Hungry Ang Mo | Food Blogger | Vegan

It has been a while since I've had the chance to review a new Indian vegetarian place - Simply because there haven't been that many new ones opening up. Kaaviya is a large restaurant, with a fancy interior. The place was very quiet when I visited, as it only officially opened three days prior to my visit.

Kaaviya Fusion Vegetarian Restaurant
Location: 21 Chander Road
Contact: 62970590
Opening Hours: Daily 11.00am-10.30pm.

The interior of this restaurant is quite lavish and luxurious (although it smelt somewhat like a toilet). Not only didn't like the smell, but the place was quite lifeless overall.

...Very fancy indeed. Kaaviya is actually owned by the same boss of Gayatri, which is a non-vegetarian restaurant chain with a total of four outlets in Singapore.

The menu at Kaaviya is currently only a temporary one, with a more extensive menu (with an increase in fusion style dishes) to be introduced shortly. Currently, only the classic and traditional Indian (predominantly South Indian) dishes are available.

Here is a look at the opposite side of the menu. Overall, the prices are very reasonable, especially considering the lavish setting.

Masala Thosai is one of the few Indian dishes that has achieved nationwide acknowledgement and enjoyment in Singapore. Singaporeans (who know, by in large, nothing about Indian food) have learnt to accept and enjoy this particular Indian dish. This was a decent dosai overall, made all the more better by the fresh coconut and coriander chutney, which was served on the side. The dosai itself was a little anemic, and the potato masala inside was too moist, and lacking any flavour. For $2.50 I don't want to nag too much though. Especially when places like Ananda Bhavan (Syed Alwi Road) are selling the same quality for almost double the price. I honestly have no clue why that 'restaurant' still gets traffic.

Price: $2.50. 6/10

For those looking for a more filling dish, then you can't go wrong with the South Indian Thali. This dish comes with a total of eight small separate dishes, white rice, poppadom and sour pickle. For vegans, you should omit the curd and dessert from this thali, as those are the two non-vegan items. Most of the dishes in this thali were quite ordinary, with the exception of the sour tamarind infused golden brown coloured curry at the top of the picture. This curry sauce was silky and sour, which went perfectly with the white rice.

Price: $8.00. 7/10

Conclusion - It is difficult to get an accurate gauge on how Kaaviya is, as the menu is still in its development stage. I would be curious to visit this restaurant in another six months to see how things look then. For now, the dishes are definitely passable, and if you want a luxurious ambiance then this place may suit you.

Overall Rating
Food - 6/10
Ambiance- 7/10
Service - 5/10
Value - 7/10

Clementi is an area I'm going to explore more extensively over the next few months on Hungry Ang Mo, as I am aware of several vegetarian stalls, located in the various hawkers and coffee shops in this region. For today, I am going to feature Healthy Vegetarian Food. This stall is usually operated by a rather shy and reserved uncle, and he is highly regarded for his high quality crispy noodle. So let's see how good this stall is...

Healthy Vegetarian Food
Location: #01-153, Blk 352 Clementi Ave 2
Contact: None
Opening Hours: Daily 6.00am-3.00pm (day after 1st & 15th they will close)

First dish of the meal was Mee Goreng. Although this dish contain the typical trite ingredients one would expect in a mee goreng, I did find that the flavour overall was quite impressive. It was neither too spicy or bland, and the flavour was especially enhanced when the fresh lime was added. The texture of the noodle could have been improved though, it was a little too soft and sticky for my liking.

Price: 3.50. 6/10

We move onto the Crispy Noodle, which was clearly the best dish of the meal. Firstly, the portion size for this dish is really huge. It is served on a large oval plate, which is easily 1/3 bigger than most eateries. The noodles in this dish were perfect. Suitablly soaked into the sauce, yet still had detectable crispy parts sticking out of the plate. There were also a wide variety of ingredients inside, all of which were fresh and cooked expertly. Price wise, this dish is definitely value for money - Moreover, is probably the most impressive crispy noodle I have eaten so far in Singapore - Really good job chef.

Price: $3.50. 8/10

Conclusion - There is something about the quiet modesty of the uncle, that would probably attract me back to this stall again. Not only that, but this crispy noodle is indeed worthy of its high praise.

Overall Rating
Food - 7/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 7/10
Value - 7/10

For today's review I find myself in Kim Keat Market & Food Centre. This hawker centre is home to a few stalls that have achieved nationwide recognition, most noticeably Dove Dessert's and their famous chendol. But it is the vegetarian stalls in this hawker centre that interest me, and the first of those that I will be reviewing is Healthy Vegetarian. 'Healthy' is another one of those generic names (like 'Nature') that is always used for vegetarian stalls. The actual Chinese name is 键康素食 (jian kang su shi), which also literally translates to mean 'healthy vegetarian' in Chinese.

Jian Kang Healthy Vegetarian
Location: #01-28, Blk 22 Toa Payoh Lorong 7, Kim Keat Market & Food Centre
Contact: 90286212
Opening Hours: Daily 7.30am-2.00pm. Closed Tuesday.

Recently, I posted a review of 33 Vegetarian, a stall whose owner converted to vegetarian after selling chicken rice (the real thing) for many years. Well, the story of Mr Tong, the stall owner of Healthy Vegetarian is very similar. Mr Tong was selling real chicken rice back at the old Toa Payoh bus interchange for over 30 years (dating back to 1970). After many years, his wife turned vegetarian and urged him to do the same. Eventually, Mr Tong quit the chicken rice game, and in 2006 opened this vegetarian stall. Mr Tong is a friendly and humble character, who perpetually has a smile on his face.

Here is a look at the menu.

A look at more dishes that are available at this stall. Mr Tong is most proud of his prawn noodle soup.

A reader named Zhi Cheng (who kindly brought this stall to my attention) suggested that I check out the Fried Kway Teow from this stall. Sure enough, I did. Overall this was an above average rendition of the dish. Typically char kway teow is a little too far on the sweet side for my liking, so I was pleased to discover when I tasted that this was a more savoury version. There was good charring on the ingredients, which really translated to excellent flavour.

Price: $3.00. 8/10

The next dish to appear at my table was Mee Rebus. I found that the flavours in this dish were really well balanced overall. It had slight undertones of sourness from vinegar, the natural sweetness of potato, zest from lime and just the right amount of spice. Coupled with that, I really applaud the cook for using fried crouton-esque pieces, which added a perfect crunchy texture. Improvement wise, I would like to see the hideous mock fishball jelly removed. Replacing it with sliced tofu would be much better.

Price: $2.50. 8/10

Conclusion - I must say, some of the best vegetarian cooks in Singapore are those who have been cooking/preparing meat in their past. It is these chefs who understand what non-vegetarian food tastes like, and what adjustments are needed when making dishes vegetarian. Mr Tong is definitely one of those chefs, and overall I was impressed by his offerings. This is definitely a stall that I would return to.

Overall Rating
Food - 8/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 8/10
Value - 8/10

I have featured The Green Room Cafe once before on my blog, many years back. Since that time, this restaurant has undergone many different transitions. At one point, they converted their menu to almost entirely raw vegan. Now, as of 2014, they are no longer going with the raw 'concept', instead they offering a new all vegan menu. One thing can't be denied, the ambience and setting (inside Bishan park) is one of the best in Singapore. A slow peaceful (well, by Singapore standards) walk at the park is a perfect way to conclude a meal from Green Room.

