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♥ Pure Vegetarian Eateries in Singapore

Since I am a vegetarian for more than 10 years and have visited numerous vegetarian outlets in Singapore. I decided to keep a record of the pure vegetarian eateries I have visited in Singapore and Johor Bahru to share with my readers.
 
My intentions of starting this blog is to share my vegetarian and vegan recipes and where to buy the most value-for-money ingredients that are slightly uncommon with readers, hence I do not wish to clutter my recipe blog with too many posts about the various vegetarian outlets to visit. Therefore, I have compiled some of the pure vegetarian outlets I have visited in Singapore on my Facebook, in this one single album, it is arranged accordance to locations in Singapore for easy reference when you are at or going to a particular estate. 
 
Do add me on Facebook and click "follow" so you could see the new updates of the Singapore vegetarian outlets that I will add often. See you there!
 
https://www.facebook.com/veggietemptation.blogspot
  
 
Sharing some of the vegetarian eateries I visited with my readers, hope it is useful for you. It is arranged accordance to locations in Singapore for your easy reference, refer to thumbnails. Click here.

Do you sometimes wish to go meatless and yet do not want to feel outcast in the social and business context? Fret not! Check out the list of local (Singapore) vegetarian-friendly eateries below which guarantee your load of vegetarian choices even with all the carnivores around! Click here.

Pure Vegetarian Restaurants in Johor Bahru
Singapore and Johor Bahru is just one small custom away by road. Hope these sharing of vegetarian outlets give you some ideas of where to go for your next trip to JB!
Click
here.
 
Some vegetarian restaurants I have been in Malaysia but does not include Johor Bahru (in another album). Click here.
 
Where to buy?
Learning a new cuisine is actually not that challenging, it is the process of understanding & finding the ingredients in your area which is tedious and time-consuming. Thus, I am most willing to share with readers (Singapore, Malaysia and international) where I get the most value-for-money ingredients that are slightly uncommon. Click here.
 
 
 

♥ Vegetarian Food (KSL City, Johor Bahru) - VegeMore

Apart from going Beyond Veggies, now we have another vegetarian options at KSL City when we go Johor Bahru, cool! The layout of this shop is a bit different from the typical restaurants or cafés we seen. Basically it is a small shop lot in the mall, and dining area is opposite the shop, meaning it is separated by an alley. They have really catchy and appetizing photos of the dishes on the wall which really attract the passer-by.
 
Where the counter and kitchen are.

 

 Dining Area is opposite the Counter.
 
On the flip side, the food ordered will not be presented as per the beautiful pictures on the walls because they use paper bowls and plates like the Taiwan street food style. I do not really appreciate such presentation because it is not environmental friendly, and my just my personal preference, food serve in plastic, paper or styrofoam cutlery is not appetizing to me. But I can understand that this is only a small store, and getting worker for dish washing might be a problem and higher overheads.
 
If you are a fan of mocked meat (I am not), you will be spoilt for choice here as there are a wide selection, there are cooked version and also the frozen ones to bring home. They produce their own branding of mock meat, in fact this company started with producing mock meat and venture into retail F&B business in 2014. Comparing the prices, I think it is not on the cheap side oppose to other vegetarian shops I have been. Well, totally understandable because this is a mall, and not shopfront, thus rental is most likely higher.
 
 

Click for clearer picture

Let's talk about their cooked food. At first I am amazed how such a small kitchen can churn out so much dishes. When the food are served, I understand why, because most of which deep fried or steamed mock meat. The rice is steamed, soup are boiled and there are no stir-fried dishes, probably due to the constraints that it does not ventilation ducts etc like typical big restaurant kitchens.



 
Click for clearer picture
 
Vegetarian Laksa
Since I am not a fan of mock meat, I feel the absence of fresh greens and ingredients in their dishes. For example, the laksa has no tau pok and bean sprouts etc., only mock fish ball and meat but luckily they included some fresh mushroom. The vegetarian mutton curry is really spicy and thick, it is a must-order. A pity thing that the rice is kind of soggy and not al-dente.

Vegetarian Mutton Curry

Fried Spring Rolls
 
Cuisine: Chinese
Name: Vegemore Restaurant & Food Trading 素素乐
Address: Google map
KSL City L1-137
No. 33 Jalan Seladang Taman Abad
80250 Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Contact: +60 07-5583232
Open: Daily 10am to 9pm
Air-conditioned: Yes
Restaurant's Name card:















http://veggietemptation.blogspot.sg/search/label/Vegetarian%20Restaurants%20in%20Johor%20BahruRead more about the other vegetarian restaurants in Johor Bahru.
 

