I recall first hearing about Onn Vegetarian a few years ago by a few of my readers. Unfortunately due to my own personal laziness, it has taken me quite a while to eventually make the effort to visit Onn - What a mistake it was. I am about to conduct a review on what might possibly be
the best vegetarian hawker in Singapore, so please brace yourselves folks. For those wanting to visit Onn, you will be pleased to find it is just a stones throw away from Kallang MRT. It has been located at this coffee shop for five years now.
Onn Vegetarian
Location: Blk 5 Upper Boon Keng Road, G5 Food HouseContact: 91526917Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 7.00am-2.30pm. Sunday Closed![]()
The menu at Onn is intriguing to say the least. Pictured (the three A4 white sheets) are the regular items that customers can expect to see sold every day.
What really excited me about Onn are the daily specials. The chef changes these dishes all the time, to the point where some specials appear only once a month. That can give you an understanding of the repertoire of dishes that this man is capable of producing. Customers can expect around 4-5 daily specials each day. The variety and abundance of dishes is really restaurant quality - Sensational.
The man behind the dishes at Onn is Chef Wai. Having spent 15 years as a pastry chef at establishments such as Westin Stamford and Les Amis, it is clear this man has a lot of experience in the kitchen. Those years as a pastry chef are definitely reflected in the remarkably beautiful plating of every dish. Interestingly, Chef Wai is also the reason behind the name 'Onn'. His ex-colleagues gave him the nickname 'Onn', as his hometown is Anson, Perak - Which in Cantonese is pronounced 'Onn Soon', hence the shortened nickname 'Onn' was born.
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Onn Vegetarian is not only about Chef Wai. It is run by a duo, with the other half being John Tan. John spent 23 years (prior to Onn) working in supermarket chains, and also having a short stint with DFS Changi Airport. John and Chef Wai make a fantastic team. Chef Wai is a shy and reserved individual, whereas John does very well engaging with customers. Their objective for opening Onn is to encourage more people to switch to a vegetarian diet, eat healthy and most importantly enjoy eating vegetarian food.
I visited Onn on two separate occasions (something I seldom do), without question the best dish I sampled was the
Green Curry with Organic Brown Rice. I've tasted many green curries in my time, and always failed to appreciate this dish. This was the first time in my life I tried green curry and loved it. This dish is practically flawless. The freshly grounded spices and enhanced sourness made the curry base absolutely delectable. There were a wide variety of ingredients inside, such as mock fish, cherry tomatoes, baby eggplant, brinjal, long beans and celery. The only tragedy is that John told me this green curry only makes its way to the daily specials once or twice a month - I don't know if I can go without this sensational dish for so long!
Price: $7.00. 10/10 One very unusual and interesting ingredient that could be found in the green curry are these small cute little baby eggplants.
If you're a soup lover, then Onn will occasionally serve magnificent double boiled soups. On this particular day they were serving two varieties, I picked the more affordable
Si Chuan Tomato Enoki Soup. The key to the success of this soup is the 榨菜 zha cai vegetable, which is Chinese pickled mustard plant. This vegetable gives the soup a lovely saltiness, but doesn't have the spice (thankfully) that more traditional sichuan style zha cai has. In fact, the more more closely resembles a Cantonese style ABC soup. Once again there are a wide variety of ingredients used inside. Typically, soups like these are formed by adding the left over stems and pieces of vegetables used from other dishes. Onn, however, only use freshly chopped vegetables for this dish. Take this soup when it is steaming hot, that is when it is at its best!
Price: $5.00. 8/10Another special dish I sampled was the
Roasted Meat & Char Siew Organic Brown Rice. For this dish, the rice is flavoured just like chicken rice, very flavourful. On top of the rice there are two varieties of mock meat. The kind with the orange top is specially imported from KL (can't be found in Singapore). This variety adds a fatty texture to the dish. The other mock meat is the more typical kind. I preferred the latter mock meat.
Price: $5.00. 7/10 One of the dishes I selected from the regular daily menu was the
Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle. This dish represents one of the more affordable items on the menu, opposed to the more costly daily specials. This dish had a pleasant braised flavour, which matched very well with the fresh texture of the noodles.
Price: $4.00. 7/10Mee Soto is a quite well known dish in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, but can be seldom found in a vegetarian version. This dish was once again beautifully plated - It really makes such a big difference. I found that the flavour of the broth didn't quite have the intensity that I was looking for, but nevertheless it was highly enjoyable.
Price: $4.50. 7/10 Lastly, we have the
Thai Style Fish Served with Organic Brown Rice. This was another splendid dish with a great diversity of ingredients and superb flavour. Usually when cooking Thai dishes, cooks tend to blast the dish with unnecessary spice. For this dish, I was pleased to discover that aroma took precedence over spice. In fact, the dish was not spicy at all. I loved the slight sourness of the dish, and the fact that all the ingredients were cooked to perfection. The mock fish chunks were nice and chewy, and went well with the sauce.
Price: $7.00. 8/10Conclusion - As the Hungry Ang Mo, I go around Singapore all the time eating good vegetarian food, but it is only on very rare occasions that I come across an eatery that is out of this world - Onn Vegetarian is one of those places. If you're a foodie, then making the pilgrimage to Block 5 Upper Boon Keng Road should be considered compulsory. Onn shows off the beautiful flavours and colours of vegetarian cooking in all its glory, like a peacocks feathers. A remarkable and unforgettable stall.Overall RatingFood - 9/10Ambiance- 7/10 Service - 9/10 Value - 8/10
The menu at Onn is intriguing to say the least. Pictured (the three A4 white sheets) are the regular items that customers can expect to see sold every day. 
