Hungry Ang Mo | Food Blogger | Vegan

Quay Cafe is located in the center of Georgetown, and therefore makes for a convenient location for visitors to Penang, who usually flock to Georgetown. The only thing inconvenient about this eatery is the timing - It is only open until 2.30pm and is closed on Sunday, so don't try and visit this place in the evening. From the outside, I got the impression that this eatery would be highly expensive, but upon looking at the menu pricing, it is actually quite an affordable place to eat.

Quay Cafe
Location: 2 Church Street Ghaut, Penang
Contact: 012-403 6659
Opening Hours: Daily 11.00am-2.30pm. Closed Sunday.

I really loved the interior design of Quay Cafe. The red bricked walls and wooden tables gave the place a really nice industrial yet homely feel. The restaurant is quite large, too. Definitely a suitable place for large gatherings.

Here is a look at the menu available at Quay Cafe.

In order to help fight the never ending heat and humidity of Penang (which is seemingly even worse than Singapore), I decided to cool myself down with Nutmeg Drink. Drinking nutmeg is one of the characteristic things of Penang, and personally it is one of my favourite drinks. Having said that, this version was quite diluted and didn't have that subtle heaty sensation that a fresh and good quality nutmeg juice has.

Price: RM3.00. 6/10

Onto the food, and the first dish to grace our table was the Home-Made Sauce Beancurd. This side dish was probably the best dish of the meal. I liked the finely sliced carrot and cucumber on top of the tofu, and the sauce (which drenched the tofu) was tangy and had just the right amount of heat. Difficult to complain about the price too.

Price: RM3.00. 7/10

One of the signature dishes (and most expensive) of Quay Cafe is their Bak-Kut Teh. This bowl of herbal soup was stocked to the brim with a wide variety of ingredients - Such as needle mushroom, tofu, beancurd, goji berries and vegetables. It is also accompanied by a bowl of rice. Although the ingredients were impressive, I found this dish ultimately fell short in terms of the flavour of the soup. It was very one dimensional and was lacking the layers of flavour and overall intensity that a great bak kut teh should have.

Price: RM10.00. 6/10

Conclusion - If you're looking for a vegetarian eatery with a great ambiance, then Quay Cafe is definitely one place you are going to want to visit. In terms of purely food quality, I didn't find this place to be anything special. But, overall I was pleased with the food pricing and could definitely see myself returning here again in the future.

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

Visitors to Penang will seldom ever find themselves in Balik Pulau, which is around a 40 minute drive from the city centre (much longer if you take the islands incredibly incompetent bus services). Balik Pulau is a beautiful town, with mountains in the background and a slow relaxing pace. It is also known for its abundance of durians, during the main season. For vegetarian food, there is only two stalls in town. I will be reviewing Chin Choo today, which has the widest selection of items out of the two eateries.

Chin Choo Vegetarian Shop
Location: 132 Jalan Balik Pulau, MK-6, Balik Pulau, Penang
Contact: 012-577 1195/012-421 9876
Opening Hours: Daily 7.00am-5.00pm. Saturday Closed.

Here is a look at the menu, which is available daily at Chin Choo. This vegetarian shop is well-known by almost everyone living in Balik Pulau, and it has been around for over 14 years now.

Here is part two of the menu.

If you want economic rice and dishes, you can find it here as well. Although the options are very limited.

Unlike in Singapore, Char Hor Fun is a dish that is almost entirely served wet in Penang. Even when I suggested that we order this dish dry (without sauce/gravy), my Malaysian eating buddy looked at me with a sense of confusion. This hor fun was quite flavourful, but didn't have much aroma. There were a reasonably diverse amount of ingredients, and the gravy was decent enough. Nothing outstanding though.

Price: RM4.00. 6/10

I decided to persist with my idea of seeing how Malaysian Char Hor Fun is dry, and sure enough the chef was able to conjure something up. I've always preferred the dry version of hor fun, simply because more smokey (wok hei) flavour is able to be captured when it is cooked dry. I find that the smokey flavour is always lost (or at least significantly reduced) when it is served wet.

Price: RM4.00. 7/10

Next dish was the Nestum Fried Rice. I must admit, nestum has not been something I've come across elsewhere, before visiting Malaysia. Nestum is basically a dried cereal, similar to oats. When added into this fried rice, it gave a somewhat sweet flavour to the dish, which did go quite well with the mock prawn and cubed pieces of mock char siew.

Price: RM4.00. 6/10

Another big difference Singaporeans will notice upon visiting Penang is the difference in the Hokkien Mee. The Penang version is more soupy and intense in flavour. The flavour of the soup is also quite different, with there being a higher level of spice, and a lack of wok aroma - When compared side-by-side with the Singapore version. During my time in Penang, I have tried their version of hokkien mee a few times - Honestly it is not one of my favourite dishes, but worth trying if you visit Penang.

Price: RM4.00. 6/10

Conclusion - Balik Pulau is a great place to visit (if you have your own transport), as it highlights a quieter rural side of the increasingly bustling Penang island. If you find yourself there needing to find a vegetarian solution, then this shop is the best you are going to find.

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

Just a quick review of a post that has been sitting around collecting dust waiting to be published for a while, without me having the time or inspiration to post it. Redhill is hardly the best place in Singapore to be looking for vegetarian food. Having said that, the Redhill Food Centre have a couple of pretty decent ones. Today I will be featuring one of those stalls, which goes by the name Ji Xiang Ru Yi.

Ji Xiang Ru Yi Vegetarian
Location: 85 Redhill Lane, Redhill Food Centre #01-31
Contact: None
Opening Hours: Daily 7.00am-1.30pm.

For those visiting this stall, you will find that they specialise mainly in Bee Hoon and Dishes. I decided to try it out myself and overall it was not too bad. Earlier this year I reviewed a stall called Ruyi Yuan, which is also at Redhill and also specialises in bee hoon. Comparatively speaking, I found that Ruyi Yuan was definitely the superior of the two. The aroma of the bee hoon and freshness of the ingredients was just that little bit better at Ruyi. Nevertheless, Ji Xiang Ru Yi is also a stall worth visiting.

Price: $3.00. 6/10

Conclusion - I have nothing of any significant note to share in my conclusion for this stall. If you're heading to Redhill, then I would suggest checking out Ruyi Yuan first. If that stall does not satisfy your bee hoon craving, then give you can pay this stall a visit too.