The Green Room Cafe
Location: Bishan Park II, 1382 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1
Contact: 65561533
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 12.00pm-3.00pm & 6.00pm-10.30pm. Weekends 11.00am-10.30pm

Daikon Pancake was the first dish that came to my table for this meal. For Buddhist customers, you may want to avoid this dish, as it contains onion and garlic. I liked the added alfafa sprouts on top, but overall this pancake was a little on the bland side. It was thick enough to be substantial, and still had a nice crisp texture on the outside, but the actual flavour could have benefitted from some enchancement, so that it could stand out more - Especially considering the price.

Price: $8.00. 6/10

For my main course, I picked out Rendang Tahu. This dish is an alternative take on the synonmous Minangkabau dish. For the vegetarian version, mushroom or mock meat is typically used. But as Green Room doesn't use any mock meat, they used tofu instead. I must admit, mushroom stem would probably have been a better choice to go with the rendang sauce - But nevertheless, the tofu was not a complete disaster, and then rendang sauce was pretty good. Multi-grain rice (organic red, brown and black rice) is on the side, in a cone shape. This was definitely my prefered dish out of the two that I sampled.

Price: $13.00. 7/10

Conclusion - With a 100% vegan menu, no mock meats, no MSG, no preservatives, no flavourings and sauces made from scratch (all made with fresh ingredients) - And a perfect setting to boot, all signs would point to Green Room being one of the most successful veggie eateries in Singapore - But for some reason it is not. I can't quite put my finger on why that is.

Overall Rating
Food - 7/10
Ambiance- 10/10
Service - 7/10
Value - 6/10

Whenever I am deciding which eatery to review next, I always check my list of recommendations that my readers give to me. Recently, I was contacted by an individual urging me to head to Hougang to try this forgotten vegetarian stall. If you're thinking of visiting, it is best to go during the day. The founding uncles son takes over at night, and rumour has it his dishes can't reach the levels in quality that his fathers can. The name of this stall in Chinese is 長清齋, which translates roughly to mean 'forever clear vegetarian'. This stall has been in existence for a staggering 25+ years now. The coffee shop is located a stones throw away from Serangoon Junior College.

Chang Qing Zai Vegetarian
Location: Blk 703 Hougang Avenue 2
Contact: 97255020
Opening Hours: Daily 6.30am-9.00pm. Closed on alternative Mondays and Wednesdays (call in advance)

Here is a look at the dishes available. This stall is particularly well-known for their char kway teow.

I heard a lot of good things about the Char Kway Teow from this stall, so it was only natural that I would order it. What attracted to me to this dish was the rumours that this dish had high amounts of wok hei (the aroma of the wok being absorbed into the food). It is important to differentiate between being served wok hei food and 'chao da' (burnt) food. A good chef doesn't need to char or burn the ingredients to get wok hei. This version of char kway teow was definitely delicious, and had lots of smokey aroma - But the ingredients were more 'chao da' opposed to cooked with wok hei. Nevertheless, a fully satisfying meal and a huge portion, so certainly worth the price.

Price: $4.00. 7/10

I wanted to test the uncles ability to cook with wok hei one more time, so I also ordered the Fried Rice. Frankly speaking, even as a vegan, I must concede that fried rice just isn't the same without egg. Since turning vegan, I can't recall consuming an eggless fried rice that I felt was good. Out of all the eggless fried rice that I've eaten, this would probably be one of the best. I do have to mark the dish down for two reasons though. Firstly, like I mentioned earlier, the food is chao da, not wok hei. Secondly, there were quite a number of white rice clumps lurking inside. Having said that, everything else about this dish I absolutely adored - Worth ordering.

Price: $4.00. 8/10

Conclusion - I'm hoping after this review, Hougang's 'secret' vegetarian stall will no longer be a secret. Definitely this is a stall that is worth visiting. The shy softly-spoken uncle who runs this stall has a sweet and gentle nature, and without doubt he can cook up a pretty mean fried rice. Go down and support this stall!

Overall Rating
Food - 7/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 8/10
Value - 7/10

There will be a lot of reviews coming on my site soon in and around the Clementi area. Today I will be featuring Xin En Vegetarian, or in Chinese known as 心恩素食. The character 心 means 'heart', while 恩 translates to 'grace/kindness'. This stall has only recently opened, and sells a number of daily specials, such as bak kut teh, mee siam, dry noodle etc. They have had the most positive feedback for their mee rebus, which is available on Fridays only.

Xin En Vegetarian
Location: Blk 720, Clementi West Street 2 (Gourmet Street Coffee Shop)
Contact: 93282007
Opening Hours: Daily 6.00am-3.00pm. Closed on alternate Sundays.

Nothing much was available on the day that I visited, so I picked out Tahu Goreng, to have on the side. Nothing special to note about this dish, I was really hoping that the thick sauce on top had more kick to it - But instead, it was quite mild, with little flavour leaping out. This is quite dangerous, as tofu is used, which is essentially a blank canvas. Acceptable, but not something I would order again.

Price: $1.20. 5/10

It was nice to see a coffee shop bother with the plating, with curved white plates used, instead of the horrendous yellow or red plastic plates typically used in hawkers. The plating isn't up to the standard of Onn, but good enough. This Dry Noodle dish was one of the daily specials, but overall it made for a pretty disappointing experience. The major letdown in this dish was the total lack of flavour. The 'sauce' (to call it such feels almost an insult to the word) had the consistency and taste of plain water. I don't know what other vocabulary to use to explain the sheer lack in flavour of this dish. The only plus was that good quality char siew was used, and that at least brought some sweet and smokey flavour to the dish - Everything else was completely void of flavour, with salt desperately needed.

Price: $2.50. 3/10

Conclusion - With Xin En being new to the vegetarian scene, perhaps it will take them a while to (for lack of a better term) get their act together - So I don't want to be too harsh in this review. Having said that, it would be sheer negligence on my part to overlook the flaws that were present in the dishes that I sampled. Let's hope things get better.

Overall Rating
Food - 4/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 6/10
Value - 6/10

A lot of vegetarian eateries have been cropping up around the recently constructed NEX Shopping Centre. Mainly because there is no vegetarian eatery inside NEX, therefore strict vegetarians will have no choice but to venture outside. This stall opened about six months ago, and goes by the English name E Veg - Although it is more easily identifiable by its Chinese name 益素食. The character '益' (yi) means 'beneficial' in English.

E Veg
Location: Blk 262 Serangoon Centre Drive, #01-85
Contact: 81010028
Opening Hours: Daily 5.30am-10.00pm. Closed on Monday (once every two weeks).

The owner of E Veg clearly scouted the area well before opening this stall. Firstly, he is the only vegetarian stall that opens in the evening (even though there are now a total of three vegetarian eateries at block 262) - So in the evenings this stall will be your only option. Moreover, for those boring individuals who want to take economic rice and bee hoon all the time, he gives this option - Which places like Miao Shan don't. The owner of this stall used to operate a vegetarian stall at Changi airport T1, in the staff canteen.

In addition to economic rice, this stall also features a host of daily specials.

The price may seem a little shocking for this Crispy Noodle, but to be fair the portion was quite large. However, it was quite a bland dish overall. The dark brown sauce was particularly one dimensional, and the ingredients inside were trite and typical. Basically, conjure up the most stereotypical 生面 that you can think of, and this is what this dish is like. What I like to look for is cooks/chefs that think outside the box, not do their best to be as unimaginative as possible.

