Ru Xiang Vegetarian Food - Ang Mo Kio

Although overall 2013 was a positive year for the vegetarian scene in Singapore, with many new and exciting eateries opening their doors.  There were inevitably some places that had to close, one of those being Vegetarian Era, which was a personal favourite of mine.  In October 2013, Vegetarian Era's final Ang Mo Kio stall closed down, and shortly after it was replaced with another vegetarian stall called Ru Xiang.  This stall has long opening hours and a reasonable variety of different dishes to order.  Can Ru Xiang succeed in this tricky neighbourhood?












Ru Xiang Vegetarian
Location: Blk 122 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3
Contact: 91716000
Opening Hours: Daily 7.00am-9.00pm


One look at the menu, and you immediately see that Ru Xiang have decided to err on the side of caution, and picked out quite typical trite dishes.  I loved how Vegetarian Era was different and served out-of-the-box dishes.  But, I guess doing something different is more risky in the long run.  I was curious to try their spaghetti ($5) dish, but it was sold out.


If you're a vegetarian who does not consume eggs, be very careful at this stall.  The stall helper will automatically assume you can eat eggs, without asking you.  So for whatever items you order, make sure to take the initiative and tell them.  The Fried Rice at Ru Xiang is nicely presented on the plate, which is a refreshing change.  The contents consists of rice, deep fried beancurd sheets and green chili.  People often lament that fried rice just isn't the same without egg inside.  I would like to see more vegetarian eateries replace the egg with tofu (some places are already doing this), so that it fills that void somewhat.  The rice contained mushroom, carrot, mock meat and peas.  Not very fragrant, but not satisfying nonetheless.

Price: $3.00.     6/10


Being the glutton I am, I ordered another dish, which is named Fried Hong Kong Mee.  The portion size for this dish is pretty impressive, and I enjoyed the texture of the noodles.  Back in my home country, Chinese restaurants serve a dish named 炒面 (fried noodles), which I remember locals laughably mispronouncing as chow-maynee.  This noodle dish is very similar to that one, so perhaps Western taste buds may enjoy this dish.  One thing that needs to be removed is that horrid mock jelly seafood meat (zai liao) - Does anyone actually eat that vile stuff?  I feel like if I ate it, it would be lodged undigested in my intestines for the remainder of the my life.  Aside from the mock meat, this was quite a tasty dish.

Price: $3.50.     7/10


Conclusion - In terms of food quality, originality and skill - This stall is quite a distance behind Vegetarian Era.  With that being said, the food is not bad and the stall is seemingly getting steady stream of regular customers - Good for them.  

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