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

I'm very excited to be featuring Cheng Sim Vegetarian Restaurant today, as since going around Penang it has become one of my most beloved vegetarian eateries. This eatery has been running successfully at its current location for 16 years now, and it is the son of the original owners who has now assumed many of their responsibilities - Both inside and outside of the kitchen.

Cheng Sim Vegetarian Restaurant
Location: No. 69E, Jalan Trengganu, Penang
Contact: 04-283 2615/016-452 4163
Opening Hours: Daily 7.30am-8.30pm. Tuesday 7.30am-4.00pm

Most of the customers who visit Cheng Sim will packet economic rice and dishes. The selection of dishes available at Cheng Sim is some of the best in Penang. Not only in terms of the amount of dishes, but the quality is also outstanding. In addition to rice and dishes, Cheng Sim also has regular dishes that customers can order. In the evening more dishes are available to order.

As I just mentioned, if you're visiting Cheng Sim then it is definitely worthwhile to take your pick of the many Economic Rice and Dishes options that are available. Malaysian vegetarian eateries really know how to do economic rice much better than Singapore. With each shop having their own unique dishes, unlike in Singapore where every stall is more or less selling the same items, cooked the same way. I absolutely adored the dishes cooked at Cheng Sim, so much so that I subsequently became a regular customer just for their ever-changing dishes.

Price: RM5.00. 8/10

Located above the main dishes, customers can also select some of the side dishes, such as Wanton. Fried wanton has always forever been one of my guilty pleasure in the world of Chinese cuisine. I adored the creamy and slightly salty filling that could be found in these wanton. There are a total of eight pieces of small wanton on the plate, which equates to RM0.50 per piece. Great

Price: RM4.00. 7/10

Recently I featured what was, in my opinion, the best Assam Laksa from Luk Yea Yan in Georgetown. Well, I would say that the Cheng Sim laksa is just as impressive - If not better. I recently talked to an ang moh travelling in Penang, who remarked that when he first sampled assam laksa it tasted like dish washing soap. I would agree that a poor assam laksa might have that sort of flavour. The laksa available at Cheng Sim is absolutely incredible, though. Easily one of the top 3 dishes I've eaten so far in Penang. A spicy, aromatic, powdery, sweet, sour concoction of beautiful unforgettable flavour. This dish is only available on Friday, Saturday and Sunday - You must visit and try this laksa. Insanely good value for only RM4 also.

Price: RM4.00 10/10

Conclusion - Since spending time in Penang, Cheng Sim has become one of my regular haunts mainly due to their excellent economic rice and laksa. Although this place is outside the city of Georgetown, and can be a little troublesome to get to, for those unfamiliar with the area - It is without question worthwhile finding this place. Truly phenomenal vegetarian food.

Overall Rating
Food - 8/10
Ambiance- 7/10
Service - 8/10
Value - 9/10

I love travelling around and sampling different food in Malaysia. Each region have their own unique dishes, which constantly surprise and delight me. For today, I will be featuring Happy Ice Valley, which is a 100% vegetarian that has been running successfully in Ipoh for over eight years now. Be warned, the auntie owner who runs this shop quite openly admitted to me that some days she doesn't feel like opening, and therefore she doesn't (its great to be your own boss). Due to the unpredictably casual nature of the owner, it would probably be best to call in advance prior to visiting.

Happy Ice Valley
Location: 31 Jalan Medah Ipoh 2, Hulu Kinta, Perak
Contact: Unknown (anyone who can provide please do so)
Opening Hours: Daily 8.00am-3.00pm

The inside of Happy Ice Valley is that of a typical traditional Chinese eatery.

Here is the menu...

One of the signature drinks at Happy Ice Valley is their mulberry leaf tea, so be sure to order that if visiting.

Chicken Rice is a ubiquitous dish, which can found all over Singapore. In Malaysia it is a little more tricky to hunt down this dish, however. Happy Ice Valley was the only vegetarian eatery I visited in Ipoh that was selling chicken rice. The mock chicken in this dish is made using beancurd (similar to the Singapore version), with the trademark orange chilli and cucumber as accompaniments. Overall a pretty good chicken rice, but I found that the rice could have benefited from an increase in flavour.

Price: RM4.00. 7/10

I've been going around Malaysia for quite some time now trying to seek out the perfect Curry Mee. Most of the curry mee I've eaten in Malaysia has been bland and totally forgettable. However, the curry mee at Happy Ice Valley was probably the best that I have eaten in Malaysia. To my surprise, this curry mee managed to be full of flavour. It was not too spicy, with perfectly cooked ingredients lurking inside. The fresh mint leaves on top added an ideal freshness, which complimented the rich flavour of the gravy.

Price: RM6.00. 9/10

If you're looking for something slightly more healthy, then you may want to opt for the Sliced Bittergourd Noodle. Bittergourd is one of my most favourite vegetables, and due to the numerous health benefits, it should be a regular part of anyone's diet. I even used to drink a glass of freshly juiced raw bittergourd every morning - Try if you dare! This soup was pretty decent overall, and thankfully not too salty. The bowl contained a wide variety of ingredients - I particularly enjoyed the tomato, beancurd and coriander.

Price: RM5.50. 7/10

Lastly we decided to order the Bak Kut Teh. This black coloured herbal soup style dish has a unique flavour that non-Chinese palates often struggle to appreciate. For myself, I adore bak kut teh, when it is cooked well. Herbal soups like this take a lot of time and patience from the cook, in order for the herbs to truly release their magnificent flavour. Often, restaurants don't have the time to cook dishes for long periods of time, and ultimately the flavour of their herbal soups is usually sub-standard. This soup did have good flavor, another solid dish.

Price: RM7.00. 7/10

Conclusion - Happy Ice Valley represents one of the better vegetarian eateries in Ipoh, and one I would certainly recommend you visit. The only setback is the early closing time, and unpredictable opening days - Call first to avoid disappointment.

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

Friend of Vegetarian is a small little stall located at Heng Leong Cafe. It can be a little tricky to locate, as it is nestled within a small hawker, away from the main road. The hawker is actual located directly opposite Bomba. For more information about this stall, you can check their Facebook page here. This stall sells a variety of dishes on different days - Such as nasi lemak, soup noodles and dry noodles. The only downside is the early closing time, so make sure to get there early!

Friend of Vegetarian
Location: Heng Leong Cafe, 310-G-4 Perak Road, Jelutong, Penang
Contact: 016-442 9442
Opening Hours: Daily 8.00am-1.00pm. Monday Closed (every two weeks).

