Hungry Ang Mo | Food Blogger | Vegan

I doubt anyone within the vegetarian community of Singapore would rank Boon Keng as an area of significance, when it comes to good food. Well, your reliable masalai blogger can tell you the newly renovated Boon Keng hawker centre is quite a haven for vegetarian food, with a impressive four stalls in one hawker centre. The bad news, most of them seem to be constantly closed. The focus of todays review will be Jian Kang, which is seemingly rarely opening in the evenings, unfortunately precise opening times I have yet to find out.

Jian Kang Vegetarian Food
Location: Blk 31 Bendemeer Road
Contact: Unknown
Opening Hours: Unknown

The first dish up for review is the Kway Chap. It is important to distinguish between this style of kway chap (pictured) and the more traditional style. This type is simply all the ingredients thrown together in a single bowl. The more traditional style (best traditional kway chap in Singapore - here) has a separate plate with the mock meat/tofu/salted vegetables and then the bowl of soup and kway separate. Personally, I prefer the latter style, but nevertheless I found this dish to be acceptable.

Price: $3.00. 6/10

As I was eating alone, I couldn't manage to order anymore food. Nevertheless, I packeted the Duck Rice and ate later. I was glad that I did da bao this dish, as it was fully satisfying. Starting with the rice, it was neither too hard or soft, and had superb flavour. The two main ingredients were thinly sliced tofu and mock duck meat (derived from mushroom stems) - Both of which were juicy. To top it off, there is fresh coriander sprinkled on top, which adds top notch fresh flavour to the dish.

Price: $3.50. 8/10

Conclusion - This will be my first in a series of reviews from this hawker centre. Certainly this stall exceeded my expectations. It has a delicious duck rice, which I would hesitate to order again. Could the imperious Boon Keng be the new Fortune Centre? Well, I wouldn't go that far. But it is great to see a blossoming of vegetarian eateries in this once deserted area.

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

I have received a never ending stream of emails, comments and tweets urging me to visit this new and exciting vegetarian restaurant named Cafe de Paradiso. Straight off the bat, the biggest deterrent (and main reason it took me so long to formulate this review) for visiting this establishment, is that it is located in the middle of nowhere. Tradehub 21 is impossible to get to by train and only a few buses go past it. Therefore it took me by surprise to see that business is seemingly going quite well for this restaurant, with a decent number of customers lurking inside, when I visited.

Cafe de Paradiso
Location: 8 Boon Lay Way, #01-29 Tradehub 21
Contact: 65159873
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 10.30am-9.30pm & Sat-Sun 8.30am-9.30pm

Cafe de Paradiso offers customers a detailed menu, with predominantly Western, Chinese and Japanese dishes on offer. Price wise, I would have to rank this establishment on the high end. The ambiance of the restaurant is fresh and new, yet sophisticated at the same time. The Western section of this menu is a vegans nightmare, with almost every dish containing a dairy product of some description.

Don't let the picture fool you, this is not olive fried rice, instead it is Japanese-Style Seaweed Fried Rice. The dish is an acceptable size, with good contrast between the slightly sweet pork floss and the subtly salty seaweed. Other ingredients that can be found include button mushrooms, diced mock ham and thinly cut long beans. The balance between sweet and salt was perfect in this dish, but what was lacking was any aroma. An excellent fried rice simply must have the aroma of the wok (wok hai) within the dish. This dish was unfortunately lacking in that respect.

Price: $5.50. 6/10

To accompany my rice, I went with the Pi Pa Mock Duck. This dish (like many at Cafe de Paradiso) comes in three sizes (I purchased the smallest). The most outstanding aspect of this dish is the rich and succulent dark sauce. It matches perfectly with the mock meat, and is neither too over-powering nor too bland. Additionally, the amount of sauce used was just ideal. The mock meat had a tender and juicy texture, although I was disappointed with the 'skin' of the meat - The texture was crumbly and brittle. I would have preferred to have had a tougher and more chewy texture. The salad that accompanies it is the same trite tomato, lettuce and cucumber - A little more originality needed in that regard. Could be a perfect dish if a few tweaks are made.

Price: $9.00. 7/10

Conclusion - Aside from the horrid geographical location of this restaurant, I found my experience at Cafe de Paradiso to be a satisfying one overall. My wallet, on the other hand, found it to be a slightly torturous affair. The prices are definitely steep here - My bill coming to almost $15 (I was eating alone). The dishes still have some minor improvements that need to be made to them, but I believe that Cafe de Paradiso is on the right path. A place to certainly consider visiting, if you don't mind the traveling distance.

Overall Rating
Food - 7/10
Ambiance- 8/10
Service - 6/10
Value - 4/10

One of my most fondest culinary experiences from my trip to Taiwan is certainly Lu Rou Fan (滷肉飯). This dish can be described in more simpler terms as minced 'meat' rice. It reminds me very much of chicken rice - It is, in essence, a very simple dish, with only a few ingredients, but, if everything is not done perfectly, then the entire dish can be ruined. Preparation won't take too long, and the cooking is not very complex. With that being said, you must avoid making the dish too greasy, the rice must be firm, and the rice shouldn't become a quagmire of sauce.

Ingredients:-
Mock Minced Meat - 500 grams (you can use TVP or other soy type granules)
Shallots, minced (6 pieces)
Garlic, minced (5 cloves)
Vegetarian Oyster Sauce (3 tbs)
Dark Soy Sauce (4 tbs)
Light Soy Sauce (3 tbs)
Sesame Oil (2 tsp)
Taiwanese Basil, finely chopped (1 bunch)
Dried Chinese Mushrooms, rehydrated with liquid reserved (5 large caps)
Ginger, smashed (1 knob)
Rice Wine Vinegar (2 tsp)
Five Spice Powder (3 tsp)

Instructions
1) Saute Shallots, Ginger and Garlic in oil until the shallots turn translucent.
2) Add in Taiwanese Basil and finely diced Mushrooms, stir fry till the mushrooms lose a little of its moisture and becomes fragrant.
3) Add Mock Minced Meat to the mixture and stir fry till it browns.
4) Put in the remaining ingredients and add enough water to cover the entire mixture (or more if you would like more sauce)
4) Bring the stew to a boil and let it simmer for 15mins.
5) Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking. I like to coat the bowl with 1 tsp of sesame oil, scoop some rice and layer the stew on top together with some steamed bok choy.

