Hungry Ang Mo | Food Blogger | Vegan

At the beginning of every year, we see a new crop of hopeful vegetarian eateries open their doors in Singapore. One of the more interesting new additions is D'life Bistro & Cafe, which is located in the old Commonwealth Crescent estate. D'life is actually under the same owner as Zi Zai, and you can even see the waiters wearing Zi Zai shirts in the bistro. Interestingly, the same owner actually opened a D'life outlet in Kuala Lumpur last year, he is now bringing this new concept to Singapore. The letter 'D' represents 'destiny', as the owner believes it is his destiny to promote vegetarianism through his eateries.

D'life Bistro & Cafe
Location: #01-29 Blk 118 Commonwealth Crescent
Contact: 97491714
Opening Hours: Daily 11.00am-10.00pm.

The interior is superb, and surely ranks as one of the best ambiance one can find in Singapore for vegetarian eateries. Imagine Real Food and Original Sin have a baby - This is what the D'life ambiance is like.

Lovely relaxed outdoor seating, which is surprisingly cool. The only thing that is missing is some relaxing jazz music to complete the feeling. Music would cover up the noise of the wok too, which can be quite loud.

Wonderful design.

As this bistro only opened in February 2015, the menu is still in its developmental stages. The positive thing is that they have chosen to not use mock meat in any of their dishes. The negative is there is egg in a lot of dishes, and it is not stated on the menu - This is asking for complaints if not changed. It would be good if they stated which dishes are vegan also (which I have been informed they plan to do in the future).

Here is the back of the menu. They also have cakes (non-vegan) and ice cream (vegan - from Brownice).

Beyond Veggie is now no longer the only place you can visit for a good fruit tea. D'life have now adopted a very similar tea menu, which also focuses on fruit teas. I picked the Fruit Tea Pot, which is primarily boiled orange and passion fruit (and a lot of sugar). I've always had a soft spot for these kind of drinks, so it is safe to say I enjoyed this a lot.

Price: $8.90. 7/10

On to the mains, and we start off with the D'life Signature Fried Rice. This dish was not as spicy as I anticipated, and overall the rice had good flavour. The grains were a little broken up, but it still looked great on the plate.

Price: $8.90. 6/10

My favourite dish of the meal was the Hotplate Brinjal. The eggplant was not cooked until total mushiness, as is the case for most eggplant tze char dishes. Instead, this deskined eggplant was cooked to the perfect point of textural resistance. They were swimming in a tasty sauce, and went perfectly with the fried rice.

Price: $12.00. 8/10

Naturally I am going to be quite picky about my favourite Chinese dish claypot pig trotter - Or as it is known on the menu, Old-Fashioned Vinegar Stew. For my personal taste, the ginger and vinegar was not strong enough. Instead, the sauce was sweet and mild. The presentation was excellent, and the claypot was packed to the brim with ingredients. I would have liked to have seen the monkeyhead mushroom cooked inside the stew, so that it could have absorbed the sauce. I liked the use of black beans, which people forget is often present in a traditional claypot pig trotter.

Price: $10.00. 6/10

Probably the most disappointing dish of the meal was the Spicy Tofu. The sauce of the dish was quite confusing. It tasted like sweet and sour sauce that has had curry powder mixed into it. Definitely the sauce can improve, but the texture of the tofu was great, I love the presentation too.

Price: $9.00. 6/10

Conclusion - D'life offers the perfect ambiance for gatherings and get togethers. If you want to bring your friends, and show them that vegetarian food is not boring, then D'life is a great place. I just wonder if the location is suited to having such a trendy eatery though. Whatever the case, having run Zi Zai for years, I am sure the owner knows best, and I forsee D'life being another one of his success stories.

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

People of 'the land of Woods' as a dear friend of mine would say, you no longer need scratch your head wondering where in Woodlands has vegetarian food. Over the last few weeks, I have highlighted a number of vegetarian eateries in the Woodlands area (Vege Food Hub being clearly the best, in my opinion). Today, I feature a stall in the north of Woodlands, in a small and forgotten shopping plaza called Woodlands North Plaza. Soon Long Sin Vegetarian Food have quite a wide and extensive menu, and long operating hours. Moreover, they are also actively involved in vegetarian catering, so if you need vegetarian food for an event/function, you may want to consider SLS.

Soon Long Sin Vegetarian Food
Location: Stall 2, Kerk's Kopitiam Stall, Blk 883 Woodlands Street 82, Woodlands North Plaza
Contact: 97518300
Opening Hours: Daily 6.00am-9.00pm.