On this particular day Friend of Vegetarian was specialising in noodles only. We picked out the Hokkien Mee as the first dish to sample. Surprisingly, a lot of the veggie stalls/restaurants in Penang are run by non-vegetarians, who see better business prospects in running vegetarian eateries, Friend of Vegetarian is one of those. This was a pretty spicy, but quite flavourful dish.. I loved the tofu and the mock pork lard on top added a nice extra crunchy texture.

Price: RM3.00. 7/10

Next dish to the table was the Wanton Mee. This dish has always been one of my most favourite, but I am particularly picky when it comes to the type of wanton used. For Friend of Vegetarian, they use light thin textured wanton with very little stuffing. The texture of the noodle and flavour of the dark sauce was quite delicious, and the quality of mock char siew used was also quite good. Definitely worth the price.

Price: RM3.00. 7/10

Conclusion - Considering that these dishes are being sold at only RM3, it would be unjust to criticise the dishes available at Friend of Vegetarian too heavily. In fact, the quality of the dishes are pretty good, and I look forward to visiting again in the future to try their other special dishes.

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

Back for another review from Penang island. Consummation of Life has been existing quite successfully in Penang for many years now, and is particularly popular with the older generation, as it is one of the more traditional style Chinese restaurants. The owners of this restaurant should really consider investing in a new signboard - Their current one is a rusty hideous thing, which looks like a mouses fart would knock it off the building.

Consummation of Life Vegetarian Restaurant
Location: 288A-1-3, Fortune Court, Jalan Thean Teik, Air Itam, Penang
Contact: 04-828 6540/016-489 4266
Opening Hours: Daily 10.30am-2.30pm & 5.00pm-10.00pm (Closed Tuesday)

Chinese soup is something I usually avoid (unless it is given free on the side). Therefore, I didn't have very high expectations from this Soup of the Day. For a Western palate, Chinese soup is going to taste prodominently of nothing, and the consistency is that of water. Having said that, over the years, I have grown to appreciate Chinese soups slightly more. This soup was quite bland, but the vegetables inside were well cooked.

Price: RM5.00. 5/10

I was a little underwhelmed by the visual look of this next dish, which is named Beancurd Bag with Vegetables. The phrase 'beancurd bag' conjured up many images in my mind, and I was curious to see what arrived to the table. Rather disappointingly, it was just pieces of sliced beancurd. Although this dish suffered from lack of imagination, the flavour was still pretty good. I enjoyed the goji berries that were inside and the sauce was quite enjoyable. One other issue with this dish was the plate used. The sauce could spill off too easily, and made for quite a messy eating experience.

Price: RM8.00. 6/10

Does anyone hate satay? Yes, I know there are many people vehemently opposed to consuming mock meat, but satay is really the ultimate late night supper food sin snack. This eatery serves Indonesia Style Satay (I'm not sure what the difference between Indonesian and Malaysian satay is), which consists of a total of six pieces. The mock meat was flavourful and juicy, but I was hoping for a better quality peanut satay sauce - It was very one dimensional, and subsequently let the dish down.

Price: RM8.00. 6/10

Lastly, we ordered the Crispy Calamari. This dish acts as a perfect finger food, with the mock calamari (which is mushrooms). I had a few problems with this dish. Firstly, the fried pieces were not as dense as I would have liked. In fact, many of the pieces had quite a hollow feel to them. I wanted to bite down and enjoy the juicy chewy texture of the mushroom, and unfortunately I didn't get that. Moreover, I thought that a more creative sauce could have been given, instead of the trite sweet chilli sauce.

Price: RM7.00. 5/10

Conclusion - Overall I didn't find the food to be anything too exception from Consummation of Life, but nevertheless, they have an extensive menu, and perhaps I was jus unlucky with the dishes that I selected.

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

Recently I mentioned in a previous Penang post that there are a number of vegetarian stalls/restaurants, which have been opened by non-vegetarians who see a better market in targeting vegetarian customers. Another one of those stalls is a famous wanton mee stall located at Batu Lanchang Food Court. Previously this same stall was selling non-vegetarian wanton mee, and subsequently switched to vegetarian. You can see on the signboard that the owner has literally crossed out the characters 蝦水 (prawn) and replaced the sign with the Chinese character that all vegetarians should be familiar with - 素.

Vegetarian Wan Tan Mee Stall
Location: No.12 Batu Lanchang Food Court
Contact: 016-4147299
Opening Hours: Daily 12.30am-4.00pm. Monday & Friday Closed.

The Wanton Mee available at this stall is made more in the style of Penang wanton mee, with its generous puddle of dark sauce at the bottom, which fills the ingredients with intense flavour. The juicy mushroom, crunchy vegetable and thinly sliced mock meat all worked perfectly together.

For this dish, the wanton are the soup version, and are served in a separate bowl. As I chose the large (大) portion, the size was really quite big, with many vegetables also lurking in the bowl wanton soup. For the price, there is no doubt that this dish is fantastic value for money, with the taste also being well above average.

Price: RM3.20. 8/10

Conclusion - Since switching to vegetarian, this stall has built up a reputation within the vegetarian community of Penang for serving outstanding vegetarian wantan mee. Although I've eaten better in Singapore, I still agree that this wanton mee is above average and certainly worth visiting.

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

Penang is one of those regions that has shown (and will show even more so in the future) an exponential growth in the abundance of vegetarian eateries on the island. Di Shui Fang also goes by the name Waterdrop Teahouse, which has a number of cafes (usually located within their Pureland temples) all over the world. There is one in Singapore, which I have written about a few times.

Di Shui Fang Vegetarian
Location: 16 Penang Street, Georgetown, Penang
Contact: 04-263 6300
Opening Hours: Tue-Fri 9.00am-6.00pm. Weekend 9.00am-8.00pm. Monday Closed.

In Penang, the main cluster of vegetarian eateries are located within Georgetown, which is where Waterdrop can also be found. Upon stepping inside, I felt a calming and soothing vibe to this eatery. The ambiance of all Waterdrop outlets is like that, which is why they rank as one of my favourite places to pass my time.

This is the main menu.

Here is a look at some of the daily specials that are available.

Sweet Cassava was a dish that was quite new to me. Cassava is a root, which is famed for being deadly to the human body if prepared incorrectly. It is also a fairly pointless food item to consume nutritionally - With it only really being high in calcium and phosphorus. The texture of cassava is like a super starchy dense potato, with it having little actual flavour by itself. For this dish, the cassava is drowned in coconut milk and gula melaka, which definitely heightens the enjoyment of consuming cassava. Not my favourite dessert, but worth trying.