Recipe and preparation by Shanel Yip

Vegetarian Era continues its quest to take over the island of Singapore with the launch of its third outlet. This outlet being just a stones throw away from Eunos MRT. A brand new theme of nyonya/peranakan food is bestowed to this stall, with a total of 19 dishes on offer. Peranakan can be explained simply as the fusion between Chinese and Malay cooking, with heavy reliance on rich coconut cream and distinct ingredients, such as galangal and tamarind. The trademark black background of the stall welcomes customers.

Vegetarian Era
Location: Blk 7, Eunos Crescent
Contact: 96109123
Opening Hours: Daily 7.00am - 10.00pm

Upon gazing at the new menu, I was spoilt for choice. Vegetarian Era is known for having only eight dishes at the Hougang and Ang Mo Kio outlets. However, as peranakan cuisine is so vast and diverse, chef Henry decided to expand it to include many more specialties. The first thing that should strike customers about this menu is the incredibly low prices. As these are specialty restaurant-style dishes, it is outstanding that the most expensive dish on the menu is only $3.50.

The first credit worthy comment I have about Vegetarian Era, is that all the claypot dishes have the food actually cooked inside the claypot - Unlike most eateries that merely scoop the cooked food into the claypot then serve. Due to this method, the flavour in dishes such as this Opar Goreng are really enhanced. The richness of coconut cream is balanced perfectly in this dish, and I was pleased to discover that the spice level was very subtle. The mock meat was charred nicely, and the shimmer of turmeric flavour inside kept me coming back for more and more.

Price: $3.50. 9/10

The next dish replicates the Taiwan classic chou dou fu (stinky tofu) - But without the chou (stink 臭). Of course, Singapore restricts stalls from selling stinky tofu, nevertheless this Fragrant Tahu is delicious in its own right. The tofu itself is marinated in a special sauce for two days prior to frying. Due to this length of soaking, the flavour of the sauce really seeps deep into the tofu, which causes it to burst with flavour upon consuming - Delicious! The cabbage and carrot pickle is identical to the type one would typically expect to accompany stinky tofu. This dish is chef Henry's personal favourite.

Price: $3.00. 8/10

The dish I am predicting will be most popular at Vegetarian Era Eunos will certainly be the Pong Tahu Mee, this dish, which can also be referred to as prawn noodle, can be eaten dry or in a soup (pictured is the dry version). Thankfully there are no horrid jelly textured mock prawns inside. Instead, there are two mock meat balls. This dish had a perfect amount of vinegar inside. One interested element is the vegan 'pork lard', which is just like the real thing, it is made from dried soy and cabbage (to simulate fried shallots). At only $2.80 you can't really go wrong with this dish.

Price: $2.80. 9/10

I saved my personal favourite for the last - This is the Rawan Rendang. Two of the key ingredients in conventional rendang are shallots and garlic - Therefore I was amazed that the chef manage to replicate the flavour exactly, without using these two ingredients. The price of this dish is incredibly low. Whole Earth, for example, sells a similar sized portion of rendang for a massive $15, and personally I think the quality of the rendang at Vegetarian Era is way better. The mock meat is very authentic, the only downside being that it is derived from gluten, which is not the most healthy ingredient in the world.

Price: $3.50. 10/10

Conclusion - With prices of food seemingly ever increasing in Singapore, I find it sensational how reasonable the prices at Vegetarian Era are. This is literally the best value eatery I have ever sampled in Singapore. The dishes are almost perfect, perhaps a couple of dishes were a tad too heavy on salt, but other than that I can't think of any fault. For anyone who loves food - You simply must visit this place.

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

I am always pleased by the stream of comments and emails I receive suggesting I visit somewhere and sample a certain famous dish. In turn, I do my best to oblige to all suggestions, whenever possible. Ji Xiang is a place suggested to me by a reader a while back, due to their well known carrot cake dish. Unless you live close by, this is certainly not an easy place to get to, although it is conceivable to walk from Chinese Gardens MRT - If you're a brisk walker like myself, it will take you around 10 minutes. Enough small talk, lets examine Ji Xiang's offerings...

Ji Xiang Vegetarian Food
Location: Blk 221, Jurong East Street 21
Contact: Unknown
Opening Hours: Daily 7.00am-2.30pm & 5.30pm-8.30pm

If the Carrot Cake is the dish synnomous with this stall, then it would be foolish for me not to try it. Carrot cake comes in two forms, white (bai se 白色) and black (hai se 黑色). I usually tend to go for the black variety as the flavour is stronger, hence more to my preference. This version had decent flavour, but I was disappointed by the large pieces of carrot cake. Smaller pieces allow the flavour to be more distributed, instead of a huge bland piece.

Price: $2.50. 6/10

The Chicken Rice on offer consists of three mock ham slices, mock chicken derived from beancurd sheets, a couple of pieces of cucumber and rice. The rice was quite firm in texture - I am certainly someone who prefers my rice very hard. But if you prefer softer rice, then this dish may not match your preference. The bean curd sheets and rice both had good flavour. However I was unhappy to discover that the orange chicken rice chili was absent from the dish. Not perfect, but a pleasing dish overall.