Price: $4.50. 6/10

Next dish I tried was the Lor Mee. When done badly, lor mee can be one of the most jialat dishes around. It can give one a heavy and tired feeling after consuming. It is only places like Onn, Miao Shan and Delicious Vegetarian that can capture the flavour of lor mee, without it weighing too heavy on the customers. The lor mee from this stall was very average, even after I overloaded it with vinegar, I still found the taste to be really flat. There were a nice variety of ingredients inside - Such as mushroom, tofu, beancurd - But, like all lor mee, it is the gravy that makes or breaks the dish.

Price: $3.00. 5/10

Conclusion - The owner of this stall seems very nice and friendly, but with Miao Shan just a stones throw away, I don't think I would consider returning to E Veg again. The food quality between E Veg and Miao Shan is really worlds apart - But when E Veg have had more time to establish themselves, then perhaps the quality will improve. Whatever the case, it is always good to have another vegetarian option near to NEX.

Overall Rating
Food - 5/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 7/10
Value - 6/10

I got a message recently from a gentleman named Freddy, who suggested that I head to the industrial area at Pandan Loop to visit his fathers stall. Freddy is a vegetarian since birth, and his parents have been vegetarian for over three decades. I must admit I am always reluctant to go to industrial area vegetarian stalls, as I'm skeptical as to whether my readers will bother to go to such an ulu place for food. But, I believe someone who has dedicated their lives to promoting vegetarian foods deserves that light to shine on them, whether people will visit or not.

123 Vegetarian Food
Location: 99 Pandan Loop, 123 Coffee Shop
Contact: 83649148
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 6.30am-2.00pm. Closed on weekends

Now, be prepared for confusion - This stall is located at 99 Pandan Loop, but the block name is actually 101, but on the map it is simply known as block M. But wait there is more. 99 Pandan Loop, which is actually block 101 (also called building M), goes by the name 123 coffee shop - Good luck. The uncle running this stall (which has no name, other than 'vegetarian') has been at this coffee shop for eight years. His main business is actually distributing packets of economic rice to the nearby factories - He was in the process of doing a large order when I visited. He told me he packs 200-300 portions per day. He is quite an evangelical character, who will happily share his Buddhist philosophy.

The uncle running the shop had his hands full, so very limited dishes were available when I visited. So I first selected the Economic Rice & Dishes. For an industrial coffee shop, I must say the dishes served were fresh and of good quality. The potato and long bean were very well cooked, and tasty. After taking this picture, I went back to pour some curry sauce on the food - Which really brought the food to life. My only qualm was they didn't serve brown rice, which would have served as a healthier choice, opposed to white rice.

Price: $3.00. 7/10

Unfortunately the uncles char kway teow was unavailable, but with some persuasion I managed to convince him to give me Fried Rice. As this is an eggless fried rice, I tend to be more lenient in my verdict. As I have mentioned before, fried rice really feels like something fundamental is missing when egg is not present. So considering this rice was without egg, it was pretty well done. The ingredients were well cooked, and the rice did have a good amount of flavour.

Price: $3.00. 7/10

Conclusion - If by some freak occurrence you find yourself in the Pandan Loop industrial area, then this is definitely a place worth heading to for lunch. I do hope some of my readers will find the time to visit this uncle, as it does seem like he has dedicated a lot of his life to serve vegetarian food. Next time I will try his char kway teow.

Overall Rating
Food - 7/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 7/10
Value - 6/10

For whatever reason, the best vegetarian food in Singapore always seems to come from coffee shops and hawkers. It is only on rare occasions that I stumble across brilliant vegetarian food inside the more comfortable air conditioned Singapore food courts. One of those exceptions, however, may be Yuan Vegetarian at Toa Payoh HDB Hub. Toa Payoh has quite a healthy number of veggie eats around, but from what I've observed Yuan Vegetarian seems to attracted most attention. So let's find out why...

Yuan Vegetarian
Location: Blk 480, Toa Payoh Lorong 6, #B1-01 (HDB Hub - Gourmet Paradise)
Contact: None
Opening Hours: Daily 10.00am-10.00pm.

Back in 2013, the owner of this stall opened up a vegetarian bistro called YWQ, which I praised quite highly, mainly for their mind-blowing laksa. Due to the long and somewhat unattractive named YWQ (which stands for Yuan Wei Quan), the owner has recently rebranded both outlets as simply 'Yuan'.

The stall has the typical economic bee hoon/rice and dishes, and a number of daily specials. Rather frustratingly, their signature laksa is only available once a week (Wednesday).

Over the last few months, I have been quite a frequent visitor to Yuan Vegetarian, mainly for their Brown Rice & Dishes. What I love about this stall is the brown rice they use. It is pure brown rice (not mixed with white rice like most places) and always cooked perfectly. The dishes tend to be pretty repetitive, but they are always cooked well. I am especially fond of their thinly cut black bean bitterground, and their creamy eggplant. The price on paper may seem high, but lets not forget this is a food court, not a coffee shop. Moreover, the portion size at Yuan is typically very large.

Price: $4.00. 8/10

Many will be aware of my frequent high praises of the YWQ Bistro Laksa. So the question must surely arrise as to whether their food court counterpart can boast the same quality. The answer is no, the laksa here is not as good as their bistro. As the laksa gravy is cooked in a much larger pot, the sauce inevitably gets a little more watered down, and doesn't have that richness that the bistro laksa has. Having said that, this is still one heck of a laksa, which would match most of the 'so called' best in Singapore. The gravy is creamy, aromatic and smooth, without being too spicy nor having too much oil used. The ingredients all work perfectly with the gravy, and the minced laksa leaf garnish on top adds great visual appeal, as well as flavour.

Price: $4.00. 8/10

Conclusion - There is a reason why this stall attracts such a large number of Toa Payoh residents. The rice and dishes is always fresh (although tends to sell out a little too fast) and their daily specials are also excellent. For my money, this is definitely the best vegetarian eatery in the Toa Payoh region, definitely a place I suggest you visit - Particularly on Wednesday, then their laksa is available.

Overall Rating
Food - 8/10
Ambiance- 7/10
Service - 7/10
Value - 6/10

Today's review features one of most lauded vegetarian stalls in Tampines. Ok, Tampines is hardly a vegetarian mecca, but nevertheless, this stall is highly praised amongst the residents of this area. The Chinese name is 谢必安. The character 谢 means to thank, while 必安 can translate roughly to mean 'definite peace'. While the character for 'heart'心 is placed on top of these characters. This stall has been around for four years, and is famous for its curry fish and sweet & sour abalone mushroom, which are served only in the evenings.

Xie Bi An Vegetarian Food
Location: Blk 828, Tampines Street 81
Contact: 90064438
Opening Hours: Daily 7.00am-10.00pm

This stall is divided into two parts, one section (pictured) with the specific purpose of hauling out the noodle dishes, while the larger side deals with the rest of the dishes coming out.

I started the meal off with Wanton Mee from the small stall I mentioned just now. Overall this was quite a good rendition of wanton mee. On the larger plate, there was a healthy amount of noodles, with good quality char siew and zhai er on top for a nice crisp texture. The wanton themselves were lurking in the small bowl of soup. I found the taste of the soup to be a little bland, and the wanton skin was too tough and thick. But the flavourful dark noodle sauce made up for whatever flaws the wanton had, all in all a decent dish.

Price: $3.00. 7/10

Lor Mee was next to the table. If you're looking for a traditionally cooked Singapore rendition of lor mee, then this dish will be what you're looking for. For myself though, the sauce was too heavy and I could almost feel the MSG on my palate. On the plus side, the portion size is big, and definitely it can't be accused of being bland in taste.