Price: RM5.00. 6/10

The main dish that we ordered to fill our stomachs was Claypot Rice, which is not available on Wednesday and Friday. What I liked about this dish was the abundance of expertly chopped fresh ingredients. What I felt could be improved would be to have a greater aroma from the claypot (you really couldn't tell by tasting that it was cooked in a claypot). Also, I found that a greater amount of sauce would have added more flavour to the dish, which ultimately tasted quite bland by my standards.

Price: RM8.00. 6/10

Conclusion - This time around I found the food at Waterdrop to be quite average in quality. Having said that, you can never really go wrong at Waterdrop, who always serve interesting dishes with top notch ambiance to boot. If you want to escape the hustle and bustle of Georgetown, then this is a great place to go.

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

If you compare Malaysia and Singapore there is one cuisine that is significantly better in Singapore opposed to its neighbour - Indian food. For regular readers of my blog, you will know that I am an avid fan of Indian food. It has always been the cuisine that has felt closest to my heart. For Penang, there are really very limited options for Indian food. Although Penang technically has a 'Little India' in Georgetown, it is nothing like the enormous vibrant Little India that exists in Singapore. Today I will be reviewing one of the few vegetarian Indian eateries in Penang - Woodlands. The other major vegetarian Indian eatery Sri Ananda Bahwan is located just opposite from Woodlands, on the same road.

Woodlands Vegetarian Restaurant
Location: 60 Lebuh Penang, Georgetown, Penang
Contact: 04-263 9764
Opening Hours: Daily 8.30am-10.00pm

To kick things off I went for the Banana Bajji. Bajji (bahji) comes in many different forms, but basically they are deep fried finger food snacks. I remember growing up in England, one of the most popular Indian snacks was onion bahji served wih mint chutney - I still miss it! These banana bahji's were pretty forgettable overall, with there being little banana actually inside. Instead, it was quite doughy on the inside, with little taste. Not something that I would order again. There are a total of four pieces.

Price: RM2.10. 5/10

Even those with extremely limited Indian food vocabulary, will undoubtedly know the notorious South Indian snack/meal dosai. This Masala Dosai was grand, thin, crispy and an utter joy to consume. The dosai comes with the usual array of Indian chutneys derived from coconut and tomato. There was also a intensely flavoured sambar. The only thing I felt that could be improved was the quality of the potato masala, which was at the center of the dosai. It was quite dull, with there being little flavour. Overall a pretty well cooked dosai though.

Price: RM2.80. 7/10

Conclusion - Out of the two Indian vegetarian eateries in Georgetown, I would have to say that I find the quality of food slightly better at Sri Ananda Bahwan. Having said that, there is not a huge difference in food quality, and the ambiance is slightly better at Woodlands, so it is certainly worth visiting if you're craving South Indian food.

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

There are many great vegetarian eateries that exist in Georgetown, but if you venture away from the city, you can also be treated to many more fantastic vegetarian delights. Zen Xin Vegetarian is located on Jalan Nagore, which is going away from the main stretch of Georgetown, along Jalan Burma. A variety of different dishes can be found at Zen Xin, all Chinese style. Let's find out how good this place is...

Zen Xin Vegetarian
Location: 42 Jalan Nagore, Penang
Contact: 04-2286828
Opening Hours: Daily 11.00am-2.30pm & 5.15pm-9.30pm Monday Closed

The menu at Zen Xin consists of many pages, here is an example of one of the pages.

First dish I tried was one of the more economical dishes, which was named Kung Dao Eggplant. Eggplant is an ingredient that I will consume on a daily basis, I can't get enough of the moreish creamy texture (when cooked properly). Overall, this was a pretty decent dish. The sauce that coated the eggplant and other ingredients was a little bit too salty for my taste - But this slight excess of salt is nullified when eaten with plain rice. Portion size I found to be just perfect for the price.

Price: RM9.00. 7/10

The signature dish at Zen Xin is the Baked Nyonya Oats Fish, which when brought to the table, comes in a very intriguing foil parcel, with a small lime on the side.

After it arrive, the waiter will proceed to cut the foil. I enjoyed watching the steam that was manifesting inside suddenly become realised when cut open. The waiter will cut open the entire thing and then squeeze the lime liberally all over.

This is how the dish looked when totally opened up. Sambal vegetarian fish is one of those things that can't go wrong really. The mix of mock meat, chili and lime is a match made in heaven. Yes, the price is a little bit excessive, and I did feel the pain when it came to paying for the meal. In this dishes defence, the portion is quite large and I give extra marks for the elaborate way in which it is served to the customers. I do feel that the price could be lowered a little bit though.

Price: RM16.80. 8/10

Conclusion - Zen Xin represents one of the better vegetarian eateries on the island of Penang. The location may seem a little far out of the city. But it can actually be reached within 10-15 minutes (depending on how fast a walker you are) from Komtar. The sambal fish is a must try - If you can afford it!

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

A couple of weeks ago I shared a post about Beyond Veggie, who have been slowly amassing a number of outlets dotted all over Malaysia (eight in total). After posting this review, a lot of people were confused why an outlet was never opened in Singapore - Well, now your wish has come true, Beyond Veggie is in Singapore.

Beyond Veggie
Location: 18 Greenwood Avenue, Hillcrest Park
Contact: 67631323
Opening Hours: Mon-Thur & Sun 11.00am-9.30pm. Fri & Sat 11.00am-10.30pm

One thing I immediately noticed upon entering is that the ambiance is much better than their Malaysian outlets. It seems like extra effort has been made for their Singapore branch.

As I mentioned in my Malaysia post, Beyond Veggie was the brainchild of the husband and wife owner of Secret Recipe. I'm not sure why they wanted to open a chain of vegetarian eateries - It seems especially odd as most Secret Recipe outlets have a very meat heavy menu.

Upon scrolling through the menu, it is clear to see it was not designed with vegans in mind. The dishes are very dairy and egg heavy. To make matters worse, some of the staff don't understand what vegan means, although the female restaurant manager was very helpful and made things much easier for us.

Beyond Veggie is quite well known for their fruit tea, and this time around I picked out the Passion Fruit Tea. Vegans beware, the original version of this drink will include honey. I had the honey switched to molasses, to make it vegan. Overall this is a sweet and sour thick mixture, that has real pieces of passion fruit inside.