There are about 20 dishes in total to order from. Or, you can choose economic bee hoon or rice, the options are quite limited though.

Their Been Hoon and Dishes was the first dish I selected of the meal. The bee hoon was well cooked texturally, but lacking in any aroma or flavour. The eggplant was cooked very well, and matched nicely with the bee hoon. The dishes were quite cold, however, which did detract from my enjoyment.

Price: $2.80. 6/10

Next dish is the Carrot Cake. During my hundreds of hawker/coffee shop explorations, it is very rare I come across a dish I am cautious/afraid to try - Well, ladies and gentleman, SLS gained the unfortunate honour of producing such a dish. This carrot cake had an inconceivable amount of oil used, to the point where everything on the plate was glistening like a substance from another planet. If you're planning on consuming the entirety of this dish, do yourself a favour, dial '999' in advance, cause you may need a paramedic crew to assist you out of this eating house. I ate one piece in total.

Price: $3.00. 2/10

Kway Chap was the next dish. The bowl of kway was above average. I found that the broth had just the right amount of flavour, and the texture of the kway was just right - It was not too tough, neither did it easily break apart when plucked up by the chopsticks. It was the side plate of assorted ingredients that was the disappointment. Firstly, a good kway chap should have these ingredients swimming in a shallow more concentrated version of the soup broth - This one did not. Also, it could have done with more varied ingredients. Personally, kway chap is just not complete without mei cai (preserved vegetable). The taste and texture of the tofu was not bad though. The chilli was too oily (there is something with excessive oil and this stall) and lacked dimension.

Price: $3.00. 6/10

Conclusion - Honestly, I don't want to sound mean, but I felt physically sick after my meal at this stall - And it left me reflecting on what damage I am doing to my body by writing on Hungry Ang Mo - The oil in that carrot cake was seriously ridiculous. If I am in the Woodlands area, I would always go to Vege Food Hub as my number one choice. Even given the choice between starving or visiting SLS again, I would probably pick the former...

Overall Rating
Food - 4/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 6/10
Value - 5/10

This post completes my trilogy of posts on Nature Cafe. For those not familiar, Cafe Nature originally started out with just one outlet located at Bukit Merah. This outlet has been running for over 15 years now. It was only until recently that the owner decided to expand his operations and open two more higher class vegetarian eateries. The first of these outlets I reviewed back in November 2014, located at Aperia in Bendemeer area. For this post, I will feature the final outlet, which is located at Tradehub.

Nature Cafe
Location: 8 Boon Lay Way, #01-29 Tradehub 21
Contact: 65155939
Opening Hours: Daily 10.00am-9.30pm

This Tradehub location was previously occupied by another vegetarian eatery called Cafe de Paradiso. After this eatery closed down, Nature Cafe soon opened. Surprisingly, Nature Cafe seems to be thriving where Cafe de Paradiso was once suffering. Once again, the decor and ambiance of this outlet is outstanding - I still prefer the Bendemeer outlets ambiance, but this one is excellent in its own right.

The meal started off with the Petai Fried Rice. One thing that must be said about Nature Cafe is that their prices (at all three outlets) are some of the most affordable in Singapore. The food portions are usually large, and no matter what your budget, you will be able to find something on their large menu. Petai bean is one of my favourite ingredients, and when fried with rice it really manages to transfer its aroma throughout the entire dish. The rice was a little too soft for my liking, but I enjoyed this dish.

Price: $4.50. 7/10

Next up we have the Sweet and Sour Pork. Finding a chef that knows how to make a perfect sweet and sour sauce is not easy. I've eaten many acceptable sweet and sour concoctions in Singapore, but never a perfect one. The only perfect sweet and sour sauce I've eaten (in my life) was at the famous Tung Fong Siu Kee Yuen restaurant in Hong Kong. Since that life changing experience in Hong Kong, every other sweet and sour dish just seems so ordinary to me. In this dish, I really enjoyed the mock meat that was used - It was chewy and flavourful. I must admit, the sauce itself was nothing special, but the rest of the ingredients were cooked well.

Price: $8.00. 7/10

The most disappointing dish of the meal was the Hot Plate BBQ Sambal Fish. The sauce in this hotplate just didn't suit my preference. The sauce had a somewhat 'dirty' taste to it, and I failed to detect any BBQ flavour in it. Having said that, I liked the shredded cabbage that was placed on top, and the mock fish was decent enough. Not a disastrous dish, but not one that I would consider ordering again.