Price: $3.00. 6/10

Out of the literally thousands of Chinese dishes, most of which I wholeheartedly adore, there is one dish I have never been able to appreciate - congee. This dish, which is mostly just rice and water, makes me feel like some kind of detained prison of war upon consuming. I was not hoping for much from this Duck Porridge, but it was edible, which is already a success in my book. The healthy scoop of dark sauce certainly gave the listless rice and water the lift that it needed, and the tofu floating on top had good texture. Overall though, I just can't stand congee, therefore it would take something miraculous to make this dish come alive for me.

Price: $2.50. 6/10

Conclusion - I visited Xie Bi An in the afternoon, when their menu was quite trite and unexciting. I would be curious to visit again in the evening, when their signature dishes are available. From what I tried, the dishes are appetising enough (although nothing special) to warrant me returning to this stall again.

Overall Rating
Food - 6/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 7/10
Value - 6/10

At Shunfu Market, you can find two vegetarian stalls offering similar economic rice/bee hoon options. One stall goes by name 'Healthy Vegetarian', while the other (the focus of today's review) is named Shunfu Vegetarian Food - Neither likely to win a prize for originality in name/branding or food. Also around this area, one can find Ru Lai and Brownice. This stall has been at this present location for seven years now.

Shunfu Vegetarian Food
Location: #01-07, Blk 320 Shunfu Road, Shunfu Food Centre
Contact: 96426646
Opening Hours: Daily 7.30am-1.30pm. Closed Monday.

The options at this stall are extremely limited. I've seen vegetarian industrial coffee shops that have more options available. Only around six trays of food can be chosen from, most of which sell out pretty fast. So if you're going during a peak time, then most of the food will probably be gone.

Here is a look at how the pricing is calculated for economic rice/bee hoon and dishes.

After hours of debating what I was going to choose out of the countless options available, I decided to go for the Economic Brown Rice & Dishes. The dishes are so limited that I ended up choosing spring roll, something I would hardly ever eat. The mock char siew used was pretty good, with a delightful smokey aroma. The curry vegetable was also flavourful, and not too spicy. Nothing else noteworthy to add.

Price: $3.50. 6/10

Another set of Economic Brown Rice & Dishes (sorry folks, I would have ordered something else if available). The pumpkin was really bland, which is unfortunately a reflection on the poor quality of non-organic pumpkin that is found in Singapore. The other dishes were quite ordinary too, I can't even remember what they tasted like.

Price: $3.00. 6/10

Conclusion - If you're unfortunate enough to find yourself in this particular area then Shunfu Vegetarian will be one of your few options. There is another mediocre vegetarian stall in the same vicinity, not sure if I will even bother reviewing it - I'd rather go to Brownice for pizza, waffles and ice cream instead of frequenting these two easily forgettable stalls.

Overall Rating
Food - 6/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 7/10
Value - 6/10

Journey2Life represents one of the most high end (nicely put way of saying it is expensive) eateries in Penang. This restaurant also goes by the Chinese name 旅人蔬食 - Which also more or less translates to the English. Without further delay, let's see what Journey2Life has to offer the vegetarian scene in Penang, here we go...

Journey2Life Restaurant
Location: C-3-1, Lorong Bayan Indah 3, Bay Avenue (next to Eastin Hotel)
Contact: 6046111184
Opening Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 11.30am-10.00pm. Closed Monday.

We started the meal off with a quick appetiser, which was the Papaya with Passion Fruit Flower. The thinly sliced preserved papaya had a nice crunchy texture, and a slightly citrusy sour taste. Passionfruit pulp was smeared over the papaya, which heightened the flavour of this simple snack even more.

Price: RM3.90. 7/10

On to the main course, here is the Special Sauce Beancurd. I have to say that this sauce was anything but special. It was bland and lifeless, with typical (cheap) trite vegetables diced and added to it. Popping out of the sauce were two doughy sphere-shaped balls. These balls offered little in terms of taste, and I didn't particularly like the texture either. The portion size here was really small, especially so considering the exorbitant price tag.

Price: RM17.90. 4/10

The next dish was Toon Leaf Potato. The word 'toon' in this dish refers to xiang chun 香椿, which is a leaf from the Toona sinensis tree. This leaf is a common ingredient in Chinese cooking, and one of my particular favourites. Unfortunately, for this dish the xiang chun was very weak, and didn't really add anything to the dish. The rest of the dish was very basic, with potatoes, corn, carrots and mushroom all swimming in the starchy (mostly flavourless sauce). Not an very impressive dish, made all the more infuriating due to the almost laughable price tag.

Price: RM16.90. 3/10

Conclusion - Out of all the vegetarian restaurants I visited in Penang, I must say that Journey2Life ranked as the most overrated. For the price, the dishes were inexplicably average - The sauces in particular need significant improvement. The Journey2Life chef needs to go on a Journey2Culinary School, based on the efforts that I sampled. Not somewhere I would consider visiting again.

Overall Rating
Food - 4/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 7/10
Value - 2/10

I've promised more reviews from the West of Singapore, and slowly but surely I will be delivering on that promise. The West of Singapore does have some great options, but if you're in the North-West (Yew Tee/Kranji) then vegetarian options become very limited. If you find yourself in Yew Tee though, a very good vegetarian option is available at the basement level. The name of the stall is 'Green Vegetarian', but the official Chinese name is 三德 (three virtues). This stall has been existing here for six years. Within this food court, 三德 is hands down the most popular stall, with queues forming even during non-peak periods.

San De Green Vegetarian
Location: #B1-17/22, Yew Tee Point 21
Contact: 90921328
Opening Hours: Daily 6.30am-9.00pm.

The owner of the San De chain of outlets is an industrious auntie by the name of Madam Lim. Mdm Lim's passion for vegetarianism was sparked by attending Buddhist talks, over a decade ago. After which, she quit her job as a tailor, converted to a vegetarian diet, and entered into the food business. Mdm Lim really see's F&B as a business, with making a profit as her biggest priority (nothing wrong with that). Mdm Lim has never attended any formal cooking classes, which makes her accomplishment all the more impressive.

There are a total of four 三德 eateries in Singapore. The other three being located at:-

Blk 406A Sembawang Road
Blk 747 Yishun St 72, #01-108
Blk 256 Yishun Ring Rd, #01-1005

The menu at 三德 is quite vast, but many of the items are only available in the evening. If you're coming for lunch or breakfast then mainly the economic rice, soup and a handful of local dishes are available for selection.

The economic rice dishes are served fresh and cooked very well.

The item that I was particular thrilled to try was the soups, which are displayed on the right hand side of the stall in a large glass steamer. The varieties of soups change on a daily basis, so always ask in advance to see what they have.

The first soup that I selected was the Lotus Root Soup. Many will remember my shining review of the double boiled soup at Onn Vegetarian. Does this soup come close to beating Onn? No where near. The soup at Onn is so good it ranks as an almost spiritual experience for me. Having said that, the soup at this stall is definitely worth of trying. The flavour of the soup (while not as fragrant nor powerful as Onn) was still good enough, and the ingredients inside all made for a delicious soup flavour.