Price: $9.90. 7/10

Another dish that will require special adjustments is the Nutty Mix Salad. The original version will include mayonnaise. In fact, every salad on the menu is non-vegan - What world are we living in when salad is not vegan, seriously? Even non-egg eaters must be very careful - The fried mushroom salad for example, has the mushroom fried in egg batter (no mention of this on the menu). This salad had a wide array of ingredients inside, and mustard dressing used as a replacement for mayo. Overall the salad was a little flat and sour, perhaps the original version is better.

Price: $7.20. 6/10

Onto the main meals now, and we start off with the Yunnan Style Fried Vermicelli. All in all, this was the best thing I tried from Beyond Veggie. I really love how the bee hoon was juicy and packed with zesty flavour. The portion size for all Beyond Veggie dishes is huge, and if you're a smaller eater you may struggle to finish. Great dish.

Price: $9.90. 8/10

The second dish I picked out was the ''Thai Style'' Fried Kuey Teow. Once this dish arrived, I was a little disappointed to see that the components to this dish were exactly the same as the fried vermicelli. This dish bares almost no similarity to our conventional char kway teow, so if you're looking for that sort of experience you will want to avoid this dish. The kway teow aspect of this dish was really poor, in my opinion. It was too spicy and lacked any other flavour at all. Even wetting it in lime juice couldn't bring out any of the flavour. Not a dish that I would consider ordering again.

Price: $9.90. 5/10

Conclusion - What surprised me about Beyond Veggie was the price difference between Malaysia and Singapore. In Malaysia, Beyond Veggie is the Original Sin of the vegetarian world (the most expensive place you could possibly eat). However, in Singapore I found the prices were much more reasonable - Especially for the portion size and geographical location. That being said, the food quality was a little underwhelming and too heavy in animal products.

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

I wrote a post back in August 2013 about a new stall called Hanyi Vegetarian, at the Tai Seng area. People got excited about this stall mainly cause they were selling vegetarian Korean food - A completely untapped market in Singapore. After spending many months at Tai Seng, Hanyi has recently rebranded themselves as Boneless Kitchen, and switched locations to Bukit Merah. Not only that, it is now a restaurant - Not a food court stall. The new location should be familiar to veggie food hunters, as it is literally two doors away from Nature Vegetarian. One would have to question the ethics of opening a vegetarian place right next to another existing meat-free restaurant (and inevitably stealing their business). Surely it would be better for everyone to open in an area that has no existing vegetarian eatery. Just my two cents, onto the review...

Boneless Kitchen
Location: #03-4458, Blk 11 Jalan Bukit Merah
Contact: 90232725
Opening Hours: Tue-Sun 11.30am-9.30pm. Monday Closed

One thing is clear, the owners have definitely taken greater steps to improve the menu at Boneless Kitchen. I was really impressed by the design. Moreover, I loved how they added dairy, egg and spice icons to the menu to avoid any misunderstandings with customers on other diets. Good job!

Here is the other side of the menu. One side focuses mainly on Korean and other Oriental dishes, while the other side (pictured) has more Italian dishes.

We started our meal off with the Kimchi Pancake. I had mixed feelings about this side dish overall. Upon tasting, it is clear that the quality of the kimchi is very good. The kimchi is made from scratch and really has good flavour. What I didn't like was the actual 'pancake'. The best way I can think to describe the texture is that of a super flat and thin roti prata or chapati. Full marks for the idea of a kimchi pancake, but I thought the texture and design of the pancake could be improved.

Price: $3.00. 6/10

We moved onto the main dishes, starting with an Asian dish we have the Braised Meat with Rice. This dish reminded me of the classic Taiwanese dish lu rou fan (滷肉飯), except the mock minced meat is not on top of the rice. For this dish, the flavour of the mock soy granules was pretty good and thankfully not too salty. When it was all said and done though, there was nothing too memorable that I recall from the experience. Not bad for the price, though.

Price: $4.50. 6/10

Lastly we picked out of the Italian pasta dishes, and went for the Mushroom Pasta. For vegans visiting Boneless Kitchen, you have two pasta options to choose from - This one and aglio olio. Overall this was the best dish of the evening. The cooking of the spaghetti was very well done, although the pasta quality used could have been better. I was really impressed by the taste and texture of the creamy mushroom sauce (which I confirmed is vegan), and the dried herbs used. Portion size was good, definitely a dish worth ordering.

Price: $7.00. 7/10

Conclusion - Overall there is no doubt that improvements have been made from the Han Yi days. The quality of the food can still be improved, but is not bad overall, and the prices are reasonable. I did find the ambiance of the place a little dead, with it being quieter than a library inside. A more lively atmosphere would also be a step in the right direction.

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

For the vegetarian locals in Ipoh, arguably the most famous vegetarian restaurant in the entire town is Yi Shen Su. Over the years, the restaurant has franchised out and now has identical outlets in Kampar, Petaling Jaya and Bandar Bukit Tinggi. For more information on this restaurant, you can refer to their official website here. Let's begin!

Yi Shen Su
Location: No. 19-21 Jalan Medan Ipoh 6, Medan Baru, Ipoh, Perak
Contact: 012-453 7246
Opening Hours: Daily 9.45am-2.45pm & 3.00pm-10.00pm

The interior of Yi Shen Su is that of a typical traditional Chinese restaurant.

On the walls are pictures of celebrities who have visited the restaurant over the years. In case you are wondering, no Hungry Ang Mo isn't on there.

Looking through the menu there is a large variety of mock meats, vegetables and mushroom dishes. One thing that will be a reoccuring theme in this review is the usage of egg in many of the dishes. The majority of vegetarian places in Malaysia have egg, so eggless vegetarians and vegans have to be extremely careful.

First dish we ordered was the Yishensu Fried 'Kuew Teow'. This is one of those dishes you must make sure to order without egg - The staff unfortunately don't bother to ask you if you can consume egg or not - Therefore you must be proactive as a customer. If not, by default it will come with egg. This was a pretty delicious char kway teow overall. I was really impressed by the large portion size. After sprinkling the fresh lime, the flavour is really magnified. The kway teow texture was perfect, and I loved the different varieties of mushroom that was inside. Great aroma to the dish also.

Price: RM6.00. 8/10

Next up we have the Braised Assorted Mushroom with Broccoli. I often get a little frustrated with Chinese vegetarian food, because every vegetable dish one orders is always cooked the same way, and tastes exactly the same. Due to this reason, I seldom order vegetable dishes when I do my reviews, as I find I am just writing about the same thing over and over again. This dish was fresh and tasted good, but fell into the category that I was just describing.

