Frunatic - Buona Vista

You know what Singapore needs more of?  Shopping centres - There just isn't enough.  Get rid of those pesky trees and other green things and construct more ugly atrocious buildings!  But seriously, yes, another weird looking unnecessary shopping centre has opened in Singapore, which is about a 5 minute walk from Buona Vista MRT.  Frunatic is located on the second level of the aforementioned building.  Rather excitingly, Frunatic is the only 100% raw vegan eatery in Singapore.  But can raw food be made sexy enough to appeal to an Asian audience?  We'll see...

 
Frunatic
Location: 1 Vista Exchange Green, Star Vista, #02-01/02
Contact: 66946166
Opening Hours: Mon-Thur 11am-9pm, Fri-Sat 11am-10pm & Sun 10am-10pm


CLOSED DOWN - As of 08/10/2013 (Owners currently looking for alternative location).  They have another location still running at 491 River Valley, Valley Point, #01-05/06 - Daily 10am-8pm.


Frunatic has two seating options - There is a large open-spaced seating area outside, which is without air-conditioning.  The second seating option is located at the side of the restaurant, and is called the 'Wellness Clinic'.  The latter option is pictured, and overall I found it to be a more cosy and pleasant place to dine.  Another key factor was it has air conditioning - Yes, I know, the Hungry Ang Mo is quite a diva. 



The Mexican Nacho Chips come in two sizes - Small ($2.50) and large ($4.50).  Before I give my verdict on this dish, it is important to know one thing - Prior to this dish arriving, I didn't have any inflated expectations that this dish should be just like real nachos.  Raw food has certain inescapable limitations, so we as customers must allow more flexibility in our judgement.  Having said that, this is a poor dish by anyone's standards.  The key downfall is the texture of the nacho chips.  After chewing on them they become horribly sticky, almost like chewing on something not meant for human consumption.  The avocado, salsa and nut dips were pretty nice, but not enough to redeem this dish.

Price: $4.50.     3/10


After the disappointing nacho experience, there suddenly came a green noodle-shaped glimmer of the hope on the horizon.  Ladies and gentleman, I present to you Meatball Spaghetti, a dish that proves raw vegan food can be successful in a large scale restaurant.  This was really a surprisingly filling, flavour rich and utterly scrumptious dish.  The 'noodles' are actually made from zucchini, which has been weaved into noodle shapes by using a piece of equipment called a spiralizer.  The pesto sauce was generously applied and packed with flavour.  The 'meatballs' might be an acquired taste.  Personally, I loved these things.  But my girlfriend mentioned that they taste like smelly meat (smelly liver, to be precise), so it might not appeal to everyone.  These meatballs are derived from nuts, and have a soft creamy texture.  This is actually a set meal, which comes with a drink.

Price: $9.90.      9/10


Currently Frunatic only have a handful of savoury dishes available - But there is a slightly wider selection of raw desserts on offer.  As you can see in the picture, the dessert portion size is incredibly small.  Most could be conceivably eaten in one bite.




 
I selected two of the smaller cakes and eagerly returned back to my seat to test them out.  The white coloured cake on the left is named Forest.  This was clearly the better of the two that I selected.  The 'forest' dessert had an uncanny resemblance to marzipan, both in terms of taste and texture.  The other dessert I opted for was named Chocolate Banana.  Personally, I didn't enjoy this dessert.  There was almost no chocolate taste (I suspect they are using cacao).  Also, the banana has a really odd taste.  Almost like the banana has been festering in a sweaty gym sock for 24 hours prior to serving.

Price: $2.80.     Forest 6/10.  Chocolate Banana 3/10


Conclusion - Ultimately, Frunatic is a restaurant which is ahead of its time.  Raw food is definitely becoming more and more popular, especially in Western countries.  But I don't think Singapore is quite ready for it yet.  I am still a bit of a raw food skeptic, but the 'meatball' spaghetti certainly converted me to some extent.  Then again, the 'nachos' reminded me of its limitations.  Raw food is a fascinating genre of cuisine, but I'm still sitting on the fence for now.

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