Ci Wen Vegetarian - Ang Mo Kio

Thanks to one of my beloved readers named WuXin, I am currently on quest to conquer all the vegetarian stalls at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6/8.  There are a total of four veggie stalls (block 721, 724, 715 and 728), all within walking distance of one another.  For today, I focus on block 721 - Customers who visit Ci Wen in the evening can expect crowds of diners eagerly waiting to indulge in their famous chicken rice and fried oyster.



Ci Wen Vegetarian
Location: #01-2823, Blk 721 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8
Contact: 94780608/65521273
Opening Hours: Daily 8.00am-11.00pm


Here is a closer look at the dishes available at Ci Wen.  This stall attains most of its business from selling their signature carrot cake, fried 'oyster' and 'chicken' rice.
Arguably the most popular dish sold at Ci Wen is the Chicken Rice.  Most eateries I visit tend to be selling chicken rice only in the morning and lunch time.  Ci Wen is different, as you can still order their beloved chicken rice in the evening.  Vegan warning, the chef uses Planta margarine to make the rice, which unfortunately has 'traces of milk that might be found' in their product.  The mock chicken used is flavourful, but the plate looked awfully bare - Lacking in tomato and dark sauce.  The orange chilli (which customers must collect themselves) is very diluted, but overall the flavour is pretty good, with mild spice and nice acidity.

Price: $2.80.     6/10
Next dish was the Hokkien Noodle.  The overall flavour of this dish was pretty good, with decent aroma, slight acidity from lime and a quite large portion size.  The thing I didn't like about this dish was the greasy bottom layer of this dish.  Perhaps you can see in the picture, at the plate surface there is blackened oil.  This was the most dirty low quality oil I've ever consumed.  Often, we eat something and just instinctively know it is going to cause our body harm - This was how I felt about this dish, therefore I only managed to eat a few bites.  Criminally unhealthy and although the flavour is fine, it is not something I would consciously encourage anyone to eat.  On a side note, the same evening I had a series of sharp stabbing stomach pains, which I suspect was brought on by the oil used in this dish.

Price: $3.50.     4/10


This next dish was not consumed by myself, due to egg being included, but here we have the Fried Oyster.  This dish was a disappointment in terms of lacking that gooey potato starch texture, that a good oyster omelet should have.  Instead, the texture is pasty and doughy.  Moreover, it was another awfully greasy dish.  It was a dish that smelt nice, but ultimately failed when it came to taste and texture.

Price: $3.50.     5/10


Conclusion - This stall arguably ranks as one of the most unhealthy vegetarian stalls I've ever visited.  The dishes are heavy on egg, dairy and bad oil.  For that reason alone, I wouldn't consider eating at this stall again.  The chicken rice was the best dish of the evening, but the other two were quite a let down.

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