Price: RM15.00. 6/10

Another dish that could potentially cause a headache from vegans (or vegetarians who don't take egg) will be the House Emperor Tofu. The default tofu for this contains egg, so unfortunately you must request - They won't bother asking you. I liked the needle mushrooms that was scattered over the top of the tofu like fallen soliders. The gravy that the tofu was soaking in was a little on the salty side, and had quite simple flavours. The tofu (which I switched to regular non-egg tofu) was a little bland, and couldn't really come to life, even with the gravy and other ingredients.

Price: RM15.00. 6/10

Lastly we have the Portugese Fish. Although this was the most expensive dish of the meal, it was also the best in terms of quality. The pieces of mock fish were sitting on a banana lead, whilst simultaneously soaking in the rich yellow sauce. The turmeric infused sauce was mild and complex, and went perfectly with the mock fish. Definitely a delicious dish.

Price: RM18.00. 8/10

Conclusion - Yi Shen Su is definitely a big name in the vegetarian scene in Malaysia, and overall I had quite a positive experience from my visit to this eatery. The only issue I have is the obsession with egg that seems to exist at this place. It can really be tricky to avoid egg here, so customers really need to be careful when ordering.

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

After spending a number of months away from Singapore, I was elated to be back, and gave myself a long list of vegetarian eateries that I must visit throughout my return to Singapore. The very first place I ate after coming back was Green Healthy Vegetarian. This stall represents one of the very few options for vegetarian food near Holland Village - Unless you want to pay a fortune and eat at Original Sin.

Green Healthy Vegetarian
Location: #02-40, Blk 44 Holland Drive
Contact: 96473923
Opening Hours: Daily 6.30am-6.00pm. Wednesday Closed.

The lady owner of this stall is incredibly kind and will always go the extra mile to ensure that you have a positive experience at their stall. They are proactive in asking the customers about their preference and always ask you if you enjoyed the food - A sign of a dedicated owner.

First dish to the table was the Kway Chap. Overall I enojyed the flavour of the soup, which was both strong yet subtle at the same time. Moreover, I liked the tofu and beancurd that was swimming inside, especially when matched with the red chilli. What I felt could be improved was the quality of the kway - It was a little too brittle in texture, and thus made it difficult and somewhat unpleasant to eat. The best vegetarian kway chap for me is still at Tian Yi (AMK) - But this version is credible enough.

Price: $3.00. 7/10

Next dish we ordered was the Olive Fried Rice. I really liked the portion size of this dish, and overall it had a wide variety of ingredients inside. Unfortunately the overall flavour of the rice was lacking. I was longing for their to be more wok aroma in the dish, which was ultimately quite bland - Even the green and red chilli could barely bring the dish to life.

Price: $3.50. 6/10

My personal favourite dish from Green Healthy was the Fried Laksa. We are used to seeing laksa in soup form, but this dish is a twist on the conventional laksa, by turning it into a dry noodle dish. I have seen a few eateries attempt to do something like this before, but it is still a dish that is hard to find. Overall this dish managed to capture all the traditional flavour of laksa and I really found it totally delicious. I dish that can't commonly be found in Singapore, and is executed very well - Definitely a must order dish.

Price: $3.50. 8/10

Conclusion - What impressed me most about Green Healthy Vegetarian is the proactive and eager attitude of the staff. This eatery does not use MSG in any of their cooking, and although some improvements could be made, the food overall is quite good. I particularly recommend ordering the fried laksa, which is good enough to make me a regular customer.

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

Chef Icon has built up a solid reputation since opening back in 2008, and gets a steady stream of customers based on two factors. Firstly, they are in high demand for their many varieties of cakes, usually with customers ordering full cakes for birthdays and other celebrations. Secondly, they are quite popular with the working crowd, who are always keen to order their sandwiches and other savoury items. Although it is not stated clearly, Chef Icon is totally vegetarian, with mock ham being in their sandwiches, opposed to the real thing. For more information, their official Facebook page is here.

Chef Icon
Location: 5 Kampong Bahru Road
Contact: 93373900
Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 8.00am-8.00pm. Sunday Closed.

I really love the ambiance of Chef Icon, it is a small cosy shop with wooden tables and shelves. The non-menu bread items often sell out pretty fast, so if you want to buy it is better to go as early as you can, to avoid disappointment. The attitude of the staff/owner is some of the best I have experienced in Singapore. He always greets every customer with warm affection, and makes every customer feel truly valued.

Here is a look at the cake menu. I love the motto 'Good food makes people happy', which Chef Icon goes by. Definitely this motto is true for me.

The savoury menu is quite basic. The eatery specializes in bread items, with them selling sandwiches, burgers, toasties and salads. The menu is quite unfriendly to vegans, who have quite limited options to choose from.

For the lunch crowd, a lot of customers tend to go for the clubman sandwiches (especially popular amongst ang moh's). I decided to try the Rendang Curry sandwich first. The design of the sandwich is actually very simple. Lettuce, purple cabbage and tomato make up the vegetable portion of the sandwich. The rendang is derived from shredded mushroom stems, which have then been cooked in a rendang sauce. The highlight of the sandwhich for me was actually the bread - I loved the crunchy texture and the flavour that the sesame seeds gave. Simple is sometimes best. I only wished that there was some additional sauce smeared inside for extra flavour.

Price: $8.80. 8/10

Next sandwich we tried was the Yakiniku Mushroom. Basically, the foundation of this sandwich is exactly the same as the previous one. Even the mushroom is the same, just flavoured in a different way. Once again, it was the bread itself that really won my heart. Similarly to the previous sandwich, I would have liked to have seen an extra sauce inside. But a really decent sandwich overall.

Price: $8.80. 7/10

Conclusion - Chef Icon has gained such popularity in Singapore due to the friendliness of the owner and the reliable quality of their food. Both owners of Chef Icon are vegetarians, so like I mentioned, everything on the menu is without meat. I would like to see more vegan options become available in the future, but overall it is difficult to fault the excellent job that the owners are doing here.

Overall Rating
Food - 7/10
Ambiance- 8/10
Service - 9/10
Value - 7/10

Today I am very excited. Over the many years that I have been reviewing vegetarian food in Singapore, it is on very rare occasions that food from an eatery really rocks my world. This post represents one of those aforementioned rare occasions where I review somewhere, which I truly believe will bring a breath of fresh air to the vegetarian scene in Singapore. Ladies and gentleman, I present to you Fill-a-Pita...

Fill-a-Pita
Location: #01-02 Shenton House, opposite SGX building
Contact: 98351446
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 8.00am-3.00pm. Sat 12.30pm-2.30pm. Sunday closed.

Recently Fill-a-Pita have revamped their menu slightly. Before I continue, I must thank my loyal reader Raymond for first bringing Fill-a-Pita to my attention. The food at Fill-a-Pita is Egyptian style Middle Eastern, which traditionally is slightly more spicy than Egypt's neighbouring countries. The owner of Fill-a-Pita is very knowledgeable on Buddhist vegetarian (no onion/garlic) and vegan diets, and most of the menu suits those diets quite well. It is really an eatery that anyone and everyone can enjoy.

The menu at Fill-a-Pita is consistent throughout the week, however occasionally daily specials are available. Friday, for example, has koshari rice as their special. Babaghanoush also sporadically pops up as a special on the menu, which is definitely worth one's attention.

The story of the Fill-a-Pita owner Hassan El Nahas is quite fascinating. Hassan, who was educated at Harvard University, has lived in Singapore since 1999, working as a successful banker for many years. Originally born in Kuwait, Hassan moved to Egypt at the age of 9 where he completed his schooling. In 2010, Hassan left his job as banker and embarked on two years of travelling the world, exploring five continents in total. After the two years were up, he moved back to Singapore and came up with the idea to open a vegetarian Middle Eastern eatery. Although not a vegetarian himself, he felt drawn to the idea of serving only vegetarian food because it is healthy and good for the environment. He also felt that the vegetarian options in the CBD were quite limited, therefore he opened Fill-a-Pita in a central location where the working crowd can easily access. Fill-a-Pita officially opened in April 2013.

Hassan has really impeccable customer service skills. Every customer who visits his eatery will leave feeling truly valued and appreciated. One of the special added touches he often does is to offer complimentary pistachio nuts and sweet dates as starter/dessert.

Whenever we think of Middle Eastern food, the first dish that pops into most peoples minds is inevitably Hummus. In order to accommodate to those who can't consume onion and garlic, Hassan wisely makes two separate kinds of hummus. - One with garlic and one without. For those who don't know, hummus, it is basically a mixture of chick peas, tahini, parsley, olive oil, garlic and cumin powder blended together. The Fill-a-Pita version of hummus is slightly more coarse in texture, compared to what I am used to, but the flavour is certainly splendid. When eaten with a couple of piping of pita's it is even more outstanding.

Price: $2.00. 7/10

Moving on to the Falafel Pita, this pita is basically a mixture of tomato, lettuce, tahini sauce and falafel. The most important aspect of this dish is undoubtedly the falaffel. Although I really cant fault the taste of the falaffel, I do think that it is a little bit dry for my liking. If you get a good bite, with a healthy amount of sauce, then this dryness ceases to be a problem. If, on the other hand, you bite somewhere with less sauce, it can be dry. The pita used at this eatery is exceptional, it has delicate softness and yet a degree of elasticity. I think I could put raw bittergourd inside this pita and still happily eat it - That is a testament to the quality of this pita bread.

Price: $5.50. 7/10

My personal favourite pita is unquestionably the Fava Bean Pita. Being someone who naturally prefers stronger tasting food, this pita was heaven for me. I love the mixture of crunchy red cabbage and fava bean chilli, which is packed with flavour. Hassan will often ask you if you wish for extra chilli, this can really spice up the pita so unless you can take a lot of spice, it is best to opt out. After trying this pita, I returned back on five separate occasions to order it once more - I hope that can emphasise how highly I rate this dish. One of the most outstanding vegetarian food items that I have had the pleasure to eat in Singapore.

Price: $4.50 (S). 10/10

I would highly recommend ordering the Mixed Pickles to go along with the pita bread. The pickles come in many forms, but my particular favourite is the jalapeno chilli. The pickle (as one would expect) is sour, and matches sensationally with the pita.

Price: $1.00. 8/10

I returned to Fill-a-Pita once more on a Friday, specifically with the intention of trying the special Koshari Rice dish, which is only available on that day. Koshari is basically a mix of white rice, lentils, macaroni and red pepper sauce. Also a key flavour component of the dish is fried onions, which are sprinkled liberally on top. If you can't consume onion, you can always request for them not to be added. This is a dish that may be too spicy for some, but I really enjoyed the level of spice. For me, the crunchy fried onions were key. Portion size was quite alright for the price.

Price: $7.00. 7/10

Conclusion - If you haven't guessed already, I am pretty thrilled about having an eatery like Fill-a-Pita in Singapore. Many will draw comparisons to Pita Pan, another 100% vegetarian Middle Eastern eatery. But in my humble opinion, Fill-a-Pita is significantly better both in terms of quality and value for money. If an eatery can balance excellent food, affordable price and top notch customer service, then it is surely destined for great things. A remarkable place, that everyone should visit.

Overall Rating
Food - 9/10
Ambiance- 7/10
Service - 10/10
Value - 9/10

Back to Penang reviews, and we are back in Georgetown, which is the vegetarian hub of the island. Although vegetarian food can be found throughout the island, the most interesting veggie restaurants are all in Georgetown. Seed Natural Cafe places an emphasis on serving super healthy food to the customers. The issue with many healthy eateries is that the food can sometimes be seen as too bland - Let's find out how the food at Seed Cafe copes...

Seed Natural Food Cafe
Location: 6 Nagore Road, Georgetown, Penang
Contact: 016-454 6646/016-475 8105
Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 9.00am-6.00pm. Sunday Closed.

Here is a look at the menu. Changes are often made on a daily basis.

This is the set lunch that I decided to review.

The Appetizer consists of clear soup, a vinegar drink and salad. You will not find excess salt, sugar or MSG in any of the food here.

6/10

The main course for the set meal was the Curry Mee. I have to say, this was probably the worst curry mee that I tried throughout my entire Malaysia food journey. The curry sauce/soup had literally no flavour at all. It was tantamount to drinking water. I am sure the up side of this lack of flavour is the dish is much healthier overall. For myself though, I need some flavour in the dish. The dish did have a nice abundance of other ingredients, such as tofu, long beans and cabbage. I need flavour, flavour flavour...

4/10

The last aspect of this meal is the Dessert, which on this particular occasion was soft tofu in a sweet gula melaka sauce. Personally I didn't find that the gula melaka was very fragrant, and thus didn't give the dessert the life that it needed. Tofu is a blank canvas, so the ingredients that are used together with the tofu are very important. For those who enjoy simple tastes, you may be able to appreciate this dessert.

5/10

Conclusion - If you're looking for a healthy meal, then definitely Seed Cafe is a great place to go. It is clear that great efforts have been made to reduce the amount of salt, sugar, oil and other harmful substances in the food. However, if you're looking for good tasting food, this is probably a place you will want to avoid.

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

I know I've promised it for so long, but over the next few months my readers can really expect to see a lot more reviews coming from the West of Singapore. For today I will be doing a quick review of a vegetarian stall called Hao Zhi Wei. Immediately when I visited this stall, I was impressed by the kind hearted nature of the lady owner. She was very open about recommending which dishes she thought were the best, and didn't have that typical acerbic aggressive attitude that many stall aunties have.

Hao Zhi Wei Vegetarian
Location: #01-885, Stall 4, Blk 503 Jurong West Ave 1
Contact: 93281251
Opening Hours: Daily 6.30am-9.00pm. Closed Monday (unless 1st or 15th).

Pictured here we have a full list of all the dishes that are available at this stall. The most expensive item is the mutton rice, which costs $4.50.

Here is a look at some of the daily special that are available at this stall.

Here are the economic rice dishes that are available.

We started our food exploration off with the Kwap Chap. Recently I've been unwittingly eating a lot of different kway chap's from many different hawker stalls. I haven't, until this day, encountered a kwap chap that beats the incredible version at Tian Yi in Ang Mo Kio. With that being said, this version was full of flavour and had an interesting variety of ingredients inside. The kwap itself didn't break apart when prised out of the broth with my chopsticks, and I particularly enjoyed the mushrooms that oozed flavour when bitten.

Price: $3.00. 7/10

The next dish we picked out was Vegetarian Prawn Mee Soup. Typically, I will tend to avoid prawn noodles, as I dislike the rubbery mock prawn that is often used in most vegetarian eateries. Overall the soup base of this dish was a bit of a let down, it didn't have much flavour. Not only that, but after eating I felt quite thirsty, which is usually an indication that MSG has been used inside. I did like the freshness of the noodles and the other ingredients, but all in all it was a bit of a let down.

Price: $3.00. 6/10

Conclusion - The food at Hao Zhi Wei may be nothing special, but the kind and positive attitude of the staff certainly makes up for any flaws that the food might have. If you're living in the West, then this place is worth a visit. Not somewhere I would travel long distances for though.

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

Having opened recently in February 2014, Happy Tree aims to bring super healthy food to the masses in Singapore. Happy Tree is a small and peaceful restaurant, with very friendly and hard working staff. If you're looking for a place that serves healthy vegan food, then Happy Tree will definitely excite you. But does the food have enough flavour and appeal to entice the majority of the Singapore population? There is only one way to find out - Let's taste the food...

Happy Tree
Location: #01-1085, 16 Upper Boon Keng Road
Contact: 68468160
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 11.00am-8.00pm. Sun 11.00am-5.00pm. Saturday Closed.

The menu at Happy Tree is quite delightful, and beautifully done. The array of colourful drinks particularly caught my eye. Everything on the menu is vegan, with the one exception being the 'AvoGreen' drink, which has raw honey added inside - Vegans take note.

Happy Tree pride themselves on adding no MSG, artificial food colouring and flavouring into their food. They also refrain from any deep frying and don't add any white sugar. Most of the food is steamed.

Like I said, I struggle to resist colourful drinks, so I started off with the Cacao Banana. For this drink, frozen banana is blended together with cacao powder (a supposed high source of antioxidants and iron). This drink is essentially a smoothie, with shavings of cacao/cocoa sprinkled on top, which I found to be a particularly endearing extra touch. The drink itself is thick and ice cold, which I adored. I did find there was a lack of sweetness though, probably because no extra sugar is added.

Price: $5.00. 7/10

After ordering one, I simply couldn't stop. So I picked out the True Blue smoothie as well. This drink follows the same concept as the previous one, but this time it is frozen blueberries that are added to the drink. The base for all the smoothies at Happy Tree is organic brown rice milk. Once again, this drink did seem a little bland and lacking in sugar. But on the plus side, I am sure it is good for our health.

Price: $5.50. 7/10

Eventually I managed to pry my eyes away from the drinks section long enough to order some actual food. We kicked things off with the Inari Brown, which acts as a healthier version of the traditional Japanese inari. This side dish uses organic brown rice in the center, with shitake mushroom and carrot mixed into it. The taste was pretty good overall, but could have done with the classic Japanese accompaniments of light sauce and wasabi to give that extra kick that it needed.

Price: $4.80. 7/10

Lastly we have the Brown Rice Ramen Soup. This dish has a variety of ingredients swimming inside, such as broccoli, carrots, needle mushroom and tofu. The ingredients are mostly steamed, and were cooked just perfectly. The noodles are made out of unbleached brown rice, and had nice bouncy texture. The weakness of this dish for most will be lack of depth and flavour. The soup base is very mild, therefore I found it quite uninspiring to continue eating. No doubt this dish is healthy, but hardly a joy to eat.

Price: $6.50. 6/10

Conclusion - If you're someone that has grown up indulging in the typical Singapore hawker centre delights, then the food at Happy Tree will inevitably seem a little bland and forgettable. But on the flip side, you know visiting Happy Tree will nourish the body and be without many of the harmful ingredients that the hawkers are using in their cooking. So for me, the lack of taste is worth it!

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

Quay Cafe - Penang

Chin Choo Vegetarian Shop - Penang

Ji Xiang Ru Yi Vegetarian - Redhill

Cheng Sim Vegetarian Restaurant - Penang

Happy Ice Valley - Ipoh

Friend of Vegetarian - Penang

Consummation Of Life Vegetarian Resturant - Penang

Vegetarian Wan Tan Mee Stall - Penang

Di Shui Fang Vegetarian - Penang

Woodlands Indian Vegetarian - Penang

Zen Xin Vegetarian - Penang

Beyond Veggie - Bukit Timah Road

Boneless Kitchen - Bukit Merah

Yi Shen Su - Ipoh

Green Healthy Vegetarian - Buona Vista

Chef Icon - Tanjong Pagar

Fill-a-Pita - Tanjong Pagar

Seed Natural Food Cafe - Penang

Hao Zhi Wei Vegetarian - Lakeside

Happy Tree - Kallang