Price: $10.00. 6/10

In addition to a myriad of Chinese dishes, there is also a number of Western items on the menu. The dish I decided to pick (after much deliberating) was the Fish Chop Set. This set meal was presented beautifully on the plate, the 'S' shaped lemon cutting being particularly wonderful. The portion of pasta is large, and the taste was good. The mock fish patty could have done with being a little bigger, but all in all this was a tasty set meal.

Price: $9.00. 7/10

Conclusion - As mentioned previously, what I believe is the key to the success of Nature Cafe is the affordability and variety that can be found in their menu. On top of that, customers are getting one of the nicest ambiances in Singapore. The Tradehub location is a little out of the way for regularly customers. But due to the large amounts of office workers in the area, this outlet seems to be thriving and deservedly so.

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

One of the new kids on the block for vegetarian food in 2015 is Jadeite Vegetarian. Having first heard about Jadeite from Facebook (you can find their page here), their branding made me think that Jadeite was in fact a higher end vegetarian restaurant (similar to Sufood or Herbivore etc). Therefore, it was quite a surprise to find in reality it is just a small cosy little cafe with only about six tables. Nothing wrong with small and cosy, but the Jadeite branding doesn't quite match the establishment in my opinion.

Jadeite Vegetarian
Location: 470 North Bridge Road, Bugis Cube, #03-21
Contact: 91956939
Opening Hours: Daily 10.00am-10.00pm

Based on the description on the Jadeite website 'We serve a wide variety of traditional and modern vegetarian dishes to suit all taste buds' I must admit that I was expecting something more, and was a tad underwhelmed when looking through their menu. The menu is quite simple, with less (both in terms of quantity and imagination) dishes compared to a typical vegetarian shophouse stall.

It is also crucial to take note that egg is lurking in many dishes at Jadeite. Even dishes such as 'Pork Chop Rice' contains egg in the mock meat. Luckily enough, the staff working there is intelligent enough to warn customers about this in advance. For most eateries (especially those run by aunties and uncles) they will be using mock meat with egg in a lot of their dishes (even those stalls that claim there is no egg in their food). Moreover, dishes such as wanton mee are again not suitable for those who can't take eggs. Make sure to ask, clarify, and double confirm.

First dish I picked was the Penang Kway Teow. Having lived in Penang for many months, eaten countless variants of kway teow, and learnt to cook the dish myself from Penang vegetarian cooks - I must say that this version is not authentic to how Penang kway teow should be. The key to Penang kway teow is the savoury salty taste and the abundance of dark sauce. This version did have suitable flavour, and was not as bland as its pale look might suggest. However, it needed more dark sauce (I don't believe any at all was added), chilli, and needed to be cooked on a more intense heat. Not a disaster, but not a true Penang kway teow either.

Price: $5.00. 6/10

I initially wanted to order the pork chop rice, but after finding out that it contained egg, I switched to the Sambal Fish Rice. The mock fish and the Chinese celery went very well together. The chilli had a good kick to it, but the sauce was too one dimensional for my liking. I enjoyed the fried cabbage.

Price: $5.50. 6/10

Lastly, we have the Chicken Cutlet Rice. The mock chicken used was the deep fried crunchy chicken style, which were coated in a sweet and sour style sauce, once again with white rice and fried cabbage. The sweet and sour sauce was decent enough, and I've always liked that chewy sinful mock chicken. Not much skill or creativity shown in the dish, but decent enough.

Price: $5.50. 6/10

Conclusion - The most captivating thing about this eatery is the branding. Describing itself as a 'traditional and modern vegetarian bistro' it certainly excites ones imagination. Bizarrely though, in reality this eatery is serving a basic menu, with simple dishes. Perhaps in the future they intend to expand the menu significantly, who knows. For now though, I wouldn't feel inspired to return again.

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

When it comes to Indian food, I would consider myself a connoisseur. I am willing to pay higher price for better quality genuine Indian food, and I will frequent only the best places. Considering just South Indian vegetarian food, there are a few excellent places that come to mind - Komala Vilas, MTR and Sri Laksmi Hocuspocuslalalareallylongname being the ones I rate most highly. But there is another one - Murugan Idli Shop. I reviewed Murugan back in 2009. But upon visiting again, I don't believe that review did them justice. Murugan was first conceptualized 45 years ago (then under the name Murugan Coffee Nilayam) in Mandurai, India selling coffee and snacks. Subsequently, 20 years later the owners son S. Manoharan took over the business (in 1991) and expanded. They now have 15 outlets in Chennai alone. Another three in Mandurai, one in Vellore and three in Singapore. For this review, I feature their most famous Singapore outlet on Syed Alwi Road - Enjoy!