Price: $3.20. 7/10

On another visit I tried the Dong Gua Soup. Dong Gua (冬瓜) goes by the English name wax gourd. The wax gourd was cooked well. Also lurking in the soup was red dates, goji berry and mushroom stem. The mushroom stem, when cooked in the soup chamber for a long period, begins to break apart, which ultimately thickens the soup quite nicely. Not only that, but the mushroom acts as a nice substitute to meat. I wasn't a big fan of the red dates, as they were still tough and hard - Unlike the red dates at Onn, which literally melt in the mouth.

Price: $3.20. 7/10

The Economic Brown Rice & Dishes from this stall are also quite impressive. They use a more sophisticated heating system beneath the dishes, which allows the food to stay warmer and fresher for longer. The pumpkin was a little tasteless, but I enjoyed the flavour of the eggplant, which was also cooked ideally, so that the texture was nice and creamy.

Price: $3.70. 7/10

Here is a look at another plate of Economic Brown Rice & Dishes, once again the dishes are cooked well (nothing exceptional, but good enough) and made for a satisfying meal.

Price: $3.70. 7/10

Conclusion - Mdm Lim has built up an enterprise of vegetarian eateries, and I must say that I am suitably impressed with the offerings at San De. Brown rice and dishes along with a soup on the side really makes more a delicious and healthy meal. I will be moving to the West of Singapore soon myself, and this is certainly a stall that may become one of my regulars.

Overall Rating
Food - 7/10
Ambiance- 7/10
Service - 7/10
Value - 7/10

I was considering posting a detailed analysis of all the vegetarian/vegan options in Chiang Mai, Thailand after my recent visit to the city. However, truth be told, after visiting all the 'so called' best vegetarian eateries in the city, there was only one that stood out as being completely spectacular. The rest were either average or slightly above. Pun Pun Vegetarian Restaurant, though, would easily rank in my Top 3 list of best vegetarian eateries on the planet - It is that good. Be warned, if you're a Buddhist vegetarian, then you will have a tough time at Pun Pun (and all vegetarian eateries in Thailand), as they don't follow avoiding onion and garlic. So make sure to specifically ask for no pungent spices when ordering. Some items also have egg, although most don't.

Pun Pun Vegetarian Restaurant
Location: Suthep Road (opposite Chiang Mai University)
Contact: 086-1816051
Opening Hours: Daily 10.00am-9.00pm

If you don't have your own transport, then travelling to Pun Pun is a bit of a journey, that can't be achieved on foot (from the main tourist stretch). There are actually two Pun Pun restaurants along this same road. One located at the back of Wat Suan Dok temple and one at Suthep Road (at the Base of Doi Suthep). The latter is the original masters restaurant, while the former is managed by his apprentice.

The setting of Pun Pun is a quiet, peaceful garden setting. If you're visiting in the evening then mosquitoes can be an issue. The staff will even give you mosquito repellent. During the day this is not an issue though. All the ingredients at Pun Pun come from their own farm, which is located on the outskirts of Chiang Mai. They encourage and subscribe to the philosophy of sustainably locally grown produce.

The menu at Pun Pun is so vast and amazing I decided to take a picture of every single page. Check it out...

We first decided to pick out an appetizer, which was the Deep Fried Herbal Spring Roll with Tamarind Sauce. The spring rolls were nice and crispy, but I couldn't really detect what herbal flavour they had - They more closely resembled the generic style of spring roll. The advantage that Pun Pun has, however, is their ability to use fresh and vibrant produce, which was used inside the roll. The tamarind sauce was quite flat and forgettable though.

Price: 60B. 6/10

Easily the most visually spectacular dish I ordered from Pun Pun was the Salad Dok mai. Long time readers of my site will know that craving salad (or anything green) seldom goes through my mind - Therefore, for a dish like this to 'wow' me, means that it is very special.

The dish is a beautiful, colourful mix of deep fried edible flowers, raw flowers, chick peas, onion, pomelo, lettuce, carrot and various nuts. I loved how this felt healthy, yet slightly sinful. The fried flowers were not too heavyand went perfectly with the fresh leaves.

Price: 70B. 10/10

Pun Pun also have a limited number of items that are Western, this is the Homemade Tofu Steak with Coconut Milk & Black Pepper Sauce. Once again the presentation of this dish was faultless, with four triangular tofu slabs literally drowned in a mild coconut based sauce. For some the sauce could probably have done with an extra kick. But there is no doubting the quality of the tofu, which was perfectly charred prior to being plated.

Price: 80B. 7/10

The next dish falls under the 'special dishes' category and is called Homemade Fermented Mushroom Sausage. This is a dish that I think will divide people down the middle, you are either going to love this or hate it. If you're not used to (or don't like) strong tasting pungent items, then you will detest this dish. If you are someone like myself, who loves items like petai, Japanese natto, 臭豆腐 etc then you should enjoy this. The shredded fermented mushroom has a really overwhelming taste, which almost resembles raw garlic. When matched with the lime, cashew nuts, ginger and raw red onion and green chilli it really becomes something quite delicious though. This is an acquired taste, that can very quickly become addictive. I loved it, but order with caution.

Price: 60B. 8/10

One Thai curry that I recently discovered and quickly fell in love with is Musaman Curry. This curry, also spelt massaman, was original introduced into Thailand by Muslim immigrants - This curry is thick and rich, with distinctive peanut flavour. Like any good Thai curry, this dish manages to effortlessly balance the essential components to any curry - Sweetness, sourness, saltiness, spice and umami. There was a lovely array of ingredients inside, and I was ultimately rendered to licking the bowl dry like some starved canine. Definitely a dish you must order when visiting Pun Pun, one of the best curries I have ever eaten.

Price: 60B. 10/10

Conclusion - Pun Pun wisely utilizes the one key advantage Thailand has over other countries - Fresh ingredients. The dishes are presented in a quite stunning fashion, and taste just as good as they look. Truly one of the best vegetarian eateries I have ever had the privilege of frequenting. If you're in Chiang Mai (or Thailand for that matter) you would be insane not to visit Pun Pun.

Overall Rating
Food - 9/10
Ambiance- 8/10
Service - 8/10
Value - 9/10

First question you're probably going to ask yourself when you see the address of Mummy Yummy, is what on earth is a vegetarian eatery doing in the Kranji industrial district? The concept of Mummy Yummy was conjured up back in 2013, but their cafe only launched in July 2014. Rather than selling vegetarian food for personal profit, Mummy Yummy raises funds to help the needy, which I will explain more about later. If you're visiting on weekends, you can take a free shuttle bus from Yew Tee MRT - Between 11am-7.30pm (half hour intervals).

Mummy Yummy
Location: #03-01, 62 Sungei Kadut Loop, International Furniture Centre
Contact: 63660180/97250118
Opening Hours: Daily 11.00am-6.00pm

Rather unbelievably everything at this eatery is on sale for just $1 - No there is no catch, the food items will literally cost you $1. It was put at this price to allow the construction workers in the Kranji area an affordable place to eat, with the focus always being about providing food to those who need it the most.

The name Mummy Yummy is meant to symbolize a mothers love and the joy of home-cooked food. This cafe was launched by Jeanna (right) and Shanna (left), whose main concept is to give free food to the needy in Singapore. Shanna explained to me that being that Singapore is a mostly affluent country, one often forgets that desperate and unfortunate individuals still exist in Singapore, so the aim of Mummy Yummy is to provide help (in the form of meals) to those individuals who society can't/won't help.

Mummy Yummy is unquestionably an organization with helping and aiding purely humans in mind - So you might ask yourself the question (like I did), why vegetarian food? The answer is, Shanna is a born vegetarian and couldn't imagine serving non-vegetarian food to the public. With that being said, egg is still served here.