Vegan/Vegetarian Roasted Chicken Rice (Using Air Fryer)

 

Traditional Hainanese and roasted chicken rice uses the stock from cooking chicken to make the flavourful and fragrant rice, and also in accompanying soup. And since this is the vegetarian version, it is much easier and of course cruelty free. It is authentically served with a hot chilli sauce dip that is made up of freshly minced red chilli and garlic, and topped with dark soy sauce and a heap of freshly pounded ginger.
 
For vegan roasted 'chicken' rice, the most common substitute is fried beancurd skin. I am not a fan of mock meat but I can accept this vegetarian 'chicken' because it is basically made from beancurd skin and spices. To make it more healthy, I do not deep fry them, instead I use Airfryer (I used this brand). No additional oil needed, and yet taste equally great like deep-fried, Airfryer is indeed one of the best ever innovation in the kitchen, perfect!
 
I love rice and I am crazy over the fragrant rice for 'chicken' rice. I also cook this flavourful rice and treat it like plain rice and accompanied by dishes of stir fry veggies and steamed tofu. Next I plan to use this rice for my next project: Hakka Thunder Tea Rice, pronounced as Lei cha, 擂茶. Stay tuned!

Dietary: Vegetarian, Vegan.
Serve 2

Ingredients
For fragrant rice:
 2 cups* or 270g long-grain rice, washed & drained (I used brown rice)
 2 cups* or 380ml water

Herb
 2 pcs ginger, roughly sliced
 4 cloves garlic^, keep skin & smashed (optional)
 1 stalk lemon grass, peel off outer layers, cut into 4 cm
 4 pandan leaves, tied into a knot
 1 pcs bay leaf (optional)

Seasoning
 3 tsp sesame oil
 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
 1/2 tsp soy sauce or Braggs Liquid Aminos
 1/2 tsp brown sugar or molasses (or any sweeteners)


For vegan 'chicken'
 3-4 pcs vegan 'chicken' drumstick (made from beancurd)

Garnish/Side
 Beansprouts, stir fried
 Chinese cabbage (bok choy), stir fried
 Cucumber, sliced
 Tomato, sliced

 Lettuce 
 Vegan 'chicken' rice chilli dip topped with dark soy sauce and pounded ginger
 Cilantro sprigs



Method
Cooking Fragrant Rice
1. Mix all ingredients and seasonings together, and give it a good stir.
 
2. Transfer mixture into rice cooker pot, turn on the rice cooker. When the rice is cooked, then use the rice scoop to stir the rice and loosen it up, leave it in the cooker for another few minutes. If you do not have a rice cooker, place mixture in a steamer bowl and steam for 25-30 minutes until it reached your desired consistency.
 
 
Cooking 'chicken'
Deep Frying:
Heat oil to about few inch in wok or large skillet over medium-high heat to about 375°F.  Add 'chicken', turning occasionally until they are golden brown and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
 
Using Airfryer:
Preheat the Airfryer to 160℃ for 3 minutes. Evenly place the 'chicken' in the fryer basket and slide the basket into the Airfryer. Set the timer to 18-20 minutes, turning few times until golden brown.


Using Oven:
Preheat the oven to 180℃.  Evenly spread the 'chicken' on a baking tray with parchment paper. Using a oven thermometer, ensure it is at the right temperature 180℃.  Pop the tray into the oven for about 25 minutes, turning few times until golden brown.

 
Setting
Remove the stick inside the 'chicken' drumstick, cut into slices. Remove the herbs from rice then scoop rice onto individual serving dish, garnish and serve immediately.
 

Notes
^ Buddhist vegetarians who do not take garlic can omit this.

* The ratio for perfectly-cooked rice in most rice cookers (works for my Toshiba) is 1:1 rice and water, but it might vary with different rice cookers and the type of rice you are using.

* The measuring cup I used in this recipe comes along with the rice cooker and it looks like this below. 1 full cup of this rice measuring cup yield 135g of uncooked rice and 190ml water.  
Measuring Cup from Rice Cooker

 
Cooking Fragrant Rice

☆ Different Types of Vegetarian/Vegan. Garlic, Diary, Egg or not? (In Asia)

http://www.loveusnoteatus.com/

One might not fit into any of these categories of vegetarians, but understanding them will help one to be more sensitive and knowledgeable when socializing with people.