Murugan Idli Shop
Location: 81 Syed Alwi Road
Contact: 62980858
Opening Hours: Daily 9.00am - 11.00pm

The menu offers a simple yet eclectic mix of South Indian food. For Buddhist vegetarians, take note that virtually everything on the menu contains onion/garlic. The prices are higher than most, but what you pay for is quality. If you're non-vegan then the ghee podi idli is a must try.

After placing your order, immediately your 'plate' is brought to you. The experience of eating South Indian food on a banana leaf with your right hand is one of life's true pleasures. The 'plate' is empty to begin with, then whatever you order is subsequently placed onto the banana leaf. Each banana leaf has Murugan's famous four chutneys. Consider this an outright threat, do not dare eat this food with fork and spoon, it is an insult to the food. Your right hand should be your only utensil if you want to enjoy and understand this cuisine to its fullest.

It would be a bit strange to go to Murugan Idli Shop and not order an Idli right? Idli is one of those Indian snacks that confuse me. In a cuisine so full of flavour and colour, idli is the one rare exception. It is virtually tasteless by itself, made from rice and black lentils, which is grounded, fermented and then steamed. The simplicity of this snack also make it one of the rare healthy Indian foods. Idli is best eaten by pinching off a piece and dipping it in each chutney, almost like a mad painter dunking his brush in the palette. Indian food does not celebrate individual flavours, it is more of firework display, where you get a bit of everything in every bite. The idli from Murugan is soft and delicate, and you can really feel the freshness. Idli is not my favourite Indian food, but there is no question that Murugan produce the best idli I have ever tried.

Price: $1.75/pc. 8/10

The main item that keeps me coming back to Murugan is actually their Masala Dosai. I've eaten a lot of dosai in my time, ranging from the hopeless and horrible to the exceptional. Murugan's masala dosai is the best I have ever eaten. There are two key components which make this one of the greatest dishes I've eaten. Firstly, the dosai batter and texture - A great dosai should have strong notes of sourness and saltiness. The sourness coming from the fermentation of the batter. Moreover, this dosai is the perfect texture, it is crispy, yet not too brittle, still having that glorious chewy texture. Secondly, the potato masala almost caused me to faint when consumed. The texture is creamy and thick, almost like mashed potato, and packed with flavour. This work of art, when combined with the four chutneys is the closest one can come to food nirvana.

Price: $4.70. 10/10

Here is a closer look at the colour and texture of the potato masala in the dosai - Just incredible. I ate three in one sitting last time I visited.

If you're looking for something a little more simple, you can opt for the Plain Dosai (although I would strongly recommend going for the masala version instead). As I previously mentioned, the texture of this dosai is perfect and I love the enhanced amount of sourness from the fermentation of the batter.

Price: $3.60. 8/10

Conclusion - Since my first review of Murugan almost six years ago, I must say that I was wrong about this place. Over the years, my ability to appreciate their offerings has grown, to the present point, where I would dare say they are one of the best vegetarian eateries in Singapore. Eateries like Murugan make me so thankful I live in Singapore and can experience all the multitude of different cuisines this country has to offer. If you have not visited Murugan, you owe it to yourself to experience it.

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

Many will remember a long long time ago, when HAM was just a baby, I did a couple of reviews on a restaurant called Forest Dew. One review back in 2009 and another in 2011. Well, fast-forward another three years since my last review, and things have indeed changed. Forest Dew is no more...In terms of the signage at least. This restaurant has been taken over by the owner of Zi Zai - Taking over eateries is somewhat of a hobby of his, as he has also recently acquired Mai Zhi Su in Ang Mo Kio as well. Who knows, maybe I will be getting an offer for him to take over Hungry Ang Mo soon too? Kidding aside, I went to Zi Zai interested to know what changes might have been made, whether for the better or worst - Let's find out...

Zi Zai Vegetarian
Location: #01-523 Blk 23 Bendemeer Road
Contact: 62939579
Opening Hours: Daily 10.30am-10.00pm.

One thing has clearly changed - The decor. The look and feel of the place is very similar to Zi Zai's latest brain child D'Life. As with D'Life, the decor is tremendous, a vast improvement compared to the old design. One thing missing (as with D'Life) is music, it would really bring more life into the place, and mask the sound of the wok. Interestingly, although the decor and name has changed, Zi Zai is using the same menu that Forest Dew used (it even still has the name Forest Dew on it).

