Guilt Free Food

The best thing to get on a cold and rainy day is this bowl of YTF ($5.50 for large portion). Handmade YTF bits that are fresh and super flavorful, drenched in a sweet clear broth and white bee hoon (comes with free top up), a small bowl definitely isn’t enough. I finished the large bowl with no difficulty either. The chili and sweet sauce is a must!

Green Dot is my go-to vegetarian cafes especially for this bowl of Mushroom Bowl with Laksa broth. Expect all the lemak-ness of a typical non vegetarian laksa bowl, topped with a generous serving of mushrooms. Best paired with the sesame rice!

An awesome supper option here along Jalan Besar (aside from the popular Scissors Cut Curry Rice and Pig Organ Soup) is this authentic heng hwa restaurant, Ming Chung. Their best dish here is definitely their lala beehoon ($8 for medium size), for its perfect texture, sweet umami flavours and generous portion of seafood. Their lala clans are not to be missed too. At $12 for a small portion, expect sweet and fresh lala clams that have been thoroughly cleaned so you barely taste/ feel sand, cooked in a light mix of chili and tomato sauce, which enhances the umami flavour. With no GST and service charge, I dare say this is very much value for money.

On the hunt for good oats/ granola/ museli bowls and I decided to try the one here. The bowl is super pretty. It comes with loads of nuts, handful of berries and what seems to be untoasted oats and yogurt. The resulting bowl was slightly drier than my preferred texture, but it's nothing a little milk can't fix. Nevertheless, I was hoping for more berries to go along. At $10 a bowl, I think there are better options out there.

Pulled Burpple Tastemaker Julius here for lunch cause I was so intrigued by the idea of a vegetarian Kway chap and it didn't fail to leave an impression. The ingredients were mostly made of soy and they were braised for so long, they soak up the sauces easily. But the star attraction has got to be the kway. It boasts a mild soy flavour that complements the braised sauce very well, leaving us slurping the soup to the very last drop.

Highly recommended to me by a vegetarian, so I set my bar quite high when trying this Falafel salad ($8) from Pita Tree. And I was literally blown away.

The mashed chickpeas were encased in a crispy (almost crunchy) skin, peppered with sesame seed which gives it a nice smell. The Falafel was freshly cooked and not too oily, which was really nice.

After two intense classes, I reward myself with (what I think is) the yummiest salad in Orchard.

This place was packed at 1230, so I decided to do a take away. With a growling tummy, I went straight for a mixed base - lettuce with pasta. Topped it off with egg, prawn (which was so good I tell you!), tofu, carrots, corn and sweet potatoes ❤ Literally a rainbow in my tummy 🌈

$10.50 a plate. Pricey it may be, but it's sure worth it.

Toss & Turn is my favourite salad place due to its wide selection of protein, deli, vegetables, sauces and it's hugeeee portion that fills your tummy.

My preferred mix of salad toppings as follows:
Base- lettuces mixed with pasta
Protein - chicken breast & egg
Vegetables - sweet potato, sprouts, tofu and corn
Salad dressing - pomegranate sauce (super yummy I swear!)

If you are a salad virgin, I'd highly recommend going for the pasta as part of your base and go hardcore with the protein options (think bacon & prawns) as your baby step to healthier eating.

'I love the mushroom bowl with laksa sauce. You should try that', say fellow Burpple Tastemaker Julius Lim and I can see why he likes it.

The mushroom bowl ($9.90, with rice) comes in 3 soup bases, but the laksa-lover in me couldn't help but sheepishly opted for the laksa base. And I did not regret it. The gravy was lemak and the spice level can be adjusted by adding sambal chilli from their condiments station. The bowl came with different mushrooms and vegetables, which was surprisingly filling!

For first timers, I would recommend this as well.

This is crazy. I am addicted to vegetarian food!!!! No thanks to Green Dot, which serves such a hearty and yummy meal that keeps me going back. Burpple Tastemaker Julius introduced me to it, and now, there is no turning back.

This Bento Set ($7.90 with soup) may seem humble, but it's packed with so much goodness. The vegetables were fresh and crisp, not overly oily which is characteristic of most vegetarian places. But may I just say what blew me away was the mock rendang, that almost tasted like the real deal. Of course the texture can't compare, but taste wise, this is pretty on point. Super lemak, with the right hint of spices, I couldn't help dousing my brown rice (yes people, they serve brown rice at no extra cost!!) in the gravy. For those who want to cheat a little, I highly recommend the sesame rice, which tasted every bit like chicken rice.

Back here 3x in 3 days. I swear I could go meatless like that.

This is one place I love so much, I brought a whole bunch of people here and they all left with a satisfied tummy (whether they are salad lovers or not!). Been experimenting with the selection of deli/ protein/ vegetables and I had some surprising finds. You can add a 'carb' to your base (I.e: soba +$0.6 or pasta FOC). I found the pasta to be a lot more oily than the soba. You can replace switch up 1 protein/ deli with 2 vegetables (super worth it!!). I suggest to skip the 'salty' proteins such as dried bacon if you go for the feta cheese. Feta cheese is already savory enough. I personally loved all the vegetable base but I always find myself going back to corn, tofu, egg plant and egg. Psst: feta cheese and egg makes a great pairing. And GO FOR THE POMEGRANATE DRESSING!!!!

A huge serving, topped with tofu, seaweed (!!!!), corn, egg and pasta at only $6. What I loved most was the honey soy dressing which was as sweet as it was savory. Overall, great value!