Different Types of Vegetarians
These category does not take meat & fish.
Lacto-Vegetarian: No eggs but take dairy products.
Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian: Take both eggs and dairy products.
Ovo-Vegetarian: Take eggs but no diary products. (Rarer)
Buddhist Vegetarian: Some take eggs, some do not. Most take diary products but do not take vegetables in the allium family: onion, garlic, scallion, leek, chive, or shallot.
Hindu Vegetarian: Some take eggs, some do not. Most take both diary products and vegetables in the allium family.
 
Casual
Pesco-Vegetarian: Take fish/seafood but does not eat any other meats.
Pollo-Vegetarian: Take poultry (chicken etc.) but does not eat red meats (beef etc.)
Flextarian: Take mainly vegetarian food but will eat meat occasionally.
 
Stricter
Vegan: No meat/fish, eggs, dairy products or any other animal products.
Raw Vegan: Take only fresh & uncooked fruit/nuts/seeds/vegetables. Vegetables can only be cooked up to a certain temperature.
Fruitarian: Take only fruit/nuts/seeds, and other plant matter that can be gathered without harming the plant. 
 
 
Why this post?
There are various compelling reasons for me to write this post because:
  • Some vegetarians/vegans are not showing sensitivity and tactfulness to other types of vegetarians/vegans different from them.
  • Some omnivores are confused on why some vegetarians eat eggs, onion, garlic, cheese etc while some do not.
  • Some religious vegetarians who do not take the allium family i.e. onion, garlic etc will label you as non-vegetarian when you take these.
 
Vegan/Vegetarian's Comparison Among Themselves
We should love any humans who can give up meat and have a big heart for animals, but it is disheartening to see vegetarians/vegans comparing among themselves about the level of 'pureness' in their diet.
 
Online, some vegans try to force-sell their beliefs on veganism, but they forgot that every vegetarians are already doing their part for animals, humanity and planet and this is commendable and enough to deserve respect as compared to people who could not give up meat. Let's respect, love and embrace one another instead of comparing and judging.
 
Many vegetarians are well-aware of the diary farm cruelty, it could be due to various reasons like social, family or whatsoever that they choose not to forgo diary milk or cheese. It's their lives and their choices. It is perfectly fine to share information and videos of diary farm cruelty industry, but refrain from making harsh comments on vegetarians who take diary, especially in a vegetarian (not vegan) group. No matter what, these vegetarians are humane enough not to kill and eat meat just to satisfy their tongue.
 
http://www.peta.org/
 
 
Common Reasons For Being Vegetarians/Vegans
Vegetarianism are adopted for different reasons. People always ask if I can eat this and that, my answer is often: "I can eat anything but I choose not to eat certain things". Like most people, I am a vegetarian because I choose to, for health, animals, humanity and environment.
 
In Asia, when you tell people you are a vegetarian, 99.9% of the time, the first question that you are going to be posted is: "are you vegetarian due to religion?" Why? Because Buddhism and Hinduism are common here. If you are in the West, you will never get this question as most are vegetarians/vegans due to health, animal and environment etc, any reasons except religions.
 

Vegetarian Due To Religion (Buddhist and Hindu)
Vegetarianism/veganism is a lifestyle and is a trend that has picked up tremendously over the years in the West whereby people do it for health, animals, humanity and environment. In Asia, many do it for religion e.g. Buddhism and Hinduism. 

For Buddhist Vegetarians, different Buddhist traditions have different teachings on diet, some eat eggs, some do not. Most take diary products but do not take vegetables in the allium family  i.e. onion, garlic, scallions, leeks, chives, or shallots.
 
Some Hindu Vegetarians take eggs, some do not. Most take dairy products and vegetables in the allium family. 
 
In Asia, if you are a Chinese vegetarians, you are mostly automatically assumed to be Buddhist vegetarian who cannot take garlic, onion etc. And a lot of Buddhist vegetarians would label any vegetarians/vegans who take onion and garlic as non-vegetarian. They often comment that this certain dish contains garlic and onion thus it is not vegetarian, but egg is vegetarian to some of them.

Many of my vegetarian/vegan friends from the West find this surprising, they have a hard time understanding the reason for abstaining from garlic and onion especially when these are scientifically proven to be good for health. But for religious reason, it is not advisable to consume. You can easily Google the reasons behind this religion teaching, and I shall not elaborate.
 
I hope this post serves my purpose to make this world of vegetarianism/veganism a more beautiful one. Please be nice and do not leave negative remarks. Vegetarians/vegans are calm and nice people.

