A few months ago I received a barrage of comments and emails announcing that my much beloved Nature Vegetarian Delights had closed. My heart sunk when I heard this news, but after a little research, I was relieved to discover they have simply moved location. They are now in Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre, which is directly opposite to their previous location. The restaurant has change aesthetically, this change is certainly for the better. Although I am skeptical whether this more isolated location will blossom the same stream of customers or not. For my previous reviews of the old location - Look here & here.Nature Vegetarian Delights
Location: Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre, Level 4, #04-26
Contact: 62868028
Opening Hours: 9am-9pm Daily. Closed on Tuesday.
Not only has the interior design undergone a brand new facelift, this also translates into the menu. It is fresh and glossy, compared to the old beat down version from the previous location. Content wise, I was relieved to see all of my old favourites, such as claypot pigs trotter and banana leaf sambal fish are still there. In fact, the entire contents of the menu has barely changed at all, with there only being a handful of new items added to the menu. I would have liked to have seen a few more new dishes added, but nevertheless, it is still a very solid menu.
Arguably one of the dishes that first catches ones eye is the Roti Prata with Black Pepper. I am always skeptical when ordering prata from Chinese eateries, as usually the standard is pretty terrible. What Nature Delights have done differently, though, is transform the conventional roti prata into a deli wrap style side dish. While I am in favour of this new method, I was less enthralled in the quality. The black pepper sauce inside was overly spicy. Additionally, very little mock meat can be found inside. The prata itself was fine, but serious adjustments need to be made before I would consider ordering again.Price: $2.50. 6/10
Probably the most impressive dish I sampled during this visit was the Gong Bao Monkey Head Mushroom with Rice. The highlight is of course the monkey head mushroom, which had a beautifully crispy outer skin, and worked in harmony with the tartness of the kung pao sauce. Unfortunately the downside to this dish was, there was simply not enough pieces of the delicious mushroom. Instead, the ingredients seem more cluttered with carrots and bamboo shoots, and I found myself digging beneath them in hopes of finding one more mushroom piece. A little more of that delicious sauce would be welcomed also.Price: $5.80. 8/10
Next up was the Bah Chor Mee. Overall, this was a solid dish, that had many positive attributes to it. Firstly, the noodles had a nice bouncy texture. The mock minced meat complimented these noodles well. The final key element, the sauce, was also packed with flavour. These three elements combined made for a very moreish dish. Along with a medium sized bowl of noodles, the customer also gets a small bowl of clear Chinese soup. In general, I am not a big fan of noodles dishes, but this is one that I would consider ordering again.Price: $4.50. 7/10
Conclusion - As I have frequented Nature Delights on several occasions, and sampled a high proportion of the dishes on offer, what inevitably happens is that poor or adequate dishes are discovered in the menu. This is the case for almost every eatery in Singapore, so I don't mark it too harshly. What is important, is the very high quality dishes such as pig's trotter and sambal fish are still there and as good as ever! While the new location is not as convenient as the old one, Nature Delights still has enough loyal and die-hard customers, who will follow them wherever they go.
Overall Rating
Food - 8/10
Ambiance- 8/10
Service - 7/10
Value - 6/10