On another wall there is the entire list of households that are currently being fed for free by Mummy Yummy (via a delivery style service). According to Shanna, on weekends up to 5,000 packets of food can be distributed to these households - A quite staggering number.

The menu at Mummy Yummy changes on a daily basis, with each day having two daily specials, all costing just $1. Complimentary chrysanthemum or herbal tea is also served. One criticism I must give is that piping hot tea is being poured into styrofoam cups and served - Heating styrofoam at that temperature is going to release a lot of the chemicals from the styrofoam into the liquid, which will subsequently be ingested by the customers (I could literally taste the chemicals as an aftertaste in the tea) - The plates and bowls are also made from styrofoam, which is also quite damaging environmentally.

In addition to the two main dishes, snacks and economic rice is also available. The Curry Puff from Mummy Yummy was much better than I expected. A flavourful potato masala in the center, and an expertly fried crust.

Price: $1.00/pc. 7/10

I visited Mummy Yummy on a Friday, and thus Olive Fried Rice was one of their special dishes. I was pleased to see that no egg was added inside the the rice. The fried rice isn't going to win any awards, but good enough to fill the stomach.

Price: $1.00. 6/10

Lastly, I got the Char Siew Rice. This portion was quite small, and was literally just mock char siew and rice. I selected a couple of pieces of tofu on the side as well, for an additional $0.50. Once again this is a very simple meal, so there is not much I can say about it. But the char siew quality was very nice, not the horrid doughy kind that many hawkers use.

Price: $1.50 (additional 50c for tofu). 6/10

Conclusion - I could talk in greater detailed about the quality of the food at Mummy Yummy, but that is not what's important here. Mummy Yummy isn't pretending or trying to serve restaurant quality food, they are simply trying to help people who need the help, and as long as the food is vegetarian, I will be giving Mummy Yummy my full support. What Singapore also needs is a non-human version of Mummy Yummy, for the countless stray/wild animals in Singapore, who are not only struggling to find food, but are being brutally murdered by ~~AVA~~a certain governing authority who I won't directly name - This is a cause I could find myself getting more passionately behind.

Overall Rating
Food - 6/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 8/10
Value - 10/10

A lot of people ask me why I don't feature the famous vegetarian mecca that is known as Circuit Rd more on my blog. I have blogged quite extensively on this area, but I've always felt quite underwhelmed by the food I have tried. I have always thought that Circuit Rd is a great place due to its abundance of vegetarian food, but not for the quality. Well, over 2014 Circuit Road has undergone a face lift of sorts, and a number of new vegetarian stalls have popped up, which I will review in due course. But for today, I will focus on Xuan Miao Vegan, or 炫妙 (dazzling and wonderful).

Xuan Miao Vegan
Location: #01-78, Blk 79A Circuit Road Food Centre
Contact: 92385088
Opening Hours: Tues-Sun 5.00pm-12.00am. Closed Monday.

Considering Circuit Rd has a myriad of mostly disappointing vegetarian stalls, I was quite pleased to hear a large amount of positive feedback from those visiting Xuan Miao. This stall is famous for their soup noodles, and specifically their ban mian 板麵. The name ban mian translates to mean board/block noodle, the reason for the word 'board' stems back to the Hakka's method of cutting the noodle into straight strands using a wooden block as ruler.

Xuan Miao was originally in business at Jalan Besar, but subsequently moved to 79A Circuit Road in 2011. The stall is owned by Mr Ng, who has attracted a considerable amount of recognition for his mee hoon kuey. Mr Ng originally learnt to cook from a Malaysian chef whom he used to patronise in his younger years for his awesome mee hoon kuey. No MSG is used in any of the food. The stall goes by the saying 'saving one animal’s life, one bowl of vegetarian food at a time'.

If you're going on public holidays or weekends then this stall can become quite packed, and customers have been known to wait up to 30-40 minutes for their order to be completed. Aside from Victor's Vegetarian, I am sure Xuan Miao would rank as the highest vegetarian achiever at 79A.

Xuan Miao has a total number of nine dishes available, but I decided to kick things off with the classic Hand Made Mee Hoon Kuey. This is a dish that is ideal for a rainy and cool day, the soup is comforting and mild. The thing that always scares me about Chinese soup noodles is the ridiculous amount of MSG and/or salt that is often used inside. At Xuan Miao I was pleasantly surprised that this wasn't the case. The kuey could have been thinner and more delicate, but overall this was a pretty satisfying dish. The soup may be a little on the bland side, especially if, like myself, you are more accustomed to stronger tasting food.

Price: $3.50. 7/10

Next dish was named Ban Mian Dry. I have to say, the portion size for this item was incredibly generous. For $4 one can expect a large soup of soup and a large bowl of noodles. In terms of the soup, it was identical to the mee hoon kuey dish - But it was the dry ban mian bowl that really won my heart. The flavours were very well balanced, and I especially loved the hint of sourness from vinegar inside. The mock ikan bilis on top added a great textural crunch, too.

Price: $4.00. 8/10

Conclusion - Nestled amongst stall after stall of criminally unhealthy (and mostly rubbish) vegetarian food, Xuan Miao does offer hope to 79A Circuit Road - The food is definitely the healthiest you can find in the area, and I was simultaneously surprised and impressed with the quality. I'm not really a soup noodles person, but even I could see myself returning to Xuan Miao.

Overall Rating
Food - 8/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 8/10
Value - 8/10

I mentioned just a few days ago that I consider Xuan Miao Vegan and Victor's to be the two most successful vegetarian stalls at the infamous 79A Circuit Road Food Centre - Maybe I was wrong. iVege is extremely popular vegetarian stall located right next to Xuan Miao Vegan. Prior to opening there is already a line of hungry devotees excited to try their food. I have stated below that their closing time is 9pm, but be warned, on busy days (weekends/public holidays etc) their food has been known to sell out by 8pm - The earlier you go, the safer your chances will be of filling your stomach. So what is so special about iVege that it attracts so many customers, let's find out...

iVege
Location: #01-79, Blk 79A Circuit Road Food Centre
Contact: 81338744
Opening Hours: Tues-Sun 5.00pm-9.00pm. Closed Monday.

iVege likes to keep things simple, each day they serve just one special dish. I have heard very good things about their chicken rice and nasi lemak - But it is their monkeyhead mushroom rice which seems to attract most praise. This dish is available only on Wednesday, so I specifically went down on that day for this dish. I must say, the attitude of the husband and wife duo that run this stall is quite poor. They were nothing but cold to me, when I was trying to extract basic information from them (when I asked for the stalls contact number, he reacted as if I was asking for his wife's bra size) so that I could write this review. I felt an almost arrogant air about them, which was coming across to me as 'we don't want or need your help'. Humility and common decency seems to have been lost amidst their success. Vegetarian hawkers are generally some of the most friendly and giving people you can meet in Singapore (yes, even mafia aunties), and I love to talk to them and find out their story, so that I can share it with the rest of Singapore in my reviews - But I took no pleasure being in the company of this pair.

Ok rant over, let's see the food. Like I mentioned iVege like to keep things really simple. Apart from their one special dish, the only other item available to order was their Ngo Hiang. The name 'ngo hiang' is a general term used for a range of assorted meat preparations stemming from Eastern China (in China it goes by the name 虾卷). The particular dish on offer at iVege should be more accurately titled ngo hiang hun, which refers to the specific method of preparation, which is rolling the meat (in this case mock meat) inside beancurd skin and deep frying. I believe this ngo hiang hun was made from scratch by the owners, and went very well with the fresh coriander. Their chili could have been better though.