Price: $2.50. 7/10

Conclusion - The staff from this humble little stall are friendly, and seem proud of the food they have on offer. Overall, I enjoyed the food from this stall, and (if I stayed closer) would consider returning again to sample more of their dishes.

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

After reading Vegan Ash's critical post on the Vegan Burg delivery service. I decided to use myself as the living litmus test, to see if Vegan Burg have learned their lesson on poor customer communication, poor internal communication and poor time management. This is not my first time ordering delivery with Vegan Burg, in the past I have had mixed feelings - Both in terms of the delivery quality (usually never coming on time), and the food quality, which I will elaborate on more below...

Vegan Burg
Location: 44 Jalan Eunos
Contact: 68446868
Opening Hours: Daily 11:00am-9:30pm (Excluding Public Holidays)

Upon placing my order on the phone, I requested for the food to be delivered at 8.30pm. At 6.25pm, to my shock/confusion I heard my intercom ringing. Sure enough, it was the delivery man, inexplicably two hours early! I called the hot-line once again to ask what caused this mix-up, the staff member could only apologize, without being able to give any justifiable reason. In terms of the quality of the burgers, the quality is vastly different from what you receive at the restaurants. Burgers are something that are best served fresh. Therefore containing it in thermal carrier bag (especially when they are so often late) is inevitably going to make the burger buns a little soggy and stale.

Conclusion - The only impartial verdict I can come to from my experience with delivery orders from Vegan Burg is, it is simply not worth the time and trouble. I am not a particularly picky person, therefore if the delivery man is 20 minutes early/late I will just smile and accept. However, when we move into hours early/late, then it can only be describe as sheer incompetence in service. I didn't receive the same apathetic attitude from the staff that Ashley got, but the inconsistent and unreliable service is enough for me to join Ashley in her stand of abstinence from the delivery service at Vegan Burg. I will give Vegan Burg all the credit in the world, they have risen to a level of success, that even whatever the Hungry Ang Mo writes, it will not severely effect their success - Therefore, all I can do is simply hope that things improve in the future.

Overall Rating
Food - 5/10
Ambiance-N/A
Service - 2/10
Value - 5/10

A reader by the name of Li contacted me over a year ago now (sorry it took so long, Li) urging me to try the chicken rice from Fo Lai Ping, a stand-alone 100% vegetarian eatery, located just outside from Braddell MRT. The eatery is pretty quiet during the lunch time period, with a inconspicuous bunch of senior uncles vegetating together on the nearby seats. I exclaimed ''ah jek, wa a sai chiam ka jit hoon?'' and joined them for a quick bite to eat...

Fo Lai Ping Vegetarian
Location: Blk 107, Toa Payoh Lor 1
Contact: 63580107
Opening Hours: Daily 7.00am - 9.00pm

Fo Lai Ping has a list of daily specials. As you can see, the chicken rice is only available on Fridays. The chicken rice is available in both white fleshed (steamed chicken) and fried chicken varieties, which I will go into more detail on below. As well as these daily specials, there are 10-15 other dishes that are available on a regular basis, in additional, also, to economic brown or white rice dishes.

Starting first with the regular Chicken Rice, I was a little perplexed as to the inclusion of ladyfingers in this dish. Traditionally, chicken rice should be served with uncooked cucumber and tomato. The ladyfingers tasted good, but felt out of place. The mock chicken was crunchy and flavourful, but the texture felt a little flat and tough for my liking. The rice and soup were both commendable, but the rice needed the black soy sauce, which was inexplicably absent. Overall an average dish, lets see if the second version of chicken rice was better...

Price: $3.00. 6/10

I am calling this dish White Chicken Rice, as I usually refer to it as bai ji fan 白鸡饭 when ordering. It is, in fact, a variant of chicken rice that is meant to replicate steamed chicken - Li Wei in Serangoon do a superb version of it. Fo Lai Ping's version overall disappointed me. Yet again, there was no black soy sauce in this dish. Moreover, the mock chicken was extremely soggy and almost disintegrated upon consumption. The texture and flavour of the rice was the high point, but the other elements of the dish really let it down.

Price: $3.00. 6/10

Conclusion - Well, the chicken rice was not even close to the best that I have tried. I maintain once more, if you wish for truly sensational chicken rice, then there is only really one choice - Li Wei Vegetarian. With that being said, it is nice to find out about another vegetarian eatery, and perhaps the other dishes they have on offer are of a higher standard compared with the chicken rice.

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

For this review, I had to be drugged, handcuffed and dragged against my will, back to Clarke Quay. I awoke, feeling dizzy and unable to walk in a straight line (so pretty similar to most people in Clarke Quay on a weekend). The reason for my visit was the sample the special Christmas dinner at Genesis, which is available over the festive period. The restaurant itself is run by 7th day adventists, a unique small minority of Christians that do practice vegetarianism (well, at least a proportion of them do). My personal spiritual inclination is more towards pure land mahayana Buddhism - But, it is great to see there are sub-sectors of other religions that do practice a meat-free lifestyle.

Genesis Vegetarian Health Food Restaurant
Location: 1 Lorong Telok
Contact: 64387118
Opening Hours: Mon-Thur 8am-8pm, Fri and Sun 8am-3pm. Closed Saturday

Personally, my biggest highlight of Christmas (when I was mentally decaying in a black cloud of misery in England) was my mothers notorious dinner. Although to Eastern tastes, it may seem too stodgy, dry and carb heavy - For me, it was pure bliss. My first concern when ordering Western food in Singapore, is that the chef won't understand how the dish should be traditionally made, and therefore may resort to mutating it into some mismatched Western-Asian fusion meal. So lets find out if that was the case here...