 
Dedicated the below translation for the Chinese readers:

http://www.loveusnoteatus.com/

不是每个人因佛教成为素食主义者。 有许多种素食主义者, 这只是其中的几个:
这些素食主肉和鱼类:
Lacto-Vegetarian 乳素食者:不吃蛋,但吃奶制品。
Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian 奶蛋素食者:吃鸡蛋和奶制品。
Ovo-Vegetarian 蛋素食:吃鸡蛋,但不吃奶制品。
Buddhist vegetarian 教素食者:不同的佛教传统有不同的饮食教导,有些吃鸡蛋,有些则不吃。大多吃奶制品,但不吃洋葱,大蒜,大葱,韭菜,细香葱,或青葱。
Hindu Vegetarian 印度素食有些吃鸡蛋,有些则不吃。吃奶制品和蔬菜中的葱家庭。
Vegan: 不吃蛋, 也不吃奶制品。
 

Vegan/Vegetarian Pumpkin Rice (One-Pot)

 
 

When the pumpkin season hits, recipes of pumpkin main-course and dessert are flooded online. I also got hold of a big pumpkin from the market and used it for a few rounds of this Pumpkin Rice and puree the balance and freeze it for dessert recipes.
 
After cooking my One-Pot Yam Rice many times, I really enjoy cooking one-pot-rice especially on weekday evenings because there are lesser plates and cutleries to wash after a great nutritious fulfilling meal. This recipe is surely a keeper and useful for a quick meal.
 
I have tried this dish umpteen times to perfect it to reach the al-dente texture for the rice. Due to the fact that pumpkin releases a lot of moisture when cooked, the amount of water for cooking the rice has to be adjusted accordingly to get the right consistency for the rice i.e. not too wet and not soggy. Please refer below for the note on rice and water before trying this recipe. 

For aesthetic reason, I omitted few of my favourite condiments like dark soy sauce and vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce because it makes the rice colour very dark and not golden yellow colour like pumpkin.

Dietary: Vegetarian, Vegan.
Serve 2-3

Ingredients
 Non-GMO canola oil, for frying
 4 cloves garlic, chopped ^
 1/2 medium onion, chopped ^
 2 fresh shiitake/button mushrooms, chopped
 120g pumpkin, peeled, deseeded & 1cm cubed
 1 cup* or 135g brown long-grain rice, washed & drained
 175ml water* or vegetable broth, for cooking
rice
 
Optional Veggies (small amount each)
 Carrot, chopped
 Firm tofu, cubed
 Cloud ear fungus, chopped
 Bamboo shoot, chopped
 Yellow bell pepper, chopped
 Vegan ham, chopped 
 
Seasoning
 2 tsp soy sauce or Braggs Liquid Aminos
 1/2 tsp sesame oil
 Pinch of sea salt
 Pinch of white pepper 

  
Garnish
 Spring onions, chopped
 Coriander, chopped
 Fried shallots

 Vegetarian sambal shrimp bites


Method
1. Heat up oil in a wok or large skillet. Sauté the onion and garlic until aromatic.

2. Add mushroom and optional veggies, and  add some soy sauce and sauté until light brown and almost cooked for about 2 minutes.
 
3. Pour in pumpkin and uncooked rice, mix gently and be careful not to mash the pumpkin. Add seasonings, sauté lightly for about 1 minute. 

4. Add water and stir mixture until well combined for 30 seconds. 

5. Transfer mixture into rice cooker pot, turn on the rice cooker. When the rice is cooked, use the rice scoop to stir the rice and loosen it up. If you do not have a rice cooker, place mixture in a steamer bowl and steam for 25-30 minutes until it reached your desired consistency.
 
6. If you find the rice too wet for your liking after stirring, press the mode for 'cook rice' again. The new cycle will continue to cook and dry up the mixture to the right consistency and automatically turn to 'keep warm' mode when ready. It works this way for most rice cookers, this is mine for reference. Loosen the rice and keep warm in the cooker for a few minutes.

7. Garnish and serve immediately.
 

Step 4: After Sautéing in the Pan  
Step 5: Ready to Start in Rice Cooker 

Notes
^ Buddhist vegetarians who do not take garlic and onion can omit these and replace with some ginger.
 
* The ratio for perfectly-cooked rice in most rice cookers (works for my Toshiba) is 1:1 rice and water, but it might vary with different rice cookers and the type of rice you are using.
 
* The measuring cup I used in this recipe comes along with the rice cooker and it looks like this below. 1 full cup of this rice measuring cup yield 135g of uncooked rice and 190ml water. I scooped off 4 teaspoon of water (20ml) to make it 170ml of water. If you do not have a measuring cup from the rice cooker, you might want to follow this recipe exactly to use 135g of uncooked rice with 170ml water (serve 2-3 pax). Do take note that result might vary with different rice cookers.
 