First dish was the Green Curry Fried Rice. I was going back and forth on this dish. In terms of green curry, I've been a little spoilt recently, indulging in Chef Wai's mind-blowing green curry cod fish. So subconsciously my expectations are high, and thus this green curry rice didn't have enough kick for my liking. Having said that, I did find the rice was very well cooked and there was suitable green curry flavour in the rice.

Price: $7.00 (中). 6/10

One of the dishes the waitress highly recommended was the San Bei Tofu. The tofu was fried well, but frankly I didn't like the texture of the tofu itself. It had that weird almost jelly-like texture, which felt really artificial to me. The sauce was decent enough, but they should change tofu supplier. The most disappointing dish of the meal.

Price: $9.00. 6/10

I must admit, the urge to order anything green (except green curry) seldom goes into my head when eating out. Nevertheless, I kept an open mind for this Fried Water Cress, and I'm glad I did. This dish was easily the best of the meal. To me, there is only one way to enjoy Chinese vegetables, and that is fresh tze char style straight from the wok to the plate. This watercress had incredible flavour, and was cooked to the perfect texture. The sauce was not too overpowering, and I liked the addition of the small pieces of TVP. Definitely a dish I would recommend you order.

Price: $6.00. 8/10

Lastly, we have the Savory Brinjal. Eggplant is without a doubt one of my favourite ingredients, but I can't tolerate it when it's undercooked. To my relief, for this dish the eggplant was cooked just enough, verging on undercooked but still passable. Still, I would have enjoyed it more if it had that soft melt in the mouth texture. The sauce was strong and had just the right amount of spice.

Price: $7.00. 7/10

Conclusion - Zi Zai have recently sparked a lot of controversy for reasons I am not going to go into in this post. My objective opinion on purely the food is that it is a little hit and miss, but overall the food is at a better quality, compared with most vegetarian eateries. The staff (for my personal experience) were good and the decor is fantastic. Boon Keng/Bendemeer has a lot of options in terms of vegetarian, but Zi Zai is one I could see myself frequenting.

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

Anyone who opens a vegetarian/vegan eatery in Singapore is facing an uphill task, words can not describe what a difficult business F&B is. The gradient of this uphill task will be all the more steeper if one is to move next to an already successful vegetarian eatery. For Veganation, there is no question that moving within touching distance of Real Food is a daring move. Will they be able to pull it off? Let's find out...

Veganation
Location:6 Eu Tong Sen Street. The Central. #B1-40
Contact: 97977591
Opening Hours: Daily 11.30am - 8.00pm

Veganation are starting off small, it is a take away counter only, with no seating.

One of the people in charge is Timothy Williams, who for many months was under the tutelage of Hassan at Fill-a-Pita. He is even using Hassan's signature falafel pita on the Veganation menu.

The goal of Veganation is to cherry pick the signature dishes of many countries all over the world, and place them onto one menu. Currently the menu is quite simple, but there are dishes from Israel, Germany, Egypt, Vietnam, Mexico, Spain, USA and UK.

First dish I selected was the USA Burger. Overall this was the best dish I tried from Veganation. The lentil burger patty was soft and had just the right amount of firmness and the burger bun texture was better than what I expected. Inside the burger was lettuce, tomato, BBQ sauce, mustard and chilli sauce. Better sauces could have been used, instead of generic supermarket brands such as Masterfoods and Heinz. The lettuce could have been fresher as well.

Price: $6.00. 6/10

Next, a dish that is close to my heart UK Shepherds Pie. Obviously being from UK, this was a dish I recall eating frequently, especially during the colder winter months. Regrettably, I have to say this was a very poor rendition of shepherds pie. The flaws lie to two areas - Firstly, a good shepherds pie should be moist, not dry. I suspect the pie was left out for too long, hence the moisture from the potato was gone. Secondly, the pie seemed to have just one prominent flavour - Bitterness, which I was scratching my head as to where/how bitterness found its way into this dish. Oh, and it was cold too...

Price: $8.00. 2/10

Lastly, we have the Spanish Paella. Although not as bad as the shepherds pie, this dish was still a disappointment. Once again, it fell victim to being left out in the open for too long, so it was both cold and the moisture was sucked out of the food (this will happen if you leave rice exposed for too long, hence the invention of the 'keep warm' function on rice cookers) - Occasionally sprinkling water onto the rice would help to avoid this. Also this dish is a far cry from Spanish paella, which should be a potluck of different flavours and ingredients lurking inside. This dish more closely resembled tomato rice, and didn't warrant the $8 price tag.