The Christmas Special meal is certainly not cheap, and perhaps is guilty of not giving enough content, to justify the price. Critics may also find it too dry. There is a small saucer of cranberry sauce (which was tangy and delicious), but personally a Christmas dinner is incomplete without a rich gravy. Moreover, the roasted potatoes needed a more crunchy outer skin. The roasted garlic was divine, though. The turkey was stuffed well with a variety of ingredients, and wrapped in a thin beancurd sheet, but again, really needed a good gravy to support it. Admittedly, I am very 挑剔 (picky) when it comes to this meal, so perhaps I am a little too critical. The meal does have high points, but I think with a little more research of the traditions of the meal, it would result in a better end result.

Price: $14.90. 6/10

Conclusion - Is it as good as my mums famous festive dinner? No. Perhaps I was expecting a little too much, and I am sure for most people this would be a satisfying meal. For myself though, I can't help but compare with what I traditional expect from this holiday meal. One thing I am sure people ordering this dish will agree upon, is that more content is needed for the price, or if not, then a reduction in price.

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

I take no greater pleasure than roaming around obscure HDB neighbourhoods, rummaging around to see what shops and stalls are lurking in the void deck area. Beano, created by ex-banker Alan Yoon in 2004, was once of those places I bumped into on one of my meaningless voyages. Since its conception, it has developed a die-hard cult fan base in Singapore, especially for its infamous durian pudding and fresh soy milk. Presently, there is only one outlet in Singapore - Perhaps the franchise might expand in the future.

Beano
Location: Blk 6, Everton Park, #01-16
Contact: 98527900
Opening Hours: Daily 8.00am - 8.30pm

The shop itself is incredibly small, with the majority of the foods being stocked in a fridge. Also on sale are random items, such as steamed bao, kueh lapis and curry puff. Almost everything (except perhaps the curry puff) is vegetarian. However, vegans beware some of the puddings (such as bandung) contain milk. Price wise, everything is pretty reasonable, with pretty much nothing costing over $1.50.

Pictured is the bounty that I extracted from Beano. Without question, the highlight was the D24 Durian Pudding, which was rich and thick, and had a strong and aromatic durian flavour. Of course, if you're not on the durian bandwagon, then this will not appeal to you. But personally (as a durian addict), this was incredibly delicious for me. The Beano Beancurd and Beano Soymilk were both very smooth and had a nice rich soya flavour.

Durian Pudding $1.00.     9/10
Soy Milk $1.10.     7/10
Original Beancurd $1.50.     7/10

Conclusion - It is small family run shops, hidden in dilapidated HDB's, that still are a lasting reminder that Singapore does have some culture remaining. I always have a lingering regret, that I never lived in Singapore 30-40 years ago, when the way of life was much slower, the amount of people lesser, and the country had much more of an identity. Therefore, visiting places like Beano, give me that satisfaction of seeing somewhere that wouldn't be out of place in 1970's Singapore. Of course, this is supported by delicious food - Best of which is definitely the durian pudding.

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

Followers of my blog will know that I am a great supporter of the vegetarian offerings along Syed Alwi Road. With that being said, the different (lesser known) Little India streets also offer suitable reasons to visit. Norris Road, for example, has a number of very cheap and authentic Indian eateries. Mani Iyer Mess is one that has recently cropped up. The restaurant is hardly non-Indian customer friendly, with a non-English alphabet menu on the wall. During the afternoon they sell only white rice or briyani set meals, with more options becoming available in the evenings. This place is 100% vegetarian.

Mani Iyer Mess
Location: 21 Norris Road
Contact: Unknown
Opening Hours: Unknown

Upon entering I asked 'do you have bhattura?', to which the waiter replied 'the bathroom is there'. Lost in translation. Since I didn't fancy eating the bathroom, I decided to opt for the Briyani Set Meal. When ordering meals like this, you must be aware that at any point in time, you can request for the dishes to be replenished. Therefore, in reality, this is an unlimited buffet-style set meal. All the food from this eatery had very strong turmeric flavour. Turmeric is usually a background spice in Indian cooking. However, for this case, the turmeric flavour was very profound. The dishes were flavourful and not too salty - But, I found the spice level a little too harsh. Price wise it represents terrific value for money.

Price: $5.00. 7/10

Conclusion - If you're looking to experience truly authentic South Indian 'home style' cooking, then I can assure you that Mani Iyer Mess is definitely a place to visit. As I mentioned at the beginning of this review - This may not be somewhere a non-Indian will feel comfortable, for many reasons. But I encourage everyone reading this, to have an open mind and give it a go!

Overall Rating
Food - 7/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 5/10
Value - 8/10

Miao Cheng is a Chinese vegetarian stall that has gained a steady following amongst the local vegetarian residents of Braddell. Offering a heady array of dishes, customers may take some time deliberating, before eventually settling on a decision. One side note, before I begin - On the left hand side of this picture, there is a coffee stall that sells the best ice lemon tea that I've had so far in Singapore. While waiting for your food, scream ''uncle! gei wo yi bei ning meng cha bing!'' and this cold cup of cooling tea will be coming your way.

Miao Cheng Vegetarian
Location: Blk 127 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh, #02-07
Contact: Unknown
Opening Hours: Daily Breakfast and Lunch

I was already stuffed from a different food escapade earlier that day, but my stomach could just about manage a bowl of delicious Kway Chap. Although I was no longer in any mood to eat, I still found this dish tasty and satisfying. The red chili was sour and not too spicy, the kway had a firm yet fragile thin texture (perfect). The soup was rich, yet not too over-powering. Also lurking within the opaque soup was beancurd and mock intestines. Overall, one of the more impressive versions of kway chap that I have sampled in Singapore.

Price: $2.50. 8/10

Conclusion - There are many more dishes on offer at this small little stall, with regret, I simply couldn't fit anything else into my stomach. So, to my beloved readers, help me to sample more different dishes from Miao Cheng and let me know what you think. I have no question that the kway chap was excellent, certainly a dish I would order again, if I returned.