Measuring Cup from Rice Cooker
 

♂ Indian Black Salt (Kala Namak) - Where To Buy?

 
 
  
What is black salt?
Kala Namak or Himalayan black Indian salt is a type of rock salt, salty and pungent-smelling condiment used in South Asia. The condiment is composed largely of sodium chloride with several impurities lending the salt its colour and smell, the smell is mainly due to its sulphur content. When in whole, it forms brownish pink to dark violet translucent crystals and, and when ground into a powder, it is light purple to pink in colour. The raw material for producing Kala Namak was originally obtained from natural halite from mines in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan.


How to use black salt?
It is used extensively in South Asian cuisines and appreciated by vegans in dishes that mimic the taste of eggs. To me, this is the best natural egg replacer for cooking, not baking of course. After you tried this black salt on the following dishes below, you will be surely think like most vegans... "seriously who still need eggs with an amazing natural wholefood like this?" To read more about Kala Namak, click here.

I used black salt on these recipes:
Fresh Spring Roll Popiah (薄餅) With Vegan 'Egg'
Vegan 'Egg' Fried Brown Rice
Vegan Tofu Scrambled 'Egg' 


Where to Buy?
In Singapore
☼ SGD0.90 for 100g.
Available at Mustafa Center, Singapore.
Exact location: Level 2, Row 1A which displays salt, tamarind, tortillas etc.
They stock up different brands from time to time, so any brands doesn't really matter, not much price and quality differences.  
 
☼ Available at most Indian grocery stores.

☆ Click here to see what other products I regularly get from Mustafa Center.

Online
☼ SGD12.92 for 453g at iHerb.
☼ Available at Amazon
http://veggietemptation.blogspot.sg/search/label/Where%20To%20Buy%20This%3F



Learning a new cuisine is actually not that challenging, it is the process of understanding & finding the ingredients in your area which is tedious and time-consuming. Thus, I am most willing to share with readers (Singapore, Malaysia and international) where I get the most value-for-money ingredients that are slightly uncommon. See more of the great, affordable & healthy stuff I am always get.

♥ Vegetarian Food (Taman Molek, Johor Bahru) - VegeTalk Gourmet

 
 
I got to know this restaurant VegeTalk Gourmet by chance, literally. We were nearby Taman Molek area and wanted to go our usual vegetarian hunt, HappyLand Cafe for dinner, but end up coming here when we Googled for vegetarian restaurants in the vicinity. It can be quite easy to miss this shop even when you walk past it, because it doesn't have that typical vegetarian 素 logo at the shopfront.
 
When we first visited this place in March 2014 it was a very quiet weekday evening, heard from the staff it was opened for only a few months. Some background of this restaurant, this is owned by the same boss of the famous Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant at Quality Hotel, Singapore. If you are a vegetarian foodie in Singapore and love buffet and steamboat, I'm pretty sure this restaurant is not new to you.  *GRIN*
 
As you can see from the below photos, the ambience here is great, you can hardly see such restaurant in Johor Bahru. Customer service is awesome too. Naturally the dining experience comes with a bigger price tag but it is still not as expensive as Singapore's and it is in Malaysia Ringgit (RM). Food wise I think is pretty reasonable and some thing unusual compared to the typical Chinese vegetarian cuisine. Worth a visit for an experience at a low cost, especially if you want to spend a romantic evening with your date or love ones.

Overall
Ambience: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Food: 7/10
Pricing: 6/10
 
 
 
 
♥ I love their principles!

Menu for Main Course
 
Mushroom Soup 

Mushroom Salad

Burger 
The veggie patty sucks, the taste is flat, rubbery and salty.
Though the staff said it is made by the in-house chef, I doubt so.
It tastes like those yucky frozen store-bought patties.
It makes me miss my homemade veggie patties, LOL!

Bonus: the fries are pretty good.


Mexican Black Beans Burrito


Cuisine: Western 
Name: VegeTalk Gourmet
Address: Google map
14 Jalan Molek 1/13 Taman Molek
81100 Johor Bahru Johor Malaysia

Contact: +60 7-358 7668
Open: Daily 1130am to 930pm. Closed on Mon
Air-conditioned: Yes
Restaurant's Name card:


http://veggietemptation.blogspot.sg/search/label/Vegetarian%20Restaurants%20in%20Johor%20BahruRead more about the other vegetarian restaurants in Johor Bahru.