Blooming Sprouts (Fortune Centre)

Wanted to head to Bodhi Deli for lunch since a colleague was mentioning about wanting to try the stellar vegetarian Fried Dumplings there; kinda bummed when we found out that they were only doing self pick-up orders for the day. Took a turn around to make our way down to the ground level, and chanced upon the new Blooming Sprouts that had just recently opened — also situated on the third level of Fortune Centre, just beside Japanese Curry Express. Being more of a hole-in-the-wall vegetarian establishment, don’t expect anything fancy for its decor here — the interior is simple and the furnishings are pretty functional; the entire decor can be a little haphazard with mis-matched furniture with odd placements for its tables and chairs due to space constraints. Dine-in capacity for each table is also pretty limited to one pax to three pax at most as well.

The menu for now comprises of pizza, pasta and burger offerings — whilst skimming through the items that they have to offer, the Tom Yum Pasta was something that pretty much struck a chord for us. After all, vegetarian pastas usually don’t offer much of a fusion component; the infusion of Thai elements such as Tom Yum was pretty interesting to say the least. All pasta dishes offered at Blooming Sprouts feature in-house vegan sauces that are claimed to be freshly made in-house; the Tom Yum Pasta is described to come with elements such as “Thai infused herbs tossed with spaghetti and fragrance coconut milk”. First taste of the atom Yum Pasta and it is without a doubt that the in-house vegan sauce is the element that shines here — there isn’t quite a difference between the usual Tom Yum Cream Pasta served elsewhere and their rendition that featured vegan Tom Yum sauce here; while it is noted that they seem to emphasise a lot more on the herbs with a mellower sort of tang here, we really enjoyed how the flavours did pull through and the sauce wasn’t quite as jelak, yet also not as watery as some of the Tom Yum Cream Pasta we had come across. It does come with a manageable spicy kick for those who are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness; aptly tickling the tastebuds without having one break into a sweat. While there aren’t any meat elements, it does come with broccoli and some mushrooms; the former with its florets slightly charred for a contrast of flavours, and the latter providing a nice, soft crunch to the dish.

Being more of an establishment that seemed to be setup from the founder’s love for cooking, there is somewhat of a cosy feeling when dining at Blooming Sprouts — one that kinda exudes homeliness through their food despite its simple surroundings. One could probably tell that the food here has been developed with passion; a lot of effort and time spent to create a flavour that would resonate with vegetarian and non-vegetarian palates alike — at least through the Tom Yum Pasta we had. While we have yet to try the other items that they have to offer, Blooming Sprouts is a spot that I would not mind returning to for lunches around the workplace when I am craving for simple vegetarian pastas; no doubt Pasta & Co. is still my favourite spot for artisan, handmade pastas in the ‘hood, but Blooming Sprouts would do for a more affordable, fuss-free option.