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

Shan Yuan is another stall that is nestled in an extremely vegetarian friendly hawker centre, just outside exit B of Boon Keng MRT. There are over five vegetarian stalls all a stones throw away from each other. There are two downsides, however. Firstly, the opening times of all the stalls are extremely unreliable (I have faced a situation where at 6pm all the stalls where inexplicably closed). Secondly, they all more or less sell the same conventional stereotypical Chinese vegetarian food. Sigh, how I long for something with a little more unique, sometimes.

Shan Yuan Vegetarian
Location: #01-41, Blk 31 Bendemeer Road
Contact: Unknown
Opening Hours: Closed on Tuesdays

The first dish to greet my assessment table of doom was the Kway Chap. There are a few laudable aspects to this dish - Namely, the flavourful (yet subtle) soup, and the nicely marinated tofu. What I took less kindly too was the kway. The texture was almost right, but required a little more firmness. Ultimately the kway was too brittle, and disintegrated when picked up.

Price: $2.50. 6/10

The next dish I packeted was the Fried Rice. For vegans, do make sure to highlight that you don't want eggs in the rice. The rice itself did have pretty good flavour, although there were one too many beansprouts inside for my liking. Beansprouts I associate more with noodle dishes, rather than rice. To make up for the egg, that I asked to be excluded, they added in tofu, which added a perfect substitute for the egg. Those hideous mock seafood jelly 'meats' unfortunately found there way into the packet - All vegetarian stalls really need to stop using that garbage, not only is it unhealthy, it also gives vegetarian food a bad image, in my opinion.

Price: $3.00. 6/10

Conclusion - Although I found the food from this stall to be acceptable, I simply found both dishes quite forgettable - Thus, even finding anything interesting to summarise this review is a challenge. To put it simply, I have had much worse food in Singapore, but I have also experienced much better.

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

We are back at this wonderful hawker centre, that is filled to the brim with a number of vegetarian outlets. Fo Xin is one of those, that is not only meat-free, but also egg-free. Therefore essentially vegan, as I don't believe any dishes have dairy products in either. I certainly recommend that people should visit this area of Boon Keng - But not on Mondays. Seemingly all the vegetarian stalls in the vicinity are closed on that day. Fo Xin has a limited, yet satisfying menu, with all dishes selling at either $2.50 or $3.00. So, let us begin...

Fo Xin Vegetarian Food
Location: #01-75, Blk 31 Bendemeer Road
Contact: Unknown
Opening Hours: Tue-Sun 10am-7pm

Apologies that these photographs were not taken on a plate, unfortunately I had no other choice but to da bao on this particular day. Starting with the Hor Fun, this dish (as always) can be opted for in a dry or wet version. If you don't specify when ordering, then by default you will get the wet version. Those wanting to order dry, simply state 'gan he' (乾河). The key to a good hor fun is inevitably the wok hei (smokey flavour), with this dish having a suitable amount of it. It doesn't quite rival the hor fun at Lin Lin (one of the most amazing things I have ever eaten), but it is satisfying nonetheless. The vegetables inside were cooked well, and the tofu strips made for an apt replacement to the traditional egg.

Price: $3.00. 7/10

Next dish sampled was the Fried Rice. So often fried rice from hawker stalls can be guilty of having too much salt inside, thankfully Fo Xin's version was low on salt. Even more impressively, it was abundant in its diversity of ingredients - With there being mock meats, vegetables and tofu all lurking inside. The only downside to this dish was, I found it to be lacking the aroma and flavour that the hor fun had. Therefore, without that smokey flavour, the dish fell a little flat. Nevertheless, there are a number of laudable traits to this, that make it worth the purchase.

Price: $3.00. 7/10

Conclusion - Fo Xin probably ranks as the most impressive stall I have eaten from in this huge hawker centre. Both dishes were satisfying and reasonably priced. It is difficult to separate the two, but if I had to pick, I would go for the hor fun again. Definitely a stall you should consider visiting.

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

As far as reputation goes, Jing Yi is probably one of the most well known vegetarian stalls in the West of Singapore. I have been inundated with countless requests to review this stall. The main reason for the feverish excitement, is that it is known for having tremendous wok hei (smoke flavour) in the dishes. Admittedly, Chinese food is not the cuisine I enjoy the most. Nevertheless, I have an obsession with wok hei cooking, and the delicious aroma that it gives the food. This stall is located at Meng Soon Huat coffee shop 錦憶素食, at block 359, just a 3-5 minute walk from Bukit Gombak MRT. Appartantly in the evenings (especially on weekends) there are huge queues, where customers can wait up to one hour for their food. I myself arrived at the odd timing of around 3pm on a weekday - I was the only customer.

Jing Yi Vegetarian
Location: Block 359, Bukit Batok West Avenue 5
Contact: Unknown
Opening Hours: Tue-Sun 2pm-9pm. Closed Monday.

Drum roll please, here it is, their nobel peace prize winning Fried Hor Fun. Before I get into the wok hei taste, let me just say this - The texture of the kway teow was absolutely perfect. Firm, bouncy and a delight to consume. In terms of wok hei, however, I found there was a good amount...But honestly not as high as I was expecting. Moreover, the kway teow were quite pale and anemic looking. Let me tread very carefully here, as I know Jing Yi has a dedicated fanbase. Clearly this is a high quality hor fun, with considerable wok hei - But, I do still find Lin Lin is much higher. Definitely you could see the noticeable char marks on the kway teow, but wok hei is not about 'burning' or 'charring' the ingredients. Wok hei is the art of knowing exactly when and when not to toss the ingredients in the wok, which requires incredible knowledge that many experienced chefs still fail to master.