Price: $2.50. 6/10

Now to the main reason I visited iVege, their Hsiang Choon Monkey-Head Mushroom + Soup + Rice. The term hsiang choon is a poor attempt at spelling the Chinese characters 香椿, which is a strong tasting leaf (Toona sinensis), used in many Chinese dishes. I couldn't really taste 'hsiang choon' in their sauce, but I loved the combination of monkeyhead mushroom (surely the greatest ingredient one can use in vegetarian cooking) and the sauce. Moreover, the taste was really brought to another level thanks to the generous topping of fresh coriander. The rice used was flavoured chicken rice, and was cooked well. The soup was the only let down, it really tasted just like plain water, with a hint of kelp flavour. This is not a complicated dish, it is very simple and easy to make, nevertheless I enjoyed it.

Price: $5.00. 7/10

Conclusion - Let me first start by giving my honest assessment of the food - It was good. I really enjoyed the monkeyhead mushroom rice. Having said that, the snobbish attitude of this husband and wife duo really left a sour taste in my mouth. Seeing a vegetarian stall become successful is fantastic, but if the owners aloof attitude is a by-product of this success, then I truly feel 心寒.

Overall Rating
Food - 7/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 2/10
Value - 7/10

Back in early 2014 I posted a review of My Vegetarian Way, which was one of the few vegetarian hawkers that sells healthy vegetarian/vegan food. Well, little did I know that another vegetarian stall located at Bishan bus interchange hawker centre also recently opened, again selling healthy conscious food. An argument that non-vegetarians usually make to defend their diet is 'ya, but vegetarian food outside oso not health what' - I have to agree that there is some truth in this. Vegetarian hawker food typically contains lots of poor quality oil and salt, and not forgetting MSG too. Places like Food for Life (which are becoming increasingly popular) can prove that this argument/excuse is false. Don't bother visiting this stall early in the day, they only open at 11.30am, and often that time is dragged until 12pm if stocks arrive late.

Food for Life
Location: Blk 514, Bishan Street 13, Bishan Bus Interchange
Contact: 98798478
Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 11.30am-7.30pm. Closed Sunday.

The owners of Food for Life are two friends (not pictured here) - One being an engineer and the other being a nutritionist. However, due to their busy lives, the stall is managed most of the time by Shirley Quek (pictured left). Shirley is an extremely friendly and helpful staff, who has worked at Food for Life since it first opened, back in late 2013. Shirley spoke very highly of the healing benefits of eating this type of healthy organic food on a regular basis, she even mentioned many customers coming from the Singapore Cancer Society - Individual whom have remarked about improvement in their overall health due to a change in diet.

In addition to the vegetarian stall at Bishan, cooking classes and tingkat services are also available. Price wise, the food at Food for Life is very reasonable, especially considering most of the ingredients are organic.

Listed on the wall is all the reasons why Food for Life is healthy. None of the dishes contain milk, but for those who consume egg, be careful - The odd few dishes do contain egg. I would rather they get rid of the egg totally, so that this place can be officially classified as vegan.

To start things I selected one of the two soup items available, the Potato Soup. There is also pumpkin soup available. This soup is blended fresh only when a customer orders, so one can be assured that soup doesn't get any fresher than this. White pepper powder and black sesame seeds are sprinkled on top. Being someone who is used to stronger tasting food, this soup was quite mild for me, and practically begging for salt. The soup was also a little overly starchy for my liking.

Price: $2.50. 6/10

Next up I went for the Mixed Rice, which is essentially a healthier version of economic rice and dishes. Food for Life use sprouted brown rice, which is supposedly 10 times healthier than regular run of the mill brown rice. The cost for their economic rice is $3.80 for three dishes and $4.50 for four dishes. The rice and dishes were quite enjoyable overall - I especially loved the cabbage, which had tremendous natural sweetness, some vegetables can really have a totally different taste if organic. Those used to regular hawker food will be missing sauce and chilli from this meal though.

Price: $3.80. 6/10

Lastly, I selected the ultimate healthy Chinese dish - Lei Cha. Once again, all the ingredients used in this dish are organic. I really enjoyed the finely chopped long beans, which finally had sufficient salt to satisfying my tastebuds. The carrots were also sweet and delicious. The herb soup was a little watery, but did contain good flavour. To add a disclaimer to this dish (and all the food here) of sorts, this is not something that those with strong tastebuds will be able to appreciate. Due to the lack of oil, salt and spices, this dish will inevitably come across as bland to many - But if you want a super clean diet, then some sacrifices in taste are essential.

Price: $5.50. 7/10

Conclusion - If your goal is to achieve a clean and healthy diet, or if you just want to take a break from the typical hawker junk food - Then I would highly recommend visiting Food for Life. The service is excellent, and the food is tolerable, but probably not something I could handle eating on a regular basis.

Overall Rating
Food - 6/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 8/10
Value - 8/10

In the second half of 2014, we vegetarians have been a little starved of new and exciting eateries popping up - Especially in terms of restaurants. Recently that drought has finally ended, and up has cropped a new vegetarian bistro at Kallang Leisure Park. Clover 8 is under the Miao Yi brand, just like the Xin Man Yuan, which also opened in 2014. It is clear that Miao Yi has the financial backing and are now keen on expanding their brand fast in Singapore. Clover 8 offers a totally different concept from what we are used to with Miao Yi, however. They are hip, modern and have a much more varied menu.

Clover 8 Vegetarian & Vegan Bistro
Location: 5 Stadium Walk, #01-40, Kallang Leisure Park
Contact: 63482077
Opening Hours: Daily 11.00am-10.00pm

Clover 8 really has a 国际美食大拼盘 style menu, joining together several different cuisines in one menu. One can find Vietnamese, Thai, Western and Chinese food all evenly distributed on the menu. Having a mix-ethnicity menu like this is quite contentious. As consumers, do we prefer a jack of all trades, or a master is one (ala Bespoke Japanese)? I tend to prefer the latter, as many cuisines in one restaurants tends to result in the quality and authenticity of the dishes being diluted. This may not be a trap Clover 8 falls into, however, as they have hired Thai and Vietnamese chefs to ensure the authenticity of these dishes stays in tact.

Those with a bachelor's degree in social awkwardness will be happy to know that little interaction is needed for ordering at Clover 8, all you need to do is simply mark on a piece of paper what items you wish to order.

Before I move onto the food, I couldn't resist trying out the Yuzu Sparkle, from the drinks menu, which is quite comprehensive. Yuzu (柚子) is an East Asian citrus fruit, which is virtually impossible to find fresh in Singapore (over recent times both Korea and Japan have inherited the title of being the 'home' of yuzu). This carbonated drink should be stirred when it arrives, so that the yuzu flavour mixes well with the sparkling water. If you like fizzy drinks then this may be something you enjoy.

Price: $6.80. 6/10

Pad Thai is one of the first dishes that comes to ones mind when thinking about Thai food. Clover 8 preserved the authenticity of this dish well, with small servings of chilli flakes and peanuts on the side. Traditionally a side serving of sugar is also added, but I don't like my pad thai to be too sweet, so I didn't mind the omission. The quality of this dish was much better than what I was expecting, especially considering no egg is used. I loved how the freshly squeezed lime really brought out the flavour in the dish, especially when combined with the diced peanuts. A dish I would order again.