Price: $8.00. 4/10

Conclusion - Veganation are still very new, so I am trying to be as gentle as I can in this review. Timothy seems like a friendly and dedicated individual, so it does pain me to say frankly that the food is not up to scratch. I think Timothy and his colleagues need to learn the basic fundamentals of the dishes they are producing first, and if the culinary expertise/skill is not strong, then keep things simple - This is the key to success of eateries like Fill-a-Pita. Franchising a second Fill-a-Pita stall at this location would have been a better idea...

Overall Rating
Food - 4/10
Ambiance- N/A
Service - 8/10
Value - 4/10

I am back again to review another new face from 2015. Nomvnom is a vegan restaurant specializing in burgers and fast food. Hold on, wasn't there another vegan fast food burger eatery in Singapore? Yes, Vegan Burg. Hold on again, weren't Vegan Burg previously located at this exact same address? Indeed they were. If you feel skeptical about these two apparent coincidences, you would be right. Nomvnom is a 100% vegan eatery, with no onion or garlic in any of their food.

Nomvnom
Location: 50 Market Street, Golden Shoe Car Park, #01-28D
Contact: 97526125
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 10.30am - 8.30pm

Nomvnom was created by Ng Wai Lek, who was previously the manager/director at - Wait for it - Vegan Burg. This is, of course, a shining example of the ugliness of business, and how the golden rule applies to anything and everything in life - Don't trust anyone. Either that, or use black and white paperwork to your advantage. A none compete clause (NCC) being the best way to prevent your staff from copying your concept. I'm not going to go into the details of the blow by blow between Vegan Burg and Nomvnom, but needless to say it is not pretty.

The Nomvnom poster displays a number interesting points about their food - No MSG, no egg, no trans fats, no onion/garlic ~~and no original concept~~. To be fair, I did like how the burgers combined a worldwide spectrum of flavours, such as kimchi, hummus, daal, truffle and otak. But how well do these flavours match in burgers? Lets find out...

Here is a look at the complete menu.

Similarly to Vegan Burg, you can order the burgers as a set meal or individually by themselves.

I picked out the Truffle Fries to start my meal. Truffle fries have become one of Singapore's latest culinary trends over the last few years, although to be frank, most the truffle fries I've tried in Singapore are utter garbage, with super low quality rancid tasting truffle oil being used. Nomvnom decided to take a slightly different approach. Instead of tossing the fries in truffle oil, they instead added a truffle sauce on the side for you to dip the fries into.

Here is the truffle sauce which accompanies the fries. I must say the sauce itself was well done, with a distinctive strong truffle flavour.

Price: $5.90. 7/10

Sweet Potato Fries are also available.

Price: $4.50. 7/10

The first burger that I tried was the Mammoth Truffle. I like the idea of using truffle sauce and double patty in a burger, and the flavours matched quite well together. One key mistake Nomvnom has made (in comparison to Vegan Burg) is their bread. Burgers need a bread that has a degree of firmness to it, otherwise it will wilt under the weight of the ingredients, and what you will get is a mess. Nomvnom have opted to go with the soft delicate Asian style of bread making, which really can't work for burgers. One bite and it was almost like the food version of Jenga, with all the ingredients slipping/falling everywhere - This is how important bread is! I also tried the potato croquette burger, which I forgot to photograph and had the same problems with that burger. This burger has potential when the bread is altered. The truffle sauce can be reduced also, as the sauce is also guilty of making it messy. This burger is the nightmare meal for a first date!

Price: $12.50. 6/10

The one burger I tried which was the easiest to eat was the Nom Nom burger. The nom nom burger is the most basic burger, but it was the one I enjoyed the most. As mentioned, I didn't have to fight to keep all the ingredients from falling out of the burger, and the taste of the patty was enjoyable. This is the burger I would order again next visit.

Price: $5.50. 7/10

Conclusion - Is there anyone reading this post that cares about business ethics (unless it concerns themselves)?...Nope, didn't think so - In which case, I do recommend checking out Nomvnom. Some improvements need to be made in their burgers, but it seems like they are on the right track overall. Vegan Burg was once the most talked about and successful vegan/vegetarian eatery in Singapore for a reason, and their food was not one of the big reasons. Vegan Burg thrived due to brilliant marketing and promotion of their brand, and really over-achieved when you see their product. Nomvnom are going to be facing a Everest-esque climb to reach that level...