Price: $3.50. 8/10

Conclusion - Everyone knows that the stall I idolize the most (in terms of wok hei) is Lin Lin Vegetarian, and I must say, in my opinion Lin Lin is still the place to go, if you want extremely strong wok hei flavour. Certainly Jing Yi has a good amount of wok hei, and the texture of the kway teow was superb, and I can see why it has become so popular in the West of Singapore. If I lived in the West, no doubt I would frequent this stall on a regular basis.

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

A few years ago I had to great displeasure of working in Changi Business Park, in probably the most unpleasant job I've had in my life. Therefore, after all this time, heading back to Expo did give me somewhat haunting memories of the past. Expo has changed incredibly in that time, with it now attracting the casual public to the area, mainly due to the new Changi City Point Mall. Expo is probably my most under-reviewed location in Singapore, because I know there are a lot of vegetarian eateries hidden in this area (due to the high amount of Indian workers). I will do my best to review those also in the future.

Changi City Point Vegetarian
Location: #02-01/02 Koufu, Changi City Point, 5 Changi Business Park Central 1
Contact: Unknown
Opening Hours: Unknown

The ready dishes on offer at this stall were quite diverse during the lunch period. Also be warned, this food court turns into a mad house during the conventional 12pm-1pm timing. There are also other dishes that can be ordered upon request. However, the prices were unjustifiably high, so I stayed away from them.

After much deliberation, I decided to merely go with the conventional Brown Rice and Dishes. Overall, I was actually quite impressed with the flavour of the dishes. The long beans had a nice crunchy texture, and a suitable aroma. The potatoes were neither too spicy or salty, and cooked well. The sweet and sour mock meat tasted fine, but I found the mock meat itself was a little too tough. The meal also comes with a herbal soup, which matched with the food nicely. The brown rice texture was fine, but a lot of white rice was mixed into it. Personally, if I order brown rice, I always get a little irritated when it consists of 70% white rice.

Price: $3.50. 7/10

Conclusion - Those that are in the Expo area and are looking for a quick vegetarian fix, then this stall will definitely do the job. However, Expo offers a diversity of other excellent vegetarian options (especially for those who can take dairy), in the future I will do my best to explore the other vegetarian options in this area.

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

Since my first review of Vegetarian Era (Hougang), there has been massive changes. Now the stall has ready made dishes available, along with a host of brand new made to order dishes. For those that adored the previous dishes, fear not, dishes such as pumpkin mee java and lor mee are still available. I can't hide my disappointment that my beloved Hainanese beef noodle is gone, but I refuse linger onto that misery for long - Let us move onwards and upwards, and see how good the newly renovated menu is...

Vegetarian Era
Location: Blk 805, Yong Soon Coffee Shop
Contact: 96109123
Opening Hours: Daily 10.00am - 9.00pm

Along with having a glorious new menu, Vegetarian Era is also venturing more deeply into the world of social media. The official Vegetarian Era facebook page is here, those wanting more regular updates on the status of Vegetarian Era should 'like' the page. Pictured to the left is a brief look at the ready made dishes on offer. Henry Wang is especially skilled in vegan sauce making, hence many of the ready dishes are cooked in a sauce. All the food on offer at Vegetarian Era is egg, dairy, meat, onion and garlic free. Thus, completely 100% vegan.

For this review, I will be focusing chiefly on the new inclusions to the Hougang menu, starting with the Ipoh Curry Mee. Upon sampling this dish, it would be easy to mistakenly relate it to laksa. However, the nuances in this iphoh curry are quite different from laksa. Firstly, the flavour undertone is distinctly nutty, which is extremely delicious. Secondly, this dish is lacking the sharp spicy bite that laksa typically has. Considering I am not a big chilli fanatic, I certainly prefer this dish. The ingredients inside include beansprouts, tau kwa, tau pok and tau ke. A rich dish, which is not too overwhelming, nor too spicy.

Price: $3.00. 9/10

Since the menu overhaul happened, this Fuzhou Mee Pok has been incredibly popular with customers. Some customers may bemoan about the lack of vinegar inside, however, it is vital to acknowledge that traditional Fuzhou style mee pok does not include vinegar. The mock fish balls are exceptionally unique, with there being a minced meat stuffing inside each ball. The texture of the noodles was perfect, with them being very firm and bouncy. This dish is also served with a kelp based soup. Kelp is an ingredient (due to its cost) that will seldom be used in a side dish, so make sure to take the soup with this dish. This mee pok is one my personal favourites, that I've gobbled up countless times already.

Price: $3.00. 9/10

The next dish is the Hainanese Traditional Curry Rice. This dish was concocted as a hybrid of Western and Peranakan cuisine here in Singapore, and it is wonderful to see a vegetarian version now available. The highlight of this dish is the pork chop, which is not too greasy or salty. It is light and packed with flavour, with a moreish crunchy crust. As Chef Henry is a sauce expert, I had high expectations of the curry sauce, and luckily it didn't disappoint. It is quite a mild curry, that has the richness that almost resembles a Japanese style curry. The other ingredients on the plate were all cooked well, and worked in harmony with each other.

Price: $3.00. 9/10

Without a doubt, the star attraction from the menu change is this Hainanese Traditional Herbal Soup. This dish review marks one of the rare occasions where I am struggling for words to describe the flavour of this soup. The sensation one gets when consuming this soup is a very refreshing and cleansing one. The herbal flavour is definitely present, but neither too subtle nor overwhelming. The ingredients swimming majestically inside are sliced ginger, tau ke (dried beancurd sheets), coriander, tau pok, black fungus and mushroom stem mock mutton. The flavour of this soup really left me speechless. Instead of attempting to explain, I suggest it would be better for you to haul yourself down to Hougang and taste it yourself - You won't regret making the journey.

