on the outside.

If you had started carving the bread from the edges like I did, you would felt a little letdown by the absence of a quality that set it apart from plain chappati. It wasn't until I hit the location where the potatoes were buried, that I began to savor the goodness of it. Flavored by the right mixture of spices, the potato chappati only got better as I proceeded towards the center.

By serving as a dip, the curd helped me to get through the less interesting seams of the chappati to where the potatoes were. Even when taken on its own, it was no less weak. It might resemble coleslaw with all that shredded carrots bathed in viscous white sauce, and almost taste like one, but the yogurt forced the similarity to end here. The additional tartness the yogurt contributed to the curd hit it off beautifully with the rest of the ingredients, making this dip an extraordinary one. Shoba revealed that chili was grated into curd as well but because the seeds were left out, the overall mixture was not spicy. Normally too much dairy made me feel a little sick, but this curd was appetizing throughout.

At the back of my mind I wondered if this was one of the traditional Indian dish or an invented recipe by Sam's Budget Food. Whichever it was, potato chappati was more than a redeeming factor for the cold chappati set. It totally left me smitten. What's more, it only cost S$2.00. Due to its time-consuming recipe, it would only be made on days when Sam's is not expecting a crowd. Anyone who is interested in this dish should call them beforehand (Contact 84499145) to check its availability.

Conclusion

I may be a little critical about the coldness of some of the food served at Sam's Budget Food, but because this is a common quality among other vegetarian, or should I say, any food stalls in coffee shops, I can easily forgive it. Moreover, my mind is more preoccupied with the excellent quality of the potato chappati. My trip specially to Tanjong Pagar on that day was certainly worth all the while because of it.

Address	:	Blk 7, Level 1, Stall #5 S(081007)
Opening Hours	:	Mon - Sat, Morning - 8.00 pm
Bus Service	:	-
MRT Station	:	Tanjong Pagar
Website	:	-

Kampung Senang Eco-Friendly Kitchen

{Note: I would like to thank living-vegan and Sunny for bringing this place to my attention in their blogs.}

Eco-friendly Kitchen is one of the projects by Kampung Senang, a registered charity in Singapore. With a humble beginning as a day-care activity centre for the elderly in 1999, Kampung Senang is the brainchild of Ms Joyce Lye. Its story can be summed up as a high flyer whom, after reaching the pinnacle of her career (Ms Lye was the General manager of HSBC, Asia), decided to contribute back to the society (Setting up an organization to promote holistic wellness and inner peace.). Most of the time, the turning point was triggered by an event (2 of our Deputy Prime Ministers were diagnosed with cancer during the 90s). Although there are several similar stories, each one is inspirational in its own right.

Kampung Senang is a place which practises what it preaches. The workshops it organizes do not just educate its participants about health related issues. During lunch breaks, the participants are provided with organic vegetarian meals prepared in-house. I believe Eco-friendly kitchen was set up to serve this purpose initially. Later on, the homely cafe is opened to the public so as to create more awareness in this area. Being a non-profit organization, the food is prepared by volunteers. "Payment" is collected in the form of donations, hence no change is given. To prevent cheapskates like myself from abusing the system, a minimum amount is set. On the day I went, it was S$6.00 per meal.

Speaking of the meals, choices are limited to whatever they cook for that day. From this fact, I infer that the menu itself is not fixed. Anyway, I was given a choice of brown rice set or noodles set. Not one to follow the default arrangement, I tried to bend the rules a little by asking for half a serving each of brown rice and noodles. They allowed it. Cool!

The Food

Over-generalization is not my intention, but my experience thus far with organic eateries is that they tend to be stingy with the portion size. Do they think that all their patrons are on a weight loss mission? Therefore I was pleasantly surprised when my plate was heaped with abundant amount of food. Just the quantity alone already made me feel I had received the value I had paid for.

The fragrance of Chinese roasted sesame oil dominated the flavor of this set meal. It also explained the aroma that greeted me when I first entered Eco-friendly Kitchen. I especially liked how the oil greatly enhanced the the taste of the blanched vegetables. Being a mediocre cook myself, I often bluff my way through with a few sprinkles of Chinese sesame oil. That's not to say the volunteers here were as amateurish as me. In the hands of a good chef, this oil can do wonders.

Another thing to note was that the salad contained no dressing at all. Since there was plenty of cooked foods around, such as the tofu, shimeji mushroom and snow peas, condiments or sauces were unnecessary in my opinion. Besides, it was nice and healthy to appreciate the natural sweetness of the raw julienned carrots and beetroots once in a while.

On the whole, this was a meal relying on basic seasonings like salt to bring out the flavor of the food, which was very much like homecooking. Apart from the noodles that was a little too oily for my liking, I was pretty much left satiated after this meal.

Conclusion

The payment by donation system of Eco-friendly Kitchen reminds me of 5 Sights Hall. To further amplify the deja vu feeling, I only had large notes on that day. Thankfully, they had a corner retailing organic groceries, where I could buy something to get small changes. On a more postive note, both places share similarities like serving good food from their hearts and generous portion size. It's a shame that they only operate from 12pm to 2pm. It's also a shame that my post barely scratches the surface of Kampung Senang, which has much more to offer. If you are interested, do visit their website to find out more.

Address	:	Blk 106 Aljunied Crescent #01-205 S(380106)
Opening Hours	:	Mon - Sat, 12.00 pm - 2.00 pm
Bus Service	:	-
MRT Station	:	Aljunied
Website	:	http://www.kg-senang.org.sg