Price: $5.80. 7/10

Another shift of cuisines with the next dish, which is Spaghetti Bolognese. I was really pleased to discover that Clover 8 made significant efforts to make as many dishes as possible vegan friendly - Very few of their items are non-vegan, including the pasta items (which are typically quite dairy heavy). The chef substitutes real cheese with nutritional yeast, which has flavour (but not texture) almost identical to real cheese. The spaghetti was well cooked, and I really loved how aromatic the tomato sauce was. The only thing I would have liked to see added would be a suitable replacement to the ground minced meat used in a traditional bolognese - Large grained TVP would be ideal for this.

Price: $13.80. 8/10

The next pasta dish I sampled was the Carbonara. Born on the street of Lazio, Italy traditionally carbonara should be a mix of bacon, egg, spaghetti and cheese. The quality of this dish is admirable, especially as there is no garlic used. Once again nutritional yeast is used to replace cheese, with mushrooms scattered amongst the spaghetti. The pasta is coated in a non-dairy cream sauce - As the sauce was quite thick and dry, it did give quite a cloying feeling when eating. I personally would have liked to have seen some mock bacon, but this version is certainly healthier. My favourite was the bolognese, but this dish was also decent though.

Price: $13.80. 7/10

On to the desserts, starting with the Thai Tapioca Platter. I have eaten the 'real' version of this dessert a few times in Thailand, and the key difference is the level of sweetness. Thailand desserts are ridiculously sweet, especially tapioca desserts. A significant reduction of sugar has been implemented for the Singapore audience, and the coconut sauce was not as rich as it otherwise would be. The dry texture of tapioca has never been something I could appreciate, but if you enjoy tapioca then this is a desert that you should experience while at Clover 8.

Price: $5.80. 6/10

The dish I was most looking forward to trying was the Thai Mango Glutinous Rice. Having spent time in Chiang Mai recently, I ate at arguably the most famous mango sticky rice stall in Thailand - Is the Clover 8 version up to that standard? No where near. But really that is an unrealistic expectation. The glutinous rice used in Thailand is of a different texture, the mangoes are sweeter and the coconut cream is fresher. Having said that all, this was still an enjoyable dessert. The mango was on the sour side (I love sour mangoes, but perhaps not to everyone's liking) and the rice more closely reassembled regular rice, compared with glutinous. I did love how the fried mung beans were sprinkled on top, and the rice did have a delicious creaminess, although more sugar could have been added into the coconut cream concoction. If you want to enjoy mango sticky rice, and don't feel like flying to Thailand, then Clover 8's version is worth trying.

Price: $5.80. 6/10

Conclusion - I have a feeling Clover 8 is going to be a big player in the vegetarian scene in Singapore, with the financial backing of Miao Yi, and a refreshing concept there is no reason why Clover 8 can't succeed - Especially as the food served was pretty decent. Some small improvements could be made, but this is normal for a new eatery. I see a very bright future for this establishment.

Overall Rating
Food - 7/10
Ambiance- 7/10
Service - 8/10
Value - 7/10

For vegan bread lovers out there, you may often feel frustrated by the lack of vegan options in typical bakeries like Bread Talk, Cedele, Four Leaves etc. Egg and milk are the usual obstacles that prevent vegans from enjoying bread (although many breads are naturally vegan) - A few months ago a 100% vegan bakery opened its doors in Singapore, which is quite exciting - No more asking a dozen questions trying to find out if each item is really vegan. LOVEinBread had a slow start, but they are slowly increasing their variety of breads and cakes available. LOVEinBread has been open since July 2014.

LOVEinBread
Location: 6 Raffles Boulevard, #B1-18, Marina Square
Contact: 63384173
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri & Sun 10.00am-9.30pm. Saturday 10.00am-10.00pm

The owners of LOVEinBread state the reason for opening a vegan bakery is to lessen the environmental damage that the meat/dairy industry causes to the planet. This establishment aims to project a sense of love to the environment, to animals, and to customers. I spoke briefly with one of the LOVEinBread owners (Ray, 30) who used to work at a commercial bakery - His mentality for opening LOVEinBread was to 'do something different'.

LOVEinBread is a great place to go...If you can actually find the place. Suntec, Marina Square, Millenia Walk, blah blah blah - All these shopping centres just seem to blur into each other - All looking the same, all with the same shops, all selling the same stuff. If, like myself, shopping is tantamount to medieval torture, then searching for LOVEinBread will not be a pleasure. I digress, you basically need to find Marina Link, but to save yourself a lot of time and frustration just show this picture (left) to the customer service counter. This place is not easy to find, so you really should ask someone who works there.

On the left hand side are the breads...

...On the right hand side are the desserts/cakes and drinks. I like how each tag has the percentage of organic each item is.

I thought it would be best to go from savoury to sweet, so I kicked things off with the Mixed Herb Ciabatta. This is a really good value little bread, which had nice elastic texture, with just the right amount of herbs used inside.

$1.50. 7/10

Being a pizza addict I could resist ordering the Vegan Hawaiian Pizza. It is first important to manage ones expectations, this is a pizza bread, not a pizza. The base is thick and soft. Hawaiian pizza should typically contain two vital ingredients - Ham and pineapple. But in this version, ham was replaced with mushroom. I was pleased that a generous amount of mock cheese was used - This 'cheese' is from a packet, and I suspect the brand is Sheese. Considering that mock cheese is ridiculously expensive, I found the price of this pizza to be quite reasonable. If you're looking for a more comprehensive vegan pizza menu, then I recommend visiting Brownice. The tomato paste from this pizza contains onions, so not suitable for Buddhists.

Price: $4.80. 7/10

Making a raw vegan tiramisu is no easy task, so I was a little apprehensive on how this Raw Tiramisu would do without the typical cheese, egg and alcohol. If you are allergic to nuts, then eating the items at LOVEinBread will be suicide - The bulk of all their desserts are all derived from nuts. This vegan tiramisu has two layers of nut cream, with cocoa powder sprinkled on top. The texture of this dessert was very smooth and delicate.

Price: $5.80. 7/10

On to the next dessert, which is the Raw Coconut Nanaimo Cake. Although the name 'nanaimo' might suggest Japanese origin, the birthplace of this cake is actually in Canada (the city of Nanaimo, Vancouver Island). Once again, the traditional version of this dessert (like all desserts) has a heavy reliance on butter, milk, cheese and egg. LOVEinBread substitutes these items by using (you guessed it) nuts. The texture of this bar is heavy and dense, with a delicious base and thick layer of chocolate on top.

Price: $6.80. 7/10

One of the best sellers at LOVEinBread is the Raw Chocolate Avocado Cake. If you're a fan of thick, rich and heavy desserts (jelak x100) , then this is the cake you should order. The avocado chocolate portion of this cake was really dense. Although the cocoa is strong and powerful, one can still detect a slight avocado aftertaste. The base of this cake is made from nuts, and a sole hazelnut nut is placed on top.

Price: $8.50. 7/10

Conclusion - I am not sure if I am alone in feeling this way, but raw vegan desserts are very jelak to me. Nevertheless, I really loved the desserts and breads at LOVEinBread - The pricing is really reasonable, when you consider the costing of the ingredients used. Location wise (unless you work around there), this place is the definition of hell to get to, and may deter many individuals from being regular customers. But the concept of a vegan bakery is refreshing, and can definitely work in Singapore - Time will tell how LOVEinBread ends up doing.

Overall Rating
Food - 7/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 7/10
Value - 8/10

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