Price: $5.50. 10/10

Conclusion - My biggest gripe with Singapore vegetarian food is almost all vegetarian stalls in Singapore are selling virtually the same thing. The same dishes, cooked in the same way, with little imagination or creativity. The reason why I am so excited and impressed with Vegetarian Era is because these dishes bring a completely new and refreshing approaching to vegan food in Singapore. I especially recommend the herbal soup, but all dishes were exceptional in their own right. If you don't visit Vegetarian Era, then you are really missing out on some of the best vegan dishes that Singapore has to offer.

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

The Zi Zai 自在齋 chain of vegetarian eateries have totalled to four in Singapore, for this review I will be focusing on the Yishun outlet. But, the other three are located in Tampines Avenue 4, Bendemeer Road, and Circuit Road. Zi Zai is extremely well known throughout the vegetarian scene in Singapore, therefore it is really a crime that it has taken me to long to write about them.

Zi Zai Vegetarian
Location: #01-10, Block 236, Yishun Ring Road
Contact: 63654419
Opening Hours: Daily 7.30am - 9.45pm

Posted on the walls of this eatery are the precise locations of the other outlets, the opening time and their simple breakfast menu. Other than the breakfast menu, there is also an extremely detailed menu (see below). The range of options are quite vast, and thus took a lot of deliberation on my part, before deciding on what to order. Moreover, on the right hand side of the eatery, there is a roti prata chef. I must say, the roti prata served looked absolutely fantastic (made by an Indian chef). Unfortunately though, the prata being served is not vegan (milk is used in the dough), so this poor vegan reviewer had to grind his teeth and resist the temptation of ordering. Those that are not vegan, please order and let me know how good it is in the comments section.

The aforementioned breakfast menu is certainly where the best value dishes can be found. Seemingly, the breakfast menu extends all the way into the evening, as the dishes were still available when I arrived later in the day. The other menu has a wide selection of more elaborate dishes - But price wise, there is a steep incline. Make sure to state whether you can consume eggs or not, as eggs are used in many of the default dishes.

First dish I sampled came from the more expensive menu, and it was Carrot Cake. This dish comes in three sizes - I ordered the smallest. The medium size costs $5 and the largest will set you back $7. What I liked about this dish was the freshness that the raw coriander brought, and the sharpness of the chili sauce. For the carrot cake itself though, I found it to be a little too dry, lacking in the juiciness and moisture that I come to expect from a good carrot cake. Also I found the chunks to be a little too big in size.

Price: $3.50. 6/10

One of the breakfast dishes that seemed to be most popular amongst customers was the Wanton Mee. This dish has an abundance of ingredients, such as mushroom, mock ham slices, vegetables and wanton (of course). All the ingredients tasted fresh, and I was pleased by the bouncy texture of the noodles. Along side the main bowl, was a smaller bowl of herbal soup, which suited the dish nicely. The glaring weakness, however, in this dish are the actual wantons. The skin of the wantons were tough and stale in texture. Probably one of the poorest versions of wanton I have had - This was such as pity, as the rest of the ingredients were perfect.

Price: $3.00. 7/10

Conclusion - This review has merely scratched the surface of Zi Zai. There are plenty more dishes, and three other outlets that I have yet to try, so I don't want to leap to any opinion on Zi Zai, until I have also review the other outlets. For the two dishes that I sampled on this particular day, I found them to be average or (if I'm kind) slightly above average in quality. I will do my best to seek out the other three Zi Zai outlets soon!

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

I was eager to visit Veggie Hub, after getting word of their double-boiled herbal soup. Fortune Centre has been well-known for many years as one of the most heavenly spots for vegetarian food in Singapore. Even though the landscape changes, what always remains the same is tons of vegetarian eateries. This newly opened eatery is located on the ground level.

Veggie Hub
Location: #01-05, 190 Middle Road, Fortune Centre
Contact: Unknown
Opening Hours: Unknown

Unfortunately, something extremely unique happened as soon as I visited. When I was taking pictures of the outside (without stepping foot in the eatery), a sour-faced staff auntie started shouting at me to stop taking pictures. Amazingly, having reviewed almost 300 stalls/restaurants in Singapore, this is the first time anyone has mentioned anything in opposition to me taking photos, especially considering I hadn't even gone inside the eatery. So unfortunately, this 'review' is void of any photos of dishes, considering I was banned from taking any. In fact, after hearing this aggressive lady hooting and hollering at me, I decided not to even step foot inside. Instead, I took my business elsewhere. I did manage to snap a picture of the daily specials (pictured left), before being chased away.

Conclusion - Every time I review restaurants or stalls, I always make sure that I never tell any of the staff about my blog or that I am a food reviewer. The reason being, I don't want them to make a special effort in the treatment that they give me - I want the treatment and food quality to be identical to what any typical customer will get. It is times like this when I'm glad I take this stand, as being an anonymous customer allowed me to see what the Veggie Hub staff are really like. I don't know what to say about the food, as I didn't have the chance to eat it, but in terms of staff treatment - I can't emphasise enough how much I recommend staying away from this establishment.

Overall Rating
Food - N.A
Ambiance- 0/10
Service - 0/10
Value - N.A

Since my first review of Delcie's Desserts, I have received a large number of comments - With the major talking point being the cost factor. Therefore, I was slightly cautious in igniting that debate once again. However, considering Delcie's has now expanded into Fortune Centre (officially her second outlet) I felt the time was right to have a follow-up review. Personally, I am a big fan of Delcie and her desserts, and therefore was delighted upon hearing the news that her business has expanded.

Delcie's Desserts & Cakes
Location: #01-28B, 190 Middle Road, Fortune Centre
Contact: 63339684
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 10.30am-6.30pm. Sat-Sun 10.00am-6.00pm

For the regular visitors of her Upper Serangoon Road outlet, the array of desserts will be somewhat familiar to you. Her most synonymous items, such as the molten chocolate cake, fudge brownie and blue forest cake are available at this new outlet - All of which, you can read my verdict on in my first Delcie's post.

