Happy Life Vegetarian - Aljunied

Many people will remember Loving Heart Cafe, which rebranded itself several times and eventually closed down for good late last year.  Well, the spot which Loving Heart previously occupied has now been taken over by another vegetarian eatery called Happy Life.  Many may already be familiar with Happy Life, who prior to opening this shop house were selling their food in the Kwan Inn coffee shop located in the same block further down.  This shop house opened on the 1st January 2015, and currently have a limited menu while they are getting started and finding their feet.










Happy Life Vegetarian
Location: Blk 134 Geylang East Ave 1, #01-219
Contact: 92985283/67475711
Opening Hours: Daily 8.00am-8.00pm.  Closed alternative Wednesday. 


As I just mentioned, the menu at Happy Life is currently limited to six items.  The great thing about this eatery is that everything has been assured to be 100% vegan - No dairy or egg in any of their food.  This stall has built up a reputation for their nasi biryani.  Rather frustratingly, unless you come at exactly 12pm, most of their dishes are not available.  Better managing of food preparation time and stocks would be better, so that their food can be available during other hours.


The owner of Happy Life is a gentleman named Daren Lai.  During his youth, Daren was a meat eater, but his diet (and life) changed drastically after walking past a cafe that was distributing free Buddhist material outside their shop.  Daren picked up the Amitabha Sutra and shortly after (in his twenties) became a full time vegetarian.  Before getting into the vegetarian industry, Daren worked in security.  He opened his stall at Kwan Im around five years ago.  Daren is originally from Malacca, Malaysia.











If you would like a warm drink, then I suggest taking the Matcha Soya Drink.  Great value and nice smooth texture and sweet taste.

Price: $1.50.     7/10
Porridge, oh how I loathe you.  Rice porridge is one of the few Chinese dishes which I really can't appreciate, no matter how hard I try.  So needless to say this Pumpkin Porridge was really facing an uphill task in trying to convert me.  Did it change my perception of porridge?  No.  But, I will concede that this dish was passable.  I liked the pieces of fried pumpkin on top (all the garnishing was excellent) and the porridge itself was well seasoned.

Price: $3.00.     6/10
Although most of the dishes at Happy Life are $4, they still represent excellent value overall.  The portion size is huge.  I'll start with the negatives for this Nasi Lemak.  Firstly, the rice quality needs to improve, the grains used were broken and not particularly well cooked.  Secondly, the mock fish used was really dreadful, some of the worst quality mock fish I have ever tried.  The positives are that (although the rice quality was poor) the rice was flavoured very well.  The long beans were tasty and I loved their atcha and peanuts.  Although this dish is not perfect, it is definitely worth ordering considering the price.

Price: $4.00.     7/10


Based on the reputation of their Nasi Biryani, I was eagerly waiting for it to arrive to the table.  I've eaten a lot of nasi biryani in my time, including the famous (and, in my opinion, best) Tanaka Mr Goh rendition, which is available only once every few months.  Compared to the super high standards of Tanaka, this version falls short - However, it is better than most.  The weakness of this dish is in the rice.  In fact, the way this rice is prepared is more like nasi kunyit (turmeric rice), not nasi biryani.  The true biryani rice should be exactly how Mr Goh does it at Tanaka.  Despite this weakness, the peanuts and curry sauce were perfect.  The sauce was rich and not too spicy.  I love how a poppadom is added, but it was literally dripping in oil, which frightened even a hardened hawker eater like myself.

Price: $4.00.     7/10



Conclusion - Happy Life have just opened up, but from what I've seen (and after talking with Daren) I am expecting good things to come from this eatery.  Daren is very polite and courteous, but his mafia auntie staff seem a little on the hostile side, so customer service is an area open for improvement.  Food wise, there are improvements to be made also, but overall I already see this eatery is heading in the right direction.  Definitely a place worth visiting.

Overall Rating
Food - 7/10
Ambiance- 7/10
Service - 6/10
Value - 8/10