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

This review will be a quick one purely for documentation sake. Wang Jiao is a eggless vegetarian stall located at the famous block 14 Haig Road hawker centre. Why is this hawker centre so famous? Well, mainly for one particular stall - Haig Road Traditional Putu Piring. In fact, this stall was also my primary reason for heading to this hawker. For those unaware, putu piring is basically the Malay version of tutu kueh. But instead of coconut/peanut as the filing, there is gula melaka.

Wang Jiao Vegetarian Food
Location:14 Haig Road, #01-35
Contact: None
Opening Hours: Daily 6.00am - 8.00pm. Closed Wednesday.

Wang Jiao is run by one ah beng style uncle who is selling the typical vegetarian hawker dishes. I admire the hard working nature of this uncle, who works an incredible 14 hours per day, with only one off day per week. It is a pleasant surprise, considering how most vegetarian hawkers are KO-ed by 1pm.

First dish I sampled was the Fried Rice. I must confess, 80% of the vegetarian hawker food I eat looks the same, tastes the same and costs the same. So it is difficult for me to write in great detail about such trite tasting food. I desperately crave to find another Chef Wai, cooks who actually venture outside of the box and display unique talent. This fried rice had a little too much cabbage for my liking, but the flavour was acceptable.

Price: $3.00. 6/10

Next dish was the Hong Kong Noodle. When I first ordered this dish, I recollected back to Miao Shan vegetarian at Serangoon, who do a brilliant Hong Kong noodle. This dish had a bit too much cabbage once again.

Price: $3.00. 6/10

Conclusion - This stall is the only vegetarian eatery inside this hawker centre, so if you somehow find yourself in this vicinity then this stall will be your only option. The food was not bad overall, but at the same time quite forgettable. I was more captivated by the putu piring.

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

Best Vegetarian Bee Hoon in Singapore

If you ask any non-vegetarian Singaporean what is the first thing they think of when one says 'vegetarian' - Usually their answer will be 'vegetarian bee hoon'. This answer often frustrates me, because vegetarian food is so much more than just bee hoon. There are literally thousands of glorious vegetarian dishes which one could indulge in, in Singapore alone - Not to mention the rest of the world.

With that being said, for those who like vegetarian bee hoon, this post should be exactly what you are looking for. If you want the best quality bee hoon in Singapore, then these places below are where you should be going:-

4th. Hong Nian Vegetarian Food (full review HERE)

I heard good things about Hong Nian Vegetarian and their bee hoon, and the long queue next to the stall left me feeling very optimistic. Unfortunately, I have to say out of the many famous vegetarian bee hoon stalls, this was the one which left me most baffled about its apparent popularity. I didn't find the aroma of the bee hoon nor the dishes to be anything special.

Price: $3.00
Rating: 6/10
Worth Queuing?: No

3rd. Bao Bao Vegetarian (full review HERE)

Bao Bao is certainly a marked improvement on Hong Nian - Their dishes are well cooked and seasoned, and the bee hoon and chilli are both very enjoyable. What is even more amazing is the speed in which the workers at Bao Bao operate. The auntie in charge of plating can produce a completed plate in literally less than 10 seconds. Not sensational, but certainly above average and worth visiting.

Price: $2.50
Rating: 8/10
Worth Queuing?:Yes

2nd. Keat Lim Vegetarian Food (full review HERE)

Keat Lim would rank as my second favourite. The white bee hoon is light and fluffy, and is accompanied by a quite wonderful selection of dishes. Moreover, this stall gets less traffic compared with the aforementioned Bao Bao and the soon to be mentioned Ruyi Yuan. So that will obviously mean that queuing time will not be as long, if you're in a rush. Only downside to this place is the price, easily the most expensive bee hoon in Singapore.

Price: $4.00
Rating: 8/10
Worth Queuing?:Yes

1st. Ruyi Yuan Vegetarian (full review HERE)

For my money, there is only one stall in Singapore that produces vegetarian bee hoon that is really out of this world, and that is Ruyi Yuan. Ruyi Yuan have three outlets in total in Singapore, but you must visit their original 30+ year old stall at Redhill, the other stalls can't match the standards of the original. The key to the success of Ruyi Yuan is how they cook the bee hoon. They manage to capture superb wok hei flavour inside, which is so delicious I can just eat the bee hoon alone by itself. Luckily though, Ruyi Yuan also have a plethora of amazingly sinful dishes that can go along with the bee hoon. Wash this dish down with a hot teh-o and you will be in heaven!

Price: $3.00
Rating: 10/10
Worth Queuing?: Yes

Have I missed any out? If you feel there is a great vegetarian bee hoon I have yet to review, please leave in the comments below and I will be sure to check it out!

It was around 18 months ago that I posted my first review of GreenDot's original outlet (excluding their school outlets) at the newly opened (at that time) Bedok Mall. Well, fast-forward 12 months and GreenDot have struck again at another brand new mall. It must be said, GreenDot choose their locations very intelligently, which allows them to thrive. Paya Lebar Square is still not running at 100% yet, but it is sure to be a mall with high traffic in the future. Another big difference is the size. GreenDot at Bedok Mall may rank as the smallest (per square feet) vegetarian eatery in Singapore - So it seems they have over-compensated for this by opening a large establishment this time around.

GreenDot
Location: #02-15/16/17, 60 Paya Lebar Road, Paya Lebar Square
Contact: 67022221
Opening Hours: Daily 8.00am-10.00pm

Things have not changed that much in terms of the menu, compared with the Bedok Mall outlet. The dishes are all fundamentally the same, with a few new additions finding their way onto the menu.

A look at more food options on the screen.

The GreenDot menu is clean and simple, but once again they have neglected to highlight which dishes are vegan (or even contain eggs) - This is a problem I already highlighted back in my 2013 review. Apart from this, the menu reads well. Foolishly, many restaurant owners will say 'I'm not targeting 'vegans', so why should I label for them?' - Such misguided owners need to understand that firstly, egg is considered strictly non-vegetarian to many who are living in Singapore; and secondly, it is surely best to avoid the amount of potential conflict and frustration amongst customers and be transparent about the contents of the dishes you are selling.

At the main counter of the restaurant one can find all the pots of food for the bento set. I was pleased to see that some labeling was done, highlighting which dishes contain egg, milk etc. But still, it is the menu which needs this labeling so crucially.

The Customized Bento is what GreenDot are featuring most heavily on their menu, but customers are definitely going to complain about pricing here. For what is essentially a shrunken version of economic rice, the price is way too high, especially as the food can barely fill a mouse on a diet - The plating doesn't help (the black container actually looks like it is designed for sauces, not food), as it highlights just how meager the portions are. On the positive side, the dishes have improved from when I tried them at Bedok Mall (I still vividly remember the raw eggplant they sold to me at Bedok). The quality of their brown rice was good, but overall I am really not attracted to the idea of spending $8 for small portions of economic rice. It could be improved by having it in the form of a real bento, with fruits, salad and other various goodies in all the compartments.

Price: $7.90. 4/10

Ordering burgers at GreenDot is walking through a minefield of egg, cheese and milk, but I eventually figured out that ordering the Black Pepper Burger (asking for no cheese and mayo) was safe for vegan consumption. Starting with the positives, the mock meat patty was good, and I found this meal to be far better value than the bento set. I would, however, like to see ingredients with more character added into the burger - Instead of cucumber and decaying lettuce, which adds nothing, something like diced gherkin would add another layer of flavour. The black pepper sauce was also quite bland and flavourless - I like my black pepper sauce to have more of a kick.

Price: $6.90. 5/10

Conclusion - GreenDot is a second generation F&B establishment (the father is the owner of Lotus Vegetarian), so I am sure plenty of help has been given to ensure GreenDot flourishes. I like the branding and concept behind GreenDot, and it is encouraging to see a vegetarian eatery expand. However, talking strictly in terms of the food, I haven't eaten anything that impressed me in the slightest from GreenDot. If you're looking for more affordable vegetarian cuisine, the famous Xuan Miao Vegan stall has recently shifted from Circuit Rd to B1-51 of Paya Lebar Square, so there are now two vegetarian options within this shopping centre.

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

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Nature Cafe - Jurong East

Jadeite Vegetarian - Bugis

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Zi Zai Vegetarian - Boon Keng

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Nomvnom - Raffles Place

Wang Jiao Vegetarian Food - Paya Lebar

Best Vegetarian Bee Hoon in Singapore

GreenDot - Paya Lebar

Pun Pun Vegetarian Wat Suan Dok - Chiang Mai, Thailand

Pun Pun Restaurant Airport - Chiang Mai, Thailand

Vegetarian Society Chiang Mai - Chiang Mai, Thailand

Anchan Vegetarian Restaurant - Chiang Mai, Thailand

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Amrita Garden - Chiang Mai, Thailand

Free Bird Cafe - Chiang Mai, Thailand

Happy Green Restaurant - Chiang Mai, Thailand

Manna Best Mango Sticky Rice in Thailand - Chiang Mai, Thailand