One thing that disappointed me slightly was the lack of any seating options at the new Delcie's. Personally, I'd enjoy sitting down and eating the cakes right then and there. On a side note, Delcie is fast becoming the Elizabeth Falkner of Singapore, with a series of recipe videos recently being launched. You can see some of these recipe videos on the Delcie's Desserts official website. Also posted below is a video explaining how Delcie began her business and her personal story.

First up, we have the Pineapple Upside Down cake. The quality of this cake is exceptionally high, with cake maintaining a glorious moisture. Moreover, fresh pineapple is used in this dessert, and this makes a huge difference. The fresh pineapple has a greater aroma, but doesn't have the acidity that a raw pineapple typically has. The only negative would be the size. If you're someone as unashamedly piggish as myself, then you could probably consume this cake in just one bite.

Price: $3.00. 8/10

One of the cakes that has been around for a long time is the Rainbow Cake. The first question that might pop into peoples minds is - What is used to colour the sponge? The answer to this is vegan colouring extracted from vegetables, fruits and plants. The white cream that is smeared between the layers has a zesty lemon tang to it. If I was to nitpick, it could be said that this cake was a little too dry, especially in comparison to the pineapple cake. Perhaps a little more of that lemon cream would have suppressed that concern. Very satisfying slice overall(I bought the full slice).

Price: $6.00 (half) $11.50 (full). 7/10

Conclusion - The issue with Delcie's is always going to be the price. Would I regularly purchase items from Delcie's? Probably not, simply because my main culinary passion is for savoury food. However, if you are someone (I'm guessing female) who has lived as a vegan for some time, and has been spending your nights hiding under your blanket in a cold sweat, your mind bombarded with lustful thoughts of gorging like a deranged primitive animal on a spongy creamy sweet cake - Then, I'm sure you can appreciate that price shouldn't be an issue in satisfying that craving.

Overall Rating
Food - 8/10
Ambiance- 7/10
Service - 9/10
Value - 6/10

Pita Pan is a 100% vegetarian Mediterranean eatery, that has recently opened its doors near to the infamous Marina Bay Sands complex. This exciting new Indian-run establishment specialises in Middle Eastern cuisine, which is a food genre so seldom found in Singapore, especially a vegetarian rendition. The restaurant interior is facing both indoors and outdoors - The inside is incredibly small, and thus you will struggle to get a free table, which is why most people seem to prefer taking away.

Pita Pan
Location: #L1-87, The Shoppes, Marina Bay Sands, 2 Bayfront Avenue
Contact: 66887450
Opening Hours: Sun-Thu 9.00am-12.00am. Fri and Sat 9.00am-2.00am

Full details of the Pita Pan menu, can be found on their website. I kicked this meal off with the Baba Ganoush. This traditional Levant dish, consists chiefly of eggplant, olive oil (smeared on top) and a variety of spices added into the mixture. This version was delectably creamy, and mild in flavour. The olive oil - Which was generously distributed - Added good lubrication to the other ingredients. The glowing red paprika on top tasted strong and fresh, unlike most bottled paprika in Singapore. This dish is served with a fresh and well charred pita bread.

Price: $12.20. 8/10

Next dish I decided upon was the Hummus With Mushroom. There are countless renditions of hummus that have spawned from the 'original' version. An often long debated issue with hummus is the amount of garlic that should be used. Personally, I prefer a generous amount. With that being said, this version has present garlic flavour, but it is certainly not over-powering. The texture of the hummus is moist and smooth (a powerful blender must have been used). The sauteed mushroom and onion were placed in the center. Once again, a fresh pita was served on the side.

Price: $11.90. 9/10

Perhaps one of the most bewildering aspects of the Pita Pan menu is the Full Pocket-Meal. There are a variety of set meals available on the menu, which are a little difficult to understand when ordering. Moreover, actually knowing what to do after ordering is not explained correctly. You must sit and wait, and then wait for your number to be called - Then you go up to the salad bar and customize your pita ingredients - None of this is explained. This set meal comes with fries and a soft drink of your choice. The customized pita pocket is delicious, especially the crunchy and fresh falafels that are put inside by default. Set meals typically represent the best value on a menu. But for this set meal, I found it the most over-priced and least value, compared to the other dishes I ordered.

Price: $15.90. 7/10

Conclusion - Marina Bay Sands is renowned for its casino. I am not much of a gambler myself, but perhaps before going to Pita Pan I should have tried my luck, so that I could fund the payment for this meal. It is expensive, there is no hiding from that. However, I was extremely impressed by the quality of the food, with this style of cuisine being so hard to find in Singapore. It made a refreshing change, but the price will keep me away from visiting regularly. Especially when nonsense like service charge ($4, and most the food I had to collect myself) is needlessly added.

Overall Rating
Food - 9/10
Ambiance- 6/10
Service - 6/10
Value - 5/10

Jian Kang Vegetarian Food - Boon Keng

Cafe de Paradiso - Clementi

Lu Rou Fan

Vegetarian Era - Eunos

Ji Xiang Vegetarian Food - Chinese Gardens

Vegan Burg (Delivery) - Eunos

Fo Lai Ping Vegetarian - Braddell

Genesis Vegetarian Health Food Restaurant - Clarke Quay

Beano - Tanjong Pagar

Mani Iyer Mess - Little India

Miao Cheng Vegetarian - Braddell

Shan Yuan Vegetarian - Boon Keng

Fo Xin Vegetarian Food - Boon Keng

Jing Yi Vegetarian - Bukit Gombak

Changi City Point Vegetarian - Expo

Vegetarian Era - Hougang

Zi Zai Vegetarian - Yishun

Veggie Hub - Bugis

Delcie's Desserts & Cakes - Bugis

Pita